Wilford Brimley | |
---|---|
![]() Brimley in October 2012 | |
Born | Anthony Wilford Brimley September 27, 1934 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
Died | August 1, 2020 St. George, Utah, U.S. | (aged 85)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1967–2017 |
Spouses | Lynne Bagley
(m. 1956; died 2000)Beverly Berry
(m. 2007) |
Children | 4 |
Military career | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Years of service | 1953–1956 |
Rank | ![]() |
Battles/wars | Korean War |
Anthony Wilford Brimley (September 27, 1934 – August 1, 2020) was an American actor.[1] After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and working odd jobs in the 1950s, Brimley started working as an extra and stuntman in Western films in the late 1960s. He became an established character actor in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as The China Syndrome (1979), The Thing (1982), Tender Mercies (1983), The Natural (1984), and Cocoon (1985). Brimley was known for playing characters at times much older than his age. He was the long-term face of American television advertisements for the Quaker Oats Company.[2] He also promoted diabetes education and appeared in related television commercials for Liberty Medical, a role for which he became an Internet meme.