Wilford Brimley

Anthony Wilford Brimley (September 27, 1934 – August 1, 2020) was an American actor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name=mahalo>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also promoted diabetes education and appeared in related television commercials for Liberty Medical, a role for which he became an Internet meme.

Early life

Anthony Wilford Brimley was born in Salt Lake City on September 27, 1934,<ref name=mahalo/><ref name=TCM>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> the son of Lola (née Nelson) and real estate broker Wilford Brimley.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His paternal grandfather was an Englishman from Wigan, while his paternal grandmother's parents were a Scottish couple from Glasgow. His mother was half Danish and also had English, German, Swiss, and Welsh ancestry.<ref name="Utah Cowboy—A Star is Born">Template:Cite news</ref> Prior to a career in acting, he dropped out of high school at age 14 and worked as a cowboy in Arizona, Idaho, and Nevada.

Brimley joined the Marines in 1953 and served in the Aleutian Islands for three years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also worked as a bodyguard for businessman Howard Hughes<ref name=Lawrence2014>Template:Cite news</ref> as well as a ranch hand, wrangler, and blacksmith.<ref name=TCM/> He then began shoeing horses for film and television. At the behest of his close friend and fellow actor Robert Duvall, he began acting in the 1960s as a riding extra and stunt man in westerns.<ref name="Ymovies">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1979, he told the Los Angeles Times that the most he ever earned in a year as an actor was $20,000.<ref name="Utah Cowboy—A Star is Born"/> He had no formal training as an actor, and his first experience in acting in front of a live audience was in a theater group at the Los Angeles Actors' Theater.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

Film and television

File:Reagan Contact Sheet C50769 (cropped).jpg

Brimley greeting U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1988

Brimley's onscreen breakthrough came when he was cast in the popular 1970s television series The Waltons as Walton's Mountain resident and blacksmith Horace Brimley; he made seven appearances between 1974 and 1977.<ref name="TCM" />

His first credited feature film performance was in The China Syndrome (1979)<ref name="TCM" /> as Ted Spindler, a friend and coworker of plant shift supervisor Jack Godell (portrayed by Jack Lemmon). That same year, he appeared in the Robert Redford/Jane Fonda feature film The Electric Horseman cast as simply "The Farmer" while assisting Redford and Fonda's characters evade troopers while transporting the horse in a cattle hauler. Later, Brimley made a brief but pivotal appearance in Absence of Malice (1981) as the curmudgeonly, outspoken Assistant Attorney General James A. Wells. In the movie The Thing (1982) he played the role of Blair, a biologist among a group of men at an American research station in Antarctica who encounter a dangerous alien that can perfectly imitate other organisms.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Brimley's close friend Robert Duvall (who also appeared in The Natural) was instrumental in securing for him the role of Harry in Tender Mercies (1983). Duvall, who had not been getting along with director Bruce Beresford, wanted "somebody down here that's on my side, somebody that I can relate to."<ref name="Miracles">Template:Cite AV media</ref> Beresford felt Brimley was too old for the part but eventually agreed to the casting. Brimley, like Duvall, clashed with the director; during one instance when Beresford tried to advise Brimley on how Harry would behave, Duvall recalled Brimley responding: "Now look, let me tell you something, I'm Harry. Harry's not over there, Harry's not over here. Until you fire me or get another actor, I'm Harry, and whatever I do is fine 'cause I'm Harry."<ref name="Miracles"/>

Brimley then appeared as Pop Fisher, world-weary manager of a slumping baseball team, in The Natural (1984). Brimley appeared in the 1984 film Country as Otis, the patriarch of a family farm, which took a sobering look at farms in crisis in the 1980s. Shortly thereafter, Brimley secured his first leading role in Ron Howard's Cocoon (1985), portraying Ben Luckett, leader of a group of geriatrics who encounter a magically reinvigorating swimming pool by their retirement home. Brimley was only 49 when he was cast in the role, and turned 50 during filming; he was at least 20 years younger than any of the actors playing the other retirement home residents. In order to look the part, Brimley bleached his hair and moustache to turn them gray, and had wrinkles and liver spots drawn on his face.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He also starred in Cocoon: The Return, a 1988 sequel.

Through these and other roles, Brimley became widely known for portraying gruff or stodgy old men, most notably on the 1980s NBC drama series Our House, also starring Deidre Hall, Chad Allen, and Shannen Doherty. One exception was when he played William Devasher, sinister head of security for a Mafia-associated law firm, in the Tom Cruise film The Firm (1993).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After portraying the father of Kevin Kline in In & Out (1997), Brimley retreated from Hollywood in favor of involvement in more independent productions. He made an auspicious mainstream comeback with the TNT film Crossfire Trail (2001), co-starring with Tom Selleck (with whom he had previously worked in the films High Road to China and In & Out). He played an intimidating United States Postmaster General in a 1997 episode of Seinfeld ("The Junk Mail"), who forces Kramer to end his boycott of the mail service.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After several more years of independent film and TV acting, Brimley had a supporting role in Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009), making witty exchanges with star Hugh Grant.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Commercials

Brimley frequently appeared in commercials, including a series of commercials for Quaker Oats,<ref name="Ymovies" /> a campaign which became famous for his repeating their slogan "It's the right thing to do."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Developed by advertising agency Jordan, McGrath, Case & Taylor, the campaign began in 1987.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Brimley appeared in numerous television advertisements for Liberty Medical, a company specializing in home delivery of medical products (including diabetes testing supplies).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He appeared in commercials for the American Diabetes Association<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was the voice-over for a Bryan Foods television commercial campaign.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Musical interests

Brimley has been described as "a fine singer with a warm, rich voice".<ref name="LATimes">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1993, Brimley sang with the Cal State Northridge Jazz Band for a concert benefiting the college's Jazz Endowment Scholarship Fund. In 2004, he released This Time, The Dream's On Me, an album of jazz standards named after the Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer-penned title track.<ref name="LATimes"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was also an accomplished harmonica player; during his 2011 appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Brimley performed a lively rendition of "Oh! Susanna" much to the delight, and surprise, of Ferguson and the studio audience.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> In 2013, Riders in the Sky partnered with Brimley to produce the album Home on the Range, which featured him singing a variety of country and folk songs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

Brimley was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He was married to Lynne Bagley from July 6, 1956, until her death in June 2000. They had four sons together: James Charles, John Michael, William Carmen, and Lawrence Dean.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He married Beverly Berry on October 31, 2007.<ref name=Lawrence2014/> They split their time between homes in Greybull, Wyoming, and Santa Clara, Utah.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2009, they founded the nonprofit organization Hands Across the Saddle (HATS) in the Bighorn Basin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1979, Brimley began working to raise awareness of the disease. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) honored him in 2008 with an award to recognize his lifetime of service.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The ADA presented the award to him at the Port St. Lucie headquarters of Liberty Medical on December 19, 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He visited Veterans Administration hospitals and communities to advise patients on how to manage their diseases. His television advertisements for Liberty Medical became an Internet meme due to Brimley's dialectal pronunciation of "diabetes", often rendered as "diabeetus" (Template:IPAc-en), contrasting with his overall serious tone.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Brimley spoke against the banning of cockfighting in New Mexico on the basis of his support of individual rights.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also spoke at a 1998 Phoenix rally opposing an Arizona ballot proposition to ban cockfighting, arguing that a ban could lead to efforts to restrict the use of hunting dogs, which opponents of cockfighting called a distraction from the issue.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Brimley enjoyed playing poker<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and played in the World Series of Poker Main Event.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Brimley lent his support to John McCain in the 2008 United States presidential election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the days leading up to his selection of a running mate, McCain jokingly stated that he would pick Brimley: "He's a former Marine and great guy and he's older than I am, so that might work."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Death

Brimley died at a hospital in St. George, Utah, on August 1, 2020,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> at age 85 after suffering from a kidney condition for two months.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

Sources:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1968	Bandolero!	Stuntman	Uncredited	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1969	True Grit	Minor role
1971	Lawman	Marc Corman
1979	The China Syndrome	Ted Spindler
	The Electric Horseman	Farmer
1980	Brubaker	Rogers
	Borderline	USBP Agent "Scooter" Jackson
1981	Absence of Malice	Assistant U.S. Attorney General James A. Wells
1982	Death Valley	The Sheriff
	The Thing	Dr. Blair
1983	Tender Mercies	Harry
	10 to Midnight	Captain Malone
	High Road to China	Bradley Tozer
	Tough Enough	Bill Long
1984	Harry & Son	Tom Keach
	The Hotel New Hampshire	Bob "Iowa Bob"
	The Stone Boy	George Jansen
	The Natural	'Pop' Fisher
	Country	Otis
	Terror in the Aisles	Dr. Blair	Archival footage
1985	Cocoon	Ben Luckett
	Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins	CURE Director Harold W. Smith
1986	Jackals	Sheriff Mitchell
	Shadows on the Wall	Floyd Buckman
1987	End of the Line	Will Haney
1988	Cocoon: The Return	Ben Luckett
1990	Eternity	King / Eric
1992	Where the Red Fern Grows: Part II	Grandpa Will	Direct-to-video
1993	The Firm	Bill Devasher
	Hard Target	Uncle Clarence Douvee
1994	Heaven Sent	Al (Security Guard)
1995	Mutant Species	Devro
	Last of the Dogmen	Narrator	Voice; Uncredited	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1996	My Fellow Americans	Joe Hollis
1997	In & Out	Frank Brackett
	Lunker Lake	The Storyteller
1998	Chapter Perfect	Chief Hawkins
	Progeny	Dr. David Wetherly
	A Place to Grow	Jake
	Summer of the Monkeys	Grandpa Sam Ferrans
2000	Comanche	Doctor
2001	Brigham City	Stu
	PC and the Web	Unknown
2002	Resurrection Mary	Morty
2003	The Road Home	Coach Weaver
2009	The Path of the Wind	Harry Caldwell
	Did You Hear About the Morgans?	Earl Granger
2016	Timber the Treasure Dog	"Hawk" Jones
2017	I Believe	Pastor	Final film role	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974–1977	The Waltons	Horace Brimley	10 episodes
1975	Kung Fu	Blacksmith	Episode: "One Step to Darkness"; as A. Wilford Brimley
1976–1977	The Oregon Trail	Ludlow	Episodes: Pilot, "Hard Ride Home"; as A. Wilford Brimley
1979	The Wild Wild West Revisited	Grover Cleveland	Television film; credited as Wilford A. Brimley
1980	Amber Waves	Pete Alberts	Television film
	Roughnecks	Willie Clayton
	Rodeo Girl	"Bingo" Gibbs
1981	The Big Black Pill	Wally Haskell	Television film; AKA Joe Dancer
1985	Murder in Space	Dr. Andrew McCallister	Television film
	Ewoks: The Battle for Endor	Noa
1986	Thompson's Last Run	"Red" Haines
	Act of Vengeance	Tony Boyle
1986–1988	Our House	Gus Witherspoon	Main role
1989	Billy the Kid	Governor Lew Wallace
1991	Blood River	US Marshal Winston Patrick Culler
1992	The Boys of Twilight	Deputy Bill Huntoon
1995	Walker, Texas Ranger	Burt Mueller	Episode: "War Zone"
	Op Center	Admiral Troy Davis
	The Good Old Boys	C.C. Tarpley	Television film
1997	Seinfeld	US Postmaster General Henry Atkins	Episode: "The Junk Mail"
2001	Crossfire Trail	Joe Gill	Television film
	The Ballad of Lucy Whipple	Deputy Ambrose Scraggs
2011	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson	Guest (self)	Late night talk show

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1987	CableACE Awards	Actor in a Movie or Miniseries	Act of Vengeance	Template:Nom	<ref name=CTFT>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
2005	Golden Boot Awards	Golden Boot	Template:N/a	Template:Won	<ref name=CTFT/>
2013	Maverick Movie Awards	Best Supporting Actor: Short	Masque	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

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