Wilford Brimley

Wilford Brimley
Born	Anthony Wilford Brimley (1934-09-27) 27 September 1934 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Died	1 August 2020(2020-08-01) (aged 85) St. George, Utah, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	1960s–2017
Known for	The China Syndrome, The Thing, Tender Mercies, The Natural, Cocoon

Anthony Wilford Brimley (September 27, 1934 – August 1, 2020) was a prominent American actor. Following his service in the U.S. Marines and various occupations throughout the 1950s, Brimley launched his career as an extra and stuntman in Western films during the late 1960s. He gained recognition as a distinguished character actor throughout the 1970s and 1980s with notable performances in The China Syndrome (1979), The Thing (1982), Tender Mercies (1983), The Natural (1984), and Cocoon (1985). Frequently cast as characters older than his actual age, he also became widely known as the enduring spokesperson for American television commercials for the Quaker Oats Company. Beyond acting, Brimley advocated for diabetes awareness and featured in related advertisements for Liberty Medical, broadening his public profile.

Early life

Born on September 27, 1934, in Salt Lake City, Anthony Wilford Brimley was the son of Lola (née Nelson) and Wilford Brimley, a real estate agent. His paternal lineage traced back to English roots from Wigan, while his paternal grandmother’s parents hailed from Scottish ancestry in Glasgow. His mother’s heritage included Danish, English, German, Swiss, and Welsh origins. Leaving high school at age 14, Brimley spent his early years working as a cowboy across states such as Arizona, Idaho, and Nevada.

In 1953, Brimley joined the Marines, completing three years of service stationed in the Aleutian Islands. Following his military tenure, he held positions including bodyguard to entrepreneur Howard Hughes, as well as roles such as ranch hand, wrangler, blacksmith, and farrier responsible for shoeing horses utilized in film and television productions. Encouraged by his friend Robert Duvall, Brimley began pursuing acting during the 1960s by working as a riding extra and stuntman in Western genre projects. Despite lacking formal training—his initial live performance took place at the Los Angeles Actors' Theater—he steadily advanced within the industry. By 1979, he reported an annual income reaching approximately $20,000 from acting.

Film and television

Brimley's significant breakthrough on screen occurred with the 1970s television series The Waltons, where he portrayed Horace Brimley, a blacksmith character appearing in seven episodes between 1974 and 1977.

His first credited cinematic role was Ted Spindler in The China Syndrome (1979). That same year saw him featured as "The Farmer" in The Electric Horseman. He portrayed Assistant Attorney General James A. Wells in Absence of Malice (1981), followed by his role as biologist Blair at an Antarctic research station in The Thing (1982).

Assisted by his friend Robert Duvall, Brimley secured the part of Harry in Tender Mercies (1983), despite director Bruce Beresford’s initial concerns regarding his age. Both Brimley and Duvall experienced creative disagreements with Beresford during production.

In The Natural (1984), he played Pop Fisher, the manager of a struggling baseball team. The same year he took on the role of Otis, a family farm patriarch confronting crisis in the film Country. His debut leading role came with Ron Howard's Cocoon (1985), where he portrayed Ben Luckett, one of several seniors revitalized by a mystical pool. Although only 49 at casting time, makeup was employed to lend him an older appearance suitable for the character. He reprised this role in the sequel Cocoon: The Return (1988).

Brimley became synonymous with portraying rugged, older male figures, including a role on NBC's drama series Our House. Among his notable performances was William Devasher—the security chief for a Mafia-connected law firm—in the Tom Cruise thriller The Firm (1993).

Following his appearance as Kevin Kline’s father in In & Out (1997), Brimley shifted focus toward independent films. He later returned to mainstream television with TNT's western drama Crossfire Trail (2001), co-starring Tom Selleck. Additionally, he portrayed the U.S. Postmaster General on an episode of Seinfeld titled "The Junk Mail" (1997). In 2009, he had a supporting part alongside Hugh Grant in Did You Hear About the Morgans?.

Commercial Appearances

Brimley was a familiar face in numerous advertisements, most notably in a campaign for Quaker Oats that featured the memorable tagline "It's the right thing to do." This campaign was created by the advertising firm Jordan, McGrath, Case & Taylor and debuted in 1987. He also appeared in multiple television commercials for Liberty Medical, a company known for delivering medical supplies such as diabetes testing kits directly to consumers. Furthermore, Brimley lent his presence to ads for the American Diabetes Association and contributed voice-over narration for a promotional series by Bryan Foods.

Musical Pursuits

Brimley gained recognition as "an accomplished vocalist with a warm, resonant tone." In 1993, he performed alongside the Cal State Northridge Jazz Band during a fundraising concert aimed at supporting the institution’s Jazz Endowment Scholarship Fund. Later, in 2004, he released an album titled This Time, The Dream's On Me, which consisted of jazz standards and was named after the classic song by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. As a skilled harmonica player, Brimley showcased his talent performing "Oh! Susanna" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in 2011. In 2013, he collaborated with Riders in the Sky on their album Home on the Range, which featured selections from country and folk genres.

Personal Details

A devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brimley was married to Lynne Bagley from 1956 until her passing in 2000; together they had four sons. In 2007, he wed Beverly Berry. The couple divided their time between residences in Greybull, Wyoming and Santa Clara, Utah, where they established the nonprofit organization Hands Across the Saddle (HATS) in 2009.

After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1979, Brimley became an active advocate for raising awareness about the condition. The American Diabetes Association recognized his dedication with a lifetime achievement award in 2008. He frequently visited Veterans Administration hospitals to counsel patients and became widely recognized through Liberty Medical commercials promoting diabetes care. His distinctive way of pronouncing "diabetes" as "diabeetus" eventually became a popular Internet meme.

Brimley publicly voiced opposition to legislation banning cockfighting in New Mexico and Arizona, emphasizing concerns about personal liberties. He also enjoyed playing poker and took part in the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Politically, Brimley endorsed John McCain during the 2008 presidential race. McCain humorously referenced Brimley as a possible vice-presidential candidate due to his Marine Corps background and seniority.

Passing

Brimley passed away at a hospital in St. George, Utah, on August 1, 2020, at age 85 following a two-month illness related to kidney complications.

Filmography

Sources:

Feature Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1968	Bandolero!	Stuntman	Uncredited
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
Cocoon	Ben Luckett
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins	CURE Director Harold W. Smith
Jackals	Sheriff Mitchell
Shadows on the Wall	Floyd Buckman
End of the Line	Will Haney
Cocoon: The Return	Ben Luckett
Eternity	King / Eric
Where the Red Fern Grows: Part II	Grandpa Will	Direct-to-video release
The Firm	Bill Devasher
Hard Target	Uncle Clarence Douvee
Heaven Sent	Al (Security Guard)
Mutant Species	Devro
Last of the Dogmen	Narrator	Voice role; uncredited
My Fellow Americans	Joe Hollis
In & Out	Frank Brackett
Lunker Lake	The Storyteller
Chapter Perfect	Chief Hawkins
Progeny	Dr. David Wetherly
A Place to Grow	Jake
Summer of the Monkeys	Grandpa Sam Ferrans
Comanche	Doctor
Brigham City	Stu
PC and the Web	Unknown
Resurrection Mary	Morty
The Road Home	Coach Weaver
The Path of the Wind	Harry Caldwell
Did You Hear About the Morgans?	Earl Granger
Timber the Treasure Dog	'Hawk' Jones
I Believe	Pastor	Final acting role

Television

Year	Title	Character	Details
1974–1977	The Waltons	Horace Brimley	Appeared in 10 episodes
1975	Kung Fu	Blacksmith	Featured in episode "One Step to Darkness"; credited as A. Wilford Brimley
1976–1977	The Oregon Trail	Ludlow	Roles in Pilot and "Hard Ride Home"; credited as A. Wilford Brimley
1979	The Wild Wild West Revisited	Grover Cleveland	TV movie; credited as Wilford A. Brimley
1980	Amber Waves	Pete Alberts	Television movies
	Roughnecks	Willie Clayton
	Rodeo Girl	'Bingo' Gibbs
1981	The Big Black Pill	Wally Haskell	TV movie; also known as Joe Dancer
1985	Murder in Space	Dr. Andrew McCallister	Television movies
	Ewoks: The Battle for Endor	Noa
1986	Thompson's Last Run	'Red' Haines
	Act of Vengeance	Tony Boyle
1986–1988	Our House	Gus Witherspoon	Principal 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 movie
1997	Seinfeld	US Postmaster General Henry Atkins	Episode: "The Junk Mail"
2001	Crossfire Trail	Joe Gill	Television movies
	The Ballad of Lucy Whipple	Deputy Ambrose Scraggs
2011	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson	Guest	Late-night talk show appearance

Awards and nominations

Year	Award title	Category	Work nominated for	Outcome		CableACE Award#1987	CableACE Award	Actor in a Movie or Miniseries	Act of Vengeance	Nominee		Golden Boot Awards#2005, The 23rd Annual Golden Boot Awards	Golden Boot Awards	Golden Boot Award	Not applicable	Winner		2013	Maverick Movie Awards	Best Supporting Actor: Short Film	Masque	Nominee