Longtime Hollywood actor Wilford Brimley died after being hospitalized in St. George, Utah, for a kidney ailment. He was 85 years old.
Brimley, who was known for his round frame, thick mustache, and the face of Quaker Oats, began his acting career in the 1970s. His roles in films such as “Cocoon,” “Absence of Malice,” and “The Natural,” gave him many memorable on-screen appearances.
Wilford Brimley, or Tony as he was known, was born in Salt Lake City on September 27, 1934. His father was a real estate broker, and after selling the family farm, Brimley’s family moved to Santa Monica, California. After dropping out of school at 14, Brimley started working as a cowboy in Nevada, Arizona, and Idaho, before enlisting into the Marines. His work as a cowboy and ranch hand would land him the opportunity to participate in numerous western films. He started off shoeing horses on set before he took on non-speaking roles on horseback. These non-speaking roles would turn into TV series appearances in “How the West Was Won,” “Kung Fu,” and “The Oregon Trail.”
Brimley later landed a reoccurring role on “The Waltons” before he went on to star in a wide range of films such as “Amber Waves,” “The Big Black Pill,” “Roughnecks,” and many others.
In the 1980s, Brimley began playing roles in more traditional films like “10 to Midnight” and “High Road to China.” The characters he played grew in similarities as he was often cast for stern authority figures or grandfatherly figures.
“Wilford Brimley was a man you could trust. He said what he meant, and he meant what he said,” Wilford’s manager Lynda Bensky told CNN. “He had a tough exterior and a tender heart. I’m sad that I will no longer get to hear my friend’s wonderful stories. He was one of a kind.”
Brimley is survived by his wife Beverly and his three sons, James, John, and William.
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