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.
Early life
Anthony Wilford Brimley was born in Salt Lake City on September 27, 1934,[2][3] the son of Lola (née Nelson) and real estate broker Wilford Brimley.[4] 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.[5] 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 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.[3]
His first credited feature film performance was in The China Syndrome (1979)[3] 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.[10]
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."[11] 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."[11]
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.[12] 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).[13]
Brimley frequently appeared in commercials, including a series of commercials for Quaker Oats,[8] a campaign which became famous for his repeating their slogan "It's the right thing to do."[16][17] Developed by advertising agency Jordan, McGrath, Case & Taylor, the campaign began in 1987.[18] Brimley appeared in numerous television advertisements for Liberty Medical, a company specializing in home delivery of medical products (including diabetes testing supplies).[19] He appeared in commercials for the American Diabetes Association[20] and was the voice-over for a Bryan Foods television commercial campaign.[21]
Musical interests
Brimley has been described as "a fine singer with a warm, rich voice".[22] 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.[22][23] 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.[24] 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.[25]
Personal life
Brimley was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[26] 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.[27] He married Beverly Berry on October 31, 2007.[7] They split their time between homes in Greybull, Wyoming, and Santa Clara, Utah.[28] In 2009, they founded the nonprofit organization Hands Across the Saddle (HATS) in the Bighorn Basin.[29]
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.[30] The ADA presented the award to him at the Port St. Lucie headquarters of Liberty Medical on December 19, 2008.[31] 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" (/ˌdaɪəˈbiːtəs/), contrasting with his overall serious tone.[32]
Brimley spoke against the banning of cockfighting in New Mexico on the basis of his support of individual rights.[33] 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.[34] Brimley enjoyed playing poker[35] and played in the World Series of Poker Main Event.[36]
Brimley lent his support to John McCain in the 2008 United States presidential election.[37] In the days leading up to his selection for vice president, 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."[38]
Death
Brimley died at a hospital in St. George, Utah, on August 1, 2020, at age 85 after suffering from a kidney condition for two months.[39]
^ abTom, Lawrence (March 20, 2014). "'Just a feller,' Actor Wilford Brimley reflects on long career, stars he's known and the music he loves to sing". Powell Tribune. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015. Of course, Brimley has been around a lot of famous people. He was a bodyguard for reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, although he doesn't care to discuss that very much. "He was a good guy," he said, adding that Hughes paid him well. Hughes preferred to hire members of the Church of Latter-day Saints as aides and staffers, and Brimley himself is a member of the LDS church
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