Wilford Brimley ✝

Anthony Wilford Brimley (born September 27, 1934) is an American film and television actor. After serving in the Marines and doing a variety of jobs including ranch hand and wrangler, Brimley became an extra for Westerns, and in little more than a decade he had established himself as a character actor in films such as The China Syndrome (1979), The Thing (1982) and The Natural (1984). His trademark mustache, accent and brusque delivery made Brimley recognizable, but forthrightness on screen was on occasion matched by bluntness on set when his interpretation of a character was being faulted. Brimley\'s weather-beaten appearance enabled him to be convincing as someone decades older in the film Cocoon (1985).\n', ' Brimley was the long-time face of television advertisements for the Quaker Oats Company. He has also promoted diabetes education and appeared in related commercials for Liberty Medical.\n', ' Brimley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 27, 1934, where his father worked as a real estate broker. Prior to his career in acting, Brimley dropped out of high school to serve in the United States Marine Corps, where he served in the Aleutian Islands for three years. He also worked as a bodyguard for Howard Hughes, a ranch hand, a wrangler, and a blacksmith. He then began shoeing horses for film and television. He began acting in the 1960s as a riding extra in Westerns and a stunt man at the urging of his friend, actor Robert Duvall.\n', '