Anthony Wilford Brimley (September 27, 1934 â€" August 1, 2020) was an
American actor and singer. After serving in the United States Marine
Corps and taking on a variety of odd jobs, he became an extra for
Western films, 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), Tender Mercies (1983), The Natural (1984)
and Cocoon (1985). He was the long-time face of television
advertisements for the Quaker Oats Company. He also promoted diabetes
education and appeared in related commercials for Liberty
Medical.Anthony Wilford Brimley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on
September 27, 1934. He was the son of Lola (née Nelson) and Wilford
Brimley, a real estate broker. Brimley's paternal grandfather was
English, originally from Wigan, Lancashire, and his paternal
grandmother's parents were Scottish, originally from Glasgow.
Brimley's mother was of half Danish descent, and also had Welsh,
English, German, and Swiss-German ancestry. Prior to a career in
acting, he dropped out of high school at age 14 and worked as a cowboy
in Idaho, Nevada and Arizona. He joined the Marines during the Korean
War and served in the Aleutian Islands for three years. He also worked
as a bodyguard for businessman Howard Hughes, as well as a ranch hand,
wrangler, and blacksmith. 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. In 1979, he told the Los Angeles Times that the most he
ever earned in a year as an actor was $20,000. He had no formal
training as an actor, and his first experience in acting in front of a
live audience was at the Los Angeles Actors' Theater.
American actor and singer. After serving in the United States Marine
Corps and taking on a variety of odd jobs, he became an extra for
Western films, 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), Tender Mercies (1983), The Natural (1984)
and Cocoon (1985). He was the long-time face of television
advertisements for the Quaker Oats Company. He also promoted diabetes
education and appeared in related commercials for Liberty
Medical.Anthony Wilford Brimley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on
September 27, 1934. He was the son of Lola (née Nelson) and Wilford
Brimley, a real estate broker. Brimley's paternal grandfather was
English, originally from Wigan, Lancashire, and his paternal
grandmother's parents were Scottish, originally from Glasgow.
Brimley's mother was of half Danish descent, and also had Welsh,
English, German, and Swiss-German ancestry. Prior to a career in
acting, he dropped out of high school at age 14 and worked as a cowboy
in Idaho, Nevada and Arizona. He joined the Marines during the Korean
War and served in the Aleutian Islands for three years. He also worked
as a bodyguard for businessman Howard Hughes, as well as a ranch hand,
wrangler, and blacksmith. 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. In 1979, he told the Los Angeles Times that the most he
ever earned in a year as an actor was $20,000. He had no formal
training as an actor, and his first experience in acting in front of a
live audience was at the Los Angeles Actors' Theater.
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