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Wilford Brimley
Born	Allen Wilford Brimley

Allen Wilford Brimley (born September 27 1934 – June 13, 2008) was an American actor.

Biography

Career

Before his career in acting, Brimley worked as a ranch hand, wrangler, blacksmith, and a bodyguard for Howard Hughes. He then began shoeing horses for film and television. His first acting roles in the 1960s were as a riding extra in Westerns and as a stunt man. At that time he was known as Anthony (Tony) Brimley.

Brimley became famous later in life for appearing in such films as The Hotel New Hampshire, John Carpenter's The Thing, and Cocoon. In 2001, he starred in the Turner Network Television film Crossfire Trail with Tom Selleck. He had an important role in The China Syndrome. He often plays a gruff or stodgy old man, notably on the 1980s drama series Our House. His first characterization was in Absence of Malice, in which he played a small but key role as a curmudgeonly, outspoken James A. Wells, Assistant U.S. Attorney General. He expanded on this characterization in The Natural, as the world-weary manager of a hapless baseball team. He is known to Star Wars fans as Noa Briqualon in George Lucas' 1985 made-for-TV movie Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.

In a change from his "good guy" roles such as those in Our House, he played William Devasher, the ominous head of security for Bendini, Lambert & Locke in 1993's Tom Cruise film, The Firm, based on the novel by John Grisham. Brimley has frequently appeared in commercials, namely a series of commercials he did for Quaker Oats Oatmeal throughout the 1980s and '90s. The Quaker commercials were famous for their slogan: "It's the right thing to do and the tasty way to do it." He also made an appearance on Seinfeld as the United States Postmaster General, a takeoff on his role of U.S. Assistant Attorney General in Absence of Malice.

Brimley has diabetes and serves as the spokesperson for the diabetes testing-supplies company Liberty Medical.

Death

Wilford Brimley was pronounced dead on June 13th, 2008 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from complications due to type 2 diabetes. He is survived by his two wives, eight loving children and his dog Eleanor. A fund started after his death will be used to fund the Wilford Brimley Center for Diabetes Research, located in Los Angeles, California.

Personal life

Brimley was born in Salt Lake City to a father who worked as a real estate broker. Outside of film and advertisements, Brimley is also known as an activist, paying from his own funds for ads to have Utah allow horse-race gambling, and he was actively opposed to the banning of cockfighting. He has campaigned in Arizona and New Mexico against laws banning cockfighting. Brimley enjoys playing poker and has played in the World Series of Poker Main Event. Brimley has lent his support to John McCain in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Brimley in popular culture

Brimley's distinctive appearance and manner of speech have been repeatedly parodied over the years including on Saturday Night Live, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, The Colbert Report, The Ben Stiller Show, Imus in the Morning, Family Guy, Royal Canadian Air Farce, Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld, Monster, and I Can Has Cheezburger?

References

External links

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