Wilford Brimley, Curmudgeonly Actor Known for ‘Cocoon’ and ‘The Natural,’ Dies at 85

The former blacksmith, rodeo rider and Howard Hughes bodyguard also starred in ‘The China Syndrome,’ ‘Absence of Malice’ and ‘The Firm.’

Wilford Brimley, the actor with the walrus mustache whose down-home geniality seen in such films as CocoonThe Natural and Absence of Malice endeared him to moviegoers, has died. He was 85.

The Salt Lake City native, who also stood out as the plant foreman who becomes a confidant of Jack Lemmon’s character in The China Syndrome (1979), died on Saturday morning in Utah, his manager Lynda Bensky confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. Brimley had been on dialysis and had other medical issues and was in the ICU in St. George, Utah ahead of his death. He had lived since 2004 on a ranch in Greybull, Wyo.

Bensky shared in a statement to THR, “Wilford Brimley was a man you could trust. He said what he meant and he meant what he said. 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.”

On television, Brimley starred in the 1986-88 NBC family drama Our House as a retired widower who, after the death of his son, takes in his daughter-in-law (Deidre Hall) and her three kids (the oldest was Shannen Doherty).

Earlier, he had a recurring role on the legendary CBS family drama The Waltons as the soft-spoken Walton’s Mountain resident Horace Brimley.

With Brimley — a blacksmith, rodeo rider, Hollywood extra and bodyguard for Howard Hughes before he made it as an actor — what you saw was what you got. A straight-talking, plain and portly fellow who didn’t much like fast-talkers or the fast life, he usually played a blue-collar or folksy kind of guy who didn’t hesitate to let you know what was on his mind.

Brimley never seemed far away from his fans, regularly popping up in commercials for Quaker Oats oatmeal or to tout the importance of diabetes testing (he himself was a diabetic).

Anthony Wilford Brimley was born on Sept. 27, 1934, and moved with his family to Santa Monica at age 6. During high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was stationed for three years in the Aleutian Islands during the Korean War.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wilford-brimley-dead-cocoon-actor-937941