Wilford Brimley served in the Marine Corp and took all sorts of odd jobs but eventually landed in Hollywood as a prominent figure. The veteran actor is known to have built a legendary career and his trademark look, made up of his walrus mustache in addition to his heavy accent, makes him stand out in his films. However, behind his flourishing career, Brimley has been battling with diabetes mellitus type two for over four decades now and talk of turning a bad experience into a good cause, the actor has used his predicament as an avenue to raise awareness about the ailment. Let’s know more about this unique Hollywood veteran in this article.
Wilford Brimley’s Bio
The prominent American film and television actor was born on September 27, 1934, with full name – Anthony Wilford Brimley in Salt Lake City, Utah, United State of America. Not much is known about his parents but his father is said to have worked in a real estate firm as a broker. Wilford Brimley started working at a very young age which instigated him to drop out of high school to serve in the United States Marine Corps where he rendered his service in the Aleutian Islands for three years. He was involved in some odd jobs as a blacksmith, wrangler, and ranch hand in addition to being a bodyguard for business tycoon Howard Hughes.
Acting Career
Brimley started his acting career as a riding extra and a stuntman in the late 1960s. He was not credited for his roles in his first three movies Bandolier, True Grit and Lawman from 1969 to 1971. Coming up to 1979, after eight good years, he was cast as Ted Spindler, in the film The China Syndrome which was his first credited feature film. Wilford Brimley made his first leading role in Ron Howard‘s Cocoon in 1985, portraying Ben Luckett, leader of a group of geriatrics and between 1979 and 2016, Wilford Brimley has been credited with films like The Electric Horseman as a farmer, Borderline USBP as Agent Scooter Jackson. The veteran actor was also featured in the film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins as Agency Director Harold Smith, Murder in Space as Dr. Andrew McAllister, and several other films during the course of his career.
Aside from films, he has made a lot of television appearances in TV series like Kung Fu, The Waltons, Amber waves, Roughneck, The Oregon Trails, Act of vengeance, Blood River, Thompson Last Run, Our House, The Good Old Boys, The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, Crossfire Trail, Blood River, The Boys of Twilight and many more.
Brimley Wilford is also notable for his numerous commercials which include television advertisements for companies like Quaker Oats and Liberty Medicals. He has also done a voice-over for Bryan Food Television Commercials.
His Family: Wives And Kids
Wilford Brimley is the father of four children and he is known to have married twice. He got married to his first wife Lynne Bagley, on July 6, 1956, and they had four children together named, James Charles, John Michael, William Carmen, and Lawrence Dean. However, Layne passed away in 2000 which broke Brimley’s heart immensely.
After seven years that he lost his first wife, Brimley got married for the second time to Beverly Berry. The couple is said to reside in Greybull, Wyoming, and Santa Clara, Utah, where they both co-founded a nonprofit organization known as the ‘Hands Across the Saddle’.
Is Wilford Brimley Dead Or Alive?
It was a hoax that the American veteran actor Wilford Brimley was dead. The truth remains that the news about his death was fake and malicious as Wilford Brimley is still alive, although he has been suffering from diabetes for over four decades now, he has been able to manage the disease and is living quite a normal life.
Height And Other Facts About The Actor
The veteran actor is a Mormon. He enjoys playing poker and has played in the World Series of Poker Main Event.
He was diagnosed with diabetes in 1979 and has worked tirelessly to create awareness of the ailment. Wilford Brimley is known to talk about diabetes a lot online and he takes everything about the ailment seriously.
The Veteran actor is also known to have shown his support for horse-race gambling in Utah. In addition to this, he also was against the banning of cockfighting in New Mexico.
It is worth knowing that apart from his acting, Wilford Brimley is a gifted singer, he released his Jazz Album “This Time, The Dream’s On Me” in 2004, which had songs like “Two for the Road”, “Crazy she called me” and others.
The actor who is not a very tall man stands at an average height of 5 ft 8 inches which approximately is 1.73m.
