Wilford Brimley served in the Marine Corp and took all sorts of odd jobs, but eventually ended up as a celebrity in Hollywood. The veteran actor is known to have had a legendary career, and his characteristic look, consisting of his walrus mustache in addition to his strong accent, distinguishes him in his films. However, behind his flourishing career, Brimley has been struggling with type two diabetes mellitus for over four decades, talking about making a good thing out of a bad experience. The actor has used his predicament as a means to raise awareness of this disease. Let us learn more about this unique Hollywood veteran in this article.
Wilford Brimley Bio
The prominent American film and television actor was born on September 27, 1934, with his full name – Anthony Wilford Brimley in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America. Not much is known about his parents, but his father is said to have worked in a real estate company as an agent. Wilford Brimley started working at a very young age, which led him to drop out of high school to serve in the United States Marine Corps, where he served for three years on the Aleutian Islands. In addition to being the bodyguard for business tycoon Howard Hughes, he did some odd jobs as a blacksmith, wrangler, and rancher.
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Acting Career
Brimley began his acting career as a riding extra and stuntman in the late 1960s. His roles in his first three films Bandolier, True Grit, and Lawman from 1969 to 1971 were not credited to him. In 1979, after eight good years, he was cast as Ted Spindler in the film The China Syndrome, which was his first recognized feature film. Wilford Brimley shot his first leading role in 1985 in Ron Howard’s Cocoon, in which he portrayed Ben Luckett, the leader of a group of geriatric doctors. Between 1979 and 2016, films such as The Electric Rider as Farmer and Borderline USBP as Agent Scooter Jackson were attributed to him. The acting veteran also appeared in the film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins as Agency Director Harold Smith, Murder in Space as Dr. Andrew McAllister, and several other films throughout his career.
In addition to movies, he has had many television appearances in television series such as 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 others.
Brimley Wilford is also known for his numerous commercials, including television commercials for companies such as Quaker Oats and Liberty Medicals. He has also worked as a narrator for Bryan Food Television Commercials.
His Family: Wives And Kids
Wilford Brimley is the father of four children, and it is known that he has married twice. On July 6, 1956, he married his first wife, Lynne Bagley, and together they had four children named James Charles, John Michael, William Carmen, and Lawrence Dean. Layne died in 2000, however, which broke Brimley’s heart forever.
After seven years of losing his first wife, Brimley married Beverly Berry for the second time. The couple is said to live in Greybull, Wyoming, and Santa Clara, Utah, where they both co-founded a non-profit organization called “Hands Across the Saddle”.
Is Wilford Brimley Dead Or Alive?
It was a false report that the American veteran actor Wilford Brimley was dead. The truth remains that the news of his death was fake and malicious, because Wilford Brimley is still alive, even though he has been suffering from diabetes for over four decades, has got the disease under control, and leads a normal life.
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Height And Other Facts About The Actor
- The veteran actor is a Mormon. He enjoys playing poker and has participated in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker.
- He was diagnosed with diabetes in 1979 and has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the disease. Wilford Brimley is known to talk a lot about diabetes online and he takes everything related to the disease very seriously.
- The veteran actor is also known for his commitment to horse racing gambling in Utah. He was also against the ban on cockfighting in New Mexico.
- It is worth knowing that Wilford Brimley is also a gifted singer in addition to his acting. In 2004 he released his jazz album “This Time, The Dream’s On Me”, which included songs like “Two for the Road”, “Crazy she called me” and others.
- The actor, who is not very tall, stands at an average height of 5 ft 8 inches, which is about 1.73m.