The curmudgeonly actor is known for ‘Cocoon’ and ‘The Natural’ dies at 85. Wilford Brimley’s death cause is announced. His manager Lynda Bensky declared the actor died Saturday morning in a Utah hospital.
The mustached Brimley was a well-known face for many roles, often playing rough characters like his grizzled baseball manager in “The Natural.”
His agent, Lynda Bensky, published that he had been sick with a kidney problem for two months.
“Wilford Brimley was a man you could trust. He said what he meant and he meant what he said. I’m sad that I will no longer get to hear my friend’s wonderful stories. He was one of a kind,” Lynda Bensky, the actor’s spokesperson said.
Brimley was known as the face of Quaker Oats and for his role in long-running diabetes campaigns. He starred in more than 70 television shows and on film, becoming a household name that spanned decades.
Wilford Brimley is a dry-witted delight in this segment with Craig and completes the evening by winning the Golden Mouth Organ.
Brimley’s most famous work was in “Cocoon,” in which he was part of a group of seniors who find an alien pod that rejuvenates them. The 1985 Ron Howard film won two Oscars, including a supporting actor honor for Don Ameche.
What was Wilford Brimley’s death cause?
He was on dialysis and had several medical ailments, she said. Lynda also didn’t elaborate more on Wilford Brimley’s death cause.
Brimley had been on dialysis and had other medical problems near the end of his life, and died Saturday morning. He passed away at the ICU at the hospital in St. George, Utah.
His talent agent Dominic Mancini shared a statement, writing: “He was a wonderful man, a joy to be around, and his dry sense of humor and iconic voice left an everlasting impression on every person he met. I was lucky to call him a friend.”
“To know Wilford was to love Wilford. He had an amazing career and sliced through the screen with his dry wit, stoic stature, and powerful conveyance. His unique blend of unexpected comedy and indelible storytelling will always remain unmatched.” He continued.
He never was a fan of Hollywood: “Too many people, too congested and too fast,” he said. However, the actor also had a long history in television.
Brimley is survived by his wife Beverly and three sons.
Wilford Brimley career
To mention television works, Brimley starred in the 1986–88 NBC family drama “Our House” as a retired widower. After the death of his son in the movie story, he 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 impressive fellow who didn’t much like fast-talkers or a fast life, he regularly played a blue-collar or folksy kind of guy who didn’t hesitate to let you know what was on his mind.
Brimley’s stock surged in “Sydney Pollack’s Absence of Malice” (1981). He turned in a smoldering act as an assistant U.S. attorney general in the Paul Newman drama. Pollack, who had employed Brimley for 1979’s The Electric Horseman, later cast the actor against type as a sinister security chief in 1983’s The Firm.
Anthony Wilford Brimley biography
Anthony Wilford Brimley (born September 27, 1934) is an American actor. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is a former United States Marine.
He has diabetes which he speaks openly about in his commercials for Liberty Medical. Wilford Brimley’s death cause is due to his long diseases.
Wilford Brimley was born on September 27, 1934, in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA as Anthony Wilford Brimley. He is known for his work on Cocoon (1985), The Natural (1984), and The Thing (1982).
He was married to Beverly Berry and Lynne Brimley. He died on August 1, 2020, in St. George, Utah. Has four sons with his wife, Lynne Brimley: Jim Brimley, John Brimley, Bill Brimley, and Lawrence Brimley (deceased).
His quotes
“Look, I like people very much. I’m not very good with people, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I do like them. Because we actors are on that great big screen and so many people see us, we become familiar. People speak to us as if they’ve known us all our lives. That just tickles me to death.”
“I just try to be myself. (on his acting technique)”
“I thought The Thing stunk. The instant [John Carpenter] said, ‘Action,’ I knew I was in deep water.”
