Wilford Brimley, star of Cocoon, The Thing, The Firm & more dead at 85

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Some sad news this weekend, with it revealed via Deadline that classic character actor Wilford Brimley, an icon to many of us who grew up in the eighties and nineties, has died at age 85. Known for his gruff voice and walrus-like mustache, he was an iconic presence in movies like COCOON, where he played one of the seniors who's given his youth back after a dip in a pool containing friendly alien pods. Fun fact, Brimley, who always looked much older than he was, was only forty-nine when he played the part and was twenty years younger than most of his co-stars in the Ron Howard classic.

Of course, he was also well-known for being the "Quaker Oats" pitchman, as well as for his series of diabetes PSA's which became a meme years later. It's worth noting that Brimley always had a good sense of humor about this, even maintaining a Twitter page until fairly recently. For me, I'll always remember Brimley for playing Jean-Claude Van Damme's Cajun uncle in the John Woo classic, HARD TARGET, and some of his meatier character roles, such as in ABSENCE OF MALICE, THE NATURAL, THE THING, THE FIRM, and of course EWOKS: THE BATTLE FOR ENDOR (check out our Awfully Good for this one below). He was one of a kind and will be missed!