An American actor and singer best known for portraying gruff but sentimental characters, Wilford Brimley first established himself as a bit player in Hollywood Westerns before breaking out as a popular character actor and occasional leading man in the late '70s and '80s. With his trademark mustache and brusque, matter-of-fact delivery, he became widely recognized for his work in films like Cocoon, The Natural, and The Firm, as well as for being the television spokesman for Quaker Oats and the American Diabetes Association. Since 1990, Brimley made a number of forays into music, recording several albums of jazz standards and cowboy songs as well as a spoken word album. A native of Salt Lake City, Brimley has always been drawn to the lifestyle and culture of the American West. After serving for three years as a Marine in the Aleutian Islands, he held a number of different jobs including ranch hand, blacksmith, wrangler, bodyguard to director Howard Hughes, and farrier for the film and television industry. A natural horseman, Brimley's first appearances as an actor came in the late '60s when he found work as both a riding extra and an occasional stuntman in several Westerns. Over time he began to earn larger roles, appearing as a regular on the popular '70s family television series The Waltons, and in films like The China Syndrome (1979) and Absence of Malice (1981). During his '80s heyday, Brimley became a widely known character actor with breakout roles in films like The Natural (1984) and Cocoon (1985) and was, for many years, the public face of Quaker Oats, appearing in numerous commercials for the brand, delivering his signature slogan "it's the right thing to do and a tasty way to do it." A lifetime lover of music, particularly songs from the classic American songbook, Brimley collaborated with legendary jazz bassist and bandleader Don Bagley on the 1990 album I'm Old Fashioned. In a talk-sing style not unlike his readings as an actor, he applied his warm vibrato to standards like "My Funny Valentine" and "It Had to Be You," as well as Kermit the Frog's immortal "Being Green." While his modest music career has never eclipsed his recognition as an actor or spokesman for the American Diabetes Association, Brimley has kept up occasional appearances as a singer both on album and stage. He released another collection of jazz standards called This Time, The Dream's on Me, in 2004. On a 2011 panel appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, he unexpectedly delivered a rousing version of "Oh! Susanna" on the harmonica and two years later recorded a collaborative album, Home on the Range, with cowboy group Riders in the Sky. Also in 2013, he made a third album of standards accompanied by the Jeff Hamilton Trio. 2017's Before I Forget found the actor reciting a series of Western stories in his trademark drawl set to acoustic accompaniment from multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tilby. Brimley died on August 1, 2020 at the age of 85, after being ill with a kidney condition for two months. ~ Timothy Monger