Wilford Brimley, the actor known for his work in Cocoon, The Natural and The Thing, has died. He was 85.
Brimley, whose additional credits include The Electric Horseman and The Hotel New Hampshire, died Saturday at an ICU in St. George, Utah, a rep for the actor confirmed to Deadline. The actor had been on dialysis and experienced other medical problems leading up to his passing, the rep added.
Born in 1934 in Salt Lake City, Brimley had a film and television career with scores of roles to his name. From his time in the film and television industry, mainly in the 1970s, Brimley has taken on a wide variety of roles including Grandpa Sam Ferrans in Summer of the Monkeys, Chief Hawkins in My Fellow Americans and governor in The Round and Round.
From 1986 to 1988, Brimley starred as Gus Witherspoon in the family drama Our House. He appeared on the show for 46 episodes. The actor worked alongside Deidre Hall, Shannen Doherty and Keri Houlihan, playing the family patriarch.
The actor’s last credit was as pastor in Juergen Peretzki and Stacey Peretzki 2017 film I Believe.
In addition to staring in various films and television series, Brimley was also the face of Quaker Oats throughout the 1990s. The actor appeared in multiple commercials for the quick oats brand.
He is survived by his wife Beverly and three sons.