Wilford Brimley

An American actor and singer, Wilford Brimley first jobs was as an extra on Westerns and in just over a decade, he became a well-known character actor in such films as The China Syndrome (1979), The Thing (1982), Tender Mercies (1983) and The Natural (1984) as well as Cocoon and Cocoon:. The Return. He was also known as the spokesman for Quaker Oats in their commercials and numerous roles on tv, including The Waltons, Kung Fu, and Seinfeld.

Hume Cronyn Born July 18, 1911 in London, Ontario, Canada Died June 15, 2003 in Fairfield, Connecticut, USA (prostate cancer) Birth Name Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. Height 5' 6" (1.68 m) Hume Cronyn was born on July 18, 1911 in London, Ontario, Canada as Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. He was an actor and producer, known for Cocoon (1985), *Batteries Not Included (1987) and Shadow of a Doubt (1943). He was married to Susan Cooper, Jessica Tandy and Emily Woodruff. He died on June 15, 2003 in Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Spouse (3) Susan Cooper (20 July 1996 - 15 June 2003) ( his death) Jessica Tandy (27 September 1942 - 11 September 1994) ( her death) ( 2 children: son: Christopher Cronyn, daughter: Tandy Cronyn. Emily Woodruff (22 June 1935 - 18 June 1936) ( divorced) 1932: Member of the Kappa Alpha Society at the McGill University. Won a Tony Award in 1964 for his performance as Polonius in the Richard Burton Broadway production of "Hamlet" which was recorded live on stage and shown in movie theaters the same year (Hamlet (1964)). His father Hume Blake Cronyn Sr. has an observatory dedicated to him in the University of Western Ontario. The refractor telescope was the largest ever built in the western hemisphere at the time. Although not widely known, he had a glass eye, having lost the real one to cancer. Attended Ridley College, St. Catharines, Ontario Became a US citizen late in life. Appeared as Sosigenes in Cleopatra (1963), At time of death had eight grandchildren and five great-granchildren. Son: Christopher Cronyn, daughter: Tandy Cronyn. Granddaughter: Katherine Cronyn. Stepchildren: Jonathan Grant and Kate Glennon. Starred (with wife Jessica Tandy) as Ben Marriott on NBC Radio's "The Marriage" (1953-1954). Won two Tony Awards: in 1964, as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for playing Polonius in Shakespeare/s "Hamlet," and, in 1994, a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement that was shared with his wife, Jessica Tandy. And he was nominated six other times: as Best Actor (Dramatic), in 1961 for: "Big Fish, Little Fish" and in 1967 for Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance;" as Best Actor (Play), in 1978 for "The Gin Game" and in 1986 for "The Petition;" as Producer (Dramatic), in 1965 as co-producer of Best Play nominee "Slow Dance on the Killing Ground;" and as co-producer in 1978 of Best Play nominee "The Gin Game.". 1990: He and wife Jessica Tandy were both honored with the American National Medal of the Arts from the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington DC. In 1946 Elia Kazan, looking for an actress to play Blanche Dubois in his upcoming Broadway production of "Streetcar Named Desire", saw a Los Angeles production of Tennessee Williams' earlier play "Portrait of a Madonna" in which Cronyn directed his wife Jessica Tandy. He was so impressed by her performance that he offered her the role. 1972: Won an 1972-1973 Obie for Distinguished Performance for "Krapp's Last Tape". Was once a boxer who was nominated for the Canadian Olympic boxing team. 7/11/88: He was awarded the O.C. (Officer of the Order of Canada) for his services to drama. The original screenplay of The Locket (1946), called "What Nancy Wanted", was written by Norma Barzman, who was married to writer Ben Barzman, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy "Red Scare" period of the 1940s and 1950s. She sold the script to Cronyn, who planned to direct the film with wife Jessica Tandy starring. Cronyn then sold the script to RKO, which assigned Sheridan Gibney to rewrite it. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 112-114. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007. Inducted to Canada's Walk of Fame in 1999. Acted with the Montreal repertory Company while still a student at McGill. He and wife Jessica Tandy partnered on screen in 13 movies between 1944 and 1994, usually playing a couple: The Seventh Cross (1944), Blonde Fever (1944), The Green Years (1946), The Moon and Sixpence (1959), Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), The World According to Garp (1982), Cocoon (1985), *batteries not included (1987), Foxfire (1987), Cocoon: The Return (1988), The Story Lady (1991), To Dance with the White Dog (1993) and Camilla (1994). He met wife Jessica Tandy in 1940 and they married in 1942. During the shooting of There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) Cronyn was diagnosed with optic cancer which required the removal of an eye. Although this news upset director Joseph L. Mankiewicz very much, Cronyn was more than willing to work longer hours to complete his scenes and make him available for the necessary surgery. He was awarded the 1971 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Performance for his performance in the play, "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial," at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California. He was awarded the 1985 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Performance in Leading Role for the play, "Foxfire" at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California. He was nominated for a 1978 Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award for Best Actor in a Play for "The Gin Game" on Broadway in New York City. Personal Quotes (5) The whole business of marshaling one's energies becomes more and more important as one grows older. To act you must have a sense of truth and some degree of dedication. [he one rule he follows as an actor] If you're doing the devil, look for the angel in him. If you're doing the angel, look for the devil in him. [on why he asked to be released from his MGM contract] I remember beginning to realize that I was never going to do anything in California, but be another useful character actor, and that could continue that career indefinitely if I were prepared to. [on working with Hitchcock] It was all cut in his head. You shot from the angle he wanted shot, with the result that very little film ended up on the floor. You really felt that you were in the presence of someone who was a real master of the craft.