Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Wilford Brimley dropped out of high school and worked as a ranch hand before joining the Marines in 1953, serving for three years. He picked up a job shoeing horses for film and television, and in the 1960s began stepping in as a riding extra/stuntman in westerns. Early uncredited acting roles include roles in the 1969 film True Grit, and in the 1971 film Lawman. His onscreen breakthrough came in the role of Walton's Mountain resident and blacksmith Horace Brimley, in the 1970s television series The Waltons.
Wilford Brimley died of complications from a kidney condition at the age of 85.
