(article courtesy of The New York Times)

Portly actor, Wilford Brimley, has died at age 85, from kidney disease, diabetes & a host of other health issues. He died Saturday at a hospital in St. George, Utah. His career spanned several decades & he’s been in several movies including “Absence of Malice,” “The Natural,” “Cocoon” and many other films!

He had been sick for two months with a kidney ailment, said his agent, Lynda Bensky.

Mr. Brimley had played the Walton Mountain resident Horace Brimley in a recurring role on the television series “The Waltons” when Michael Douglas, the producer of “The China Syndrome,” gave him his breakthrough role: Ted Spindler, an assistant engineer at a nuclear plant.

In the film’s climactic scene, in which he is being interviewed by a crusading television reporter played by Jane Fonda, Mr. Brimley delivered an impassioned defense of his boss (Jack Lemmon), who had precipitated a crisis to draw public attention to defects at the plant.

In an article for The New York Times singling out Mr. Brimley as a talent to watch, Janet Maslin called him “the mustachioed man who very nearly steals the ending of ‘China Syndrome’ from Jane Fonda.”

He was also known for his portrayal of Gus Witherspoon, in the 80s TV Show, “Our House” which also featured soap actress, Deidre Hall & 90210 star, Shannon Doherty!