DOUGLAS — Actor Wilford Brimley will be on the Cochise College Douglas Campus as part of a fundraiser for the Cochise rodeo program at 6 p.m. Nov. 15.
Tickets are on sale now by calling (520) 417-4735 and cost $25 each or $125 for a table of six. The evening includes a meet-and-greet with the rodeo team, a barbecue pulled pork buffet and a talk by Brimley, who starred in “Cocoon” and “The Natural,” among other notable roles in television shows, commercials and films.
Wilford Brimley.
He’s also a good friend to Cochise College rodeo coach Rick Smith, who met Brimley in the late 1980s through Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer Lewis Feild. Several years later, Brimley moved to Wyoming and started a charity with his wife, Beverly, in 2009 called Hands Across the Saddle (HATS), a crisis fund for residents of the Big Horn Basin region of the state. Early on, as part of a fundraising event held at Brimley’s ranch, Feild helped organize a saddle bronc riding match, which Smith took over after “Lewis got too busy.”
“What I found is there’s no estimating how big Wilford’s heart is,” Smith said. “He just has a sincerity about him that you don’t find in too many people. He’s a very nice man and easy to be around. He’s excited to come down here.”
Smith and Brimley bonded over their mutual interest in horses. Brimley often acts as the ring man at the Smith family’s horse sales held in Wyoming twice a year, and he has previously spoken at a rodeo fundraising event held at Smith’s former coaching stomping grounds, Central Wyoming.
“A lot of his message will probably be directed toward the rodeo kids, but he’ll tell a couple of stories that will be entertaining; he’s got hundreds of them,” Smith said. “I don’t want to speak for him, but to me he has accomplished a lot in his life and has been through a lot, so he has no reason to try to impress anyone and he’s just a genuine person.”
The 2014 Cochise College rodeo team.
Brimley dropped out of high school to serve as a Marine for three years during the Korean War. Following an honorable discharge, he spent several years as a ranch hand, wrangler and blacksmith at locations across the Western U.S., including stables in California that supply horses for films and TV shows.
He got his start in Hollywood as an extra and stunt rider in Western films before his friend Robert Duvall encouraged him to pursue larger roles. He landed parts in “True Grit” (1969) and “Lawman” (1971), along with a recurring role on “The Waltons,” before his big break came in “The China Syndrome,” released in 1979.
In 1999, Brimley, who has diabetes, became the spokesman for Liberty Medical, a home delivery service of medical supplies. He is also known for his Quaker Oats ads that aired through the 1980s and ’90s.
“It’s been a blessing to meet him,” Smith said. “To develop a friendship with him and his wife, Beverly. They’re good people. I think a lot of that guy.”
During the day on Nov. 15, the public is invited to watch a rodeo team clinic featuring Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) team roper Jake Barnes, which will begin around 9 a.m. and end around 4 p.m. at the rodeo grounds on the northeast end of the Douglas Campus.
Cochise College is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a number of events held at locations across Cochise County. For a complete list of activities, visit www.cochise.edu/50.