# Aw man, Tom Selleck has become Wilfred Brimley **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414 "2020-01-14T17:05:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/21 "2020-01-15T04:41:56Z")
No. It was the usual Hollywood magic, that aged him before youthifying him. From the wiki bio: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Brimley was only 49 when he was cast in the role, and turned 50 during filming; he was at least 20 years younger than any of the actors playing the other retirement home actors. In order to look the part, Brimley bleached his hair and moustache to turn them grey, and had wrinkles and liver spots drawn on his face. > **[Wilford Brimley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilford_Brimley)** > > Anthony Wilford Brimley (September 27, 1934 – August 1, 2020) was an American actor. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and working odd jobs in the 1950s, Brimley started working as an extra and stuntman in Western films in the late 1960s. He became an established character actor in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as The China Syndrome (1979), The Thing (1982), Tender Mercies (1983), The Natural (1984), and Cocoon (1985). Brimley was known for playing characters at times much older tha... ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/22 "2020-01-15T11:40:37Z")
> [@bump](#): > > The guy turns 75 in a little over two weeks. Give him a break! > > For his age, he looks spectacular. Lots of 75 year olds are bald/white haired, stooped, palsied, using wheelchairs/walkers, etc… That’s what I thinking. Wilfred reached “old man Wilfred Brimley” status around 50. Magnum made it to 75. I will be happy to be somewhere in between. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/23 "2020-01-15T14:30:22Z")
Similarly, Abe Vigoda was in his early 50s during Barney Miller. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/24 "2020-01-15T14:34:19Z")
[Rock Me Diabeetus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOFw59gXe2I) (Wilford Brimley singing to the tune of “Rock Me Amadeus”) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/25 "2020-01-15T14:39:55Z")
Well, he is “old folks” now. I’ve seen “Quigley Down Under”, though, and he was definitely a heart throb back then. That was 30 years ago, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/26 "2020-01-15T16:10:17Z")
I was just commenting on that horrible Tom Selleck ad to a friend, and he reminded me of the time that [Sam Waterston](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Gh_IcK8UM) sold out to scaring old people. ETA: which makes me wonder how many times [this company](https://www.oldgloryinsurance.com/) must have received inquiries about that particular line of insurance product. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/27 "2020-01-15T19:21:58Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > [Rock Me Diabeetus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOFw59gXe2I) (Wilford Brimley singing to the tune of “Rock Me Amadeus”) That made me LOL. Here is another one “[Ice Ice Brimley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i6HkV_jO0o)” Both Selleck and Brimley have that whole mustache thing going on so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/28 "2020-01-15T20:52:13Z")
I am hopelessly devoted to Trek. I remember seeing the very first episode when I was in eighth grade. In my mind, the Trek characters will live forever. But the actors who portrayed the original characters in TOS, sadly, will not. I truly grieved when Leonard Nimoy died, and I haven’t been able to watch Star Trek II again since. William Shatner is hanging in there. And some fans have butchered and barbecued the man because he doesn’t look like Captain Kirk from 50 years ago. One picture floated around the internet of Shatner in swim trunks at the beach, and there’s no question he’s quite fat. So what? He’s **88** for GAWD’S sake! Celebrate him, celebrate his long life, celebrate his contribution to bring Gene Roddenberry’s creation to existence! Lord knows, I don’t look like I did 50 years ago! When I look in the mirror today, I see my mother’s face. And that brings up a completely different thought for a thread, since Momma’s been dead for over 20 years. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/29 "2020-01-15T21:03:10Z")
88? That’s beyond merely elderly; that’s verging on downright ancient. He seems to be doing rather spectacularly for someone his age, AFAICT. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/30 "2020-01-15T21:08:22Z")
Moved to CS. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/31 "2020-01-15T21:26:04Z")
I was shook up when Luke Perry (RIP) appeared on the cover of the AARP magazine. I mean, DYLAN MCKAY IS A MEMBER OF THE AARP?!?! I mean, when I was in middle school, he was on the cover of “Sixteen” and “Tiger Beat”. That’s just wrong. And now Dennis Quaid is advertising car insurance. Yeesh. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/32 "2020-01-15T21:42:41Z")
You either die a hero, or live long enough to hype reverse mortgages. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/33 "2020-01-15T21:53:53Z")
Shatner hawks INOGEN, the type of oxygen-concentrating device Nimoy used towards the end. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/34 "2020-01-15T22:42:11Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I was shook up when Luke Perry (RIP) appeared on the cover of the AARP magazine. I mean, DYLAN MCKAY IS A MEMBER OF THE AARP?!?! I mean, when I was in middle school, he was on the cover of “Sixteen” and “Tiger Beat”. > That’s just wrong. Of course he was already like 50 when he was a teenager on 90210. Which was a different kind of wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/35 "2020-01-15T23:39:58Z")
All I know is Tom Baker, my beloved Fourth Doctor, will be 86 this Monday. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/36 "2020-01-15T23:48:30Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > All I know is Tom Baker, my beloved Fourth Doctor, will be 86 this Monday. Wow. I would have pegged him as early-seventies when he cameoed in _The Day of the Doctor_. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/37 "2020-01-16T02:43:31Z")
Every time the Tom Selleck reverse mortgage commercial comes on, I have to add my own commentary. Near the end of the ad, Selleck is making clear that the loan must be paid back like any other loan. However, with this reverse mortgage you can choose to pay small payments as you’re able or “you can choose to pay the loan in one lump sum when you leave your home.” I always add, “The word is ‘die’, Tom. Die.” ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/38 "2020-01-16T05:05:51Z")
Henry Winkler has also been hawking reverse mortgages. I saw Richard Thomas on a TV show a few years ago (IIRC, “Madam Secretary” and didn’t recognize him until I heard his voice! Even the big mole on his cheek has faded. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/39 "2020-01-16T13:54:14Z")
And Joe Namath is pitching the “Medicare Coverage Helpline” (which we are told in the small print, has no affiliation with any government agency.) I guess doing ads for panty hose is out of the question at this late date. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414/40 "2020-01-16T14:03:18Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > And Joe Namath is pitching the “Medicare Coverage Helpline” (which we are told in the small print, has no affiliation with any government agency.) I guess doing ads for panty hose is out of the question at this late date. That he is doing an ad for anything other than booze is also pretty amazing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-man-tom-selleck-has-become-wilfred-brimley/846414.md?page=3)