In its third season, “Yellowstone” did something unusual: it included an in-memoriam title card for an actor who had never worked on the show. The star in question was Wilford Brimley, the former Western actor who appeared in touchstones of the genre like “True Grit,” “Gore Vidal’s Billy the Kid,” “Lawman,” and more. Though Brimley hadn’t actually appeared on Taylor Sheridan’s wildly popular Montana-set drama before he died in 2020, he still earned a farewell note within the show. “In loving memory of Wilford Brimley,” a title card accompanying the penultimate episode of season 3 read, continuing: “A cowboy, an artist, and a damn good friend.”
There don’t seem to be any links between “Yellowstone” and Brimley, aside from the fact that the former clearly takes inspiration from classic Westerns like those the legendary actor starred in throughout the 20th century. Series star Kevin Costner never acted alongside Brimley and never appeared in any Sheridan-written projects, so it seems likely that this was as simple as a show of love from a fan of the actor’s work. There is one connection between the two though: Brimley was born in Utah and reportedly lived there at least part-time until his death, and “Yellowstone” filmed its first three seasons in Utah before moving production to Montana.
Despite all this, fans of “Yellowstone” apparently continue to confuse Brimley for an actor who did appear in the show to this day. According to ScreenRant, viewers took to social media after the season 4 episode “Under a Blanket of Red,” convinced that guest actor Barry Corbin was Brimley.
An unexpected homage to a Western legend
Though Brimley had passed at the time, it’s understandable that viewers may have assumed a cameo was filmed before his death, and Corbin does bear some resemblance to Brimley. Another seasoned on-screen cowboy, Corbin has appeared in films like “No Country For Old Men,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “The Homesman,” “Lonesome Dove,” and more.
For fans in a certain age bracket, Brimley was more recognizable for his commercial appearances than his film roles. Later in life, the actor represented Liberty Medical’s diabetes testing supplies in ubiquitous commercials that made him a household name even for folks who hadn’t seen his turns in “The Thing,” “Cocoon,” and many other movies. Brimley’s commercials — and his pronunciation of the word “diabetes” — became so famous that he even got the “Family Guy” parody treatment, so when fans of “Yellowstone” saw an older gentleman with a considerable white mustache playing a ranch worker in the show’s fourth season, there was some understandable confusion.
As unorthodox as the in memoriam title card for “Yellowstone” may seem, it’s not the only time the show has paid respects to a famed artist whose work viewers might not recognize. In the show’s fourth season, the show also included a note paying homage to John Prine, an influential country and folk singer whose songs have appeared in the series. Prine died in 2020, and an episode dedicated to his memory also included the song “Caravan of Fools.” Personally, I think the “Yellowstone” method of paying homage to artists who greatly influenced a show is a good one, no matter how puzzled it may leave some fans.
You can check out the episodes of “Yellowstone” in question on Peacock, and catch the show’s final chapters when it returns in 2024.
