Crossing the Lines

Left to right: Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn and Don Ameche, in Cocoon

Today, I learned about The Brimley/Cocoon Line. A feed on BlueSky dedicated it said:

Born Nov. 11, 1974, Leonardo DiCaprio is 18,530 days old today, matching Wilford Brimley’s age on the day ‘Cocoon’ was released. Congrats Leo! You’ve reached the Brimley/Cocoon Line. 

The old people in the movie, released in 1985 and directed by Ron Howard, were Don Ameche, 77; Jack Gilford, about to turn 77; Hume Cronyn, 74; Jessica Tandy, Cronyn's wife, also 74; Herta Ware, 68; Maureen Stapleton, 60; Gwen Verdon, also 60; and Wilford Brimley, described in the film review written for Time magazine by Richard Corliss as "53, but he can pass for old," but, really, only 50. Brian Dennehy, about to turn 47, wasn't yet considered "old." Nor were Steve Guttenberg, 26; Tyrone Power Jr., Tyrone's son, also 26; or Latanee "Tahnee" Welch, Raquel's daughter, 23.

Brimley had become famous the year before, playing Pop Fisher, the manager of the New York Knights, in the film The Natural. He already had white receding hair and a bushy mustache, so he looked considerably older. Having to stand alongside a 45-year-old but still dashing Robert Redford, the Depression setting of the film, the baggy uniform, and the dilapidated condition of the main filming location, War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, didn't help how he looked.

He later became a spokesman for Quaker Oats, looking older than the old Quaker man on the container; and for diabetes awareness and an insurance company, and lived until 2020. It wasn't COVID that killed him, it was diabetes-aided kidney failure. He was 85, and looked it -- but had looked 85 for years.

Seeing the words "Brimley/Cocoon Line" made me think of the various "age lines" I've crossed. I was born on December 18, 1969, so:

* I outlived every rock star in "The 27 Club," including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, on December 18, 1997 -- the day Chris Farley died.

* Thurman Munson died at 32 years, 1 month and 26 days. I outlived him on February 9, 2002.

* Farley's hero, John Belushi, died at 33 years, 1 month and 9 days. I outlived him on January 28, 2003.

* Farley died at 33 years, 10 months and 3 days. I outlived him on October 22, 2003.

* Diana Spencer, former Princess of Wales, died at 36 years, 1 month and 30 days. I outlived her on February 18, 2006.

* Marilyn Monroe died at 36 years, 2 months and 4 days. I outlived her on February 23, 2006. (Elton John wrote his most famous song about Marilyn, then rewrote it for Diana -- and they were almost the exact same age when they died!)

* Lou Gehrig died at 37 years, 11 months and 15 days. I outlived him on December 4, 2007.

* Martin Luther King Jr. died at 39 years, 2 months and 20 days. I outlived him on March 7, 2010.

* John Lennon died at 40 years, 1 month and 29 days. I outlived him on February 18, 2010.

* Robert F. Kennedy died at 42 years, 6 months and 16 days. I outlived him on July 7, 2012.

* Elvis Presley died at 42 years, 7 months and 8 days. I outlived him on July 27, 2012.

* John F. Kennedy died at 46 years, 5 months and 24 days. I outlived him on June 13, 2016.

* The Brimley/Cocoon Line is 50 years, 8 months and 26 days. I reached it on September 13, 2020.

* Babe Ruth died at 53 years, 6 months and 10 days. I outlived him on July 29, 2023.

To match my grandparents, I would have to make it to early 2027, early 2035, early 2048, and late 2051. To match my father, I would have to make it to early 2041. To match my mother's current age, I would have to make it to mid-2048.

To match Donald Trump's current age, I would have to make it to early 2049. But I was more mature than he was when I was 14.