Squire Fridell

Squire Fridell (born February 9, 1943) is an American retired actor, author, and winemaker who is widely known for his prolific work in the field of commercials; in the 1980s alone, Fridell served concurrently as spokesman for Toyota cars and McDonald's, portraying Ronald McDonald.

Early life Fridell was born in Oakland, California. He attended the University of the Pacific where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.

Career Fridell began his acting career on stage in Southern California in 1968. From the 1970s until the mid-1990s, Fridell also had supporting character roles in a number of popular TV series, such as M*A*S*H, Newhart, Ironside and Adam-12.

In 1980, Harmony Books published Fridell's book, Acting in Television Commercials for Fun and Profit, subsequently re-released by Random House in 2005.

Fridell returned as himself in several Toyota commercials in 2010, responding to the image damage the company suffered due to a slow response to safety issues in 2009. Laurel Coppock's "Jan" succeeded Fridell as the company's advertising spokesperson in 2012 and remains to the present day.

He is also the co-owner and operator of GlenLyon Vineyards.

Personal life Squire and Suzanne McDermaid (a professional dancer and dance teacher for many years) were married in 1977. They have one daughter, Lexy, The family currently resides in Glen Ellen (in the Sonoma Valley region of California) where they have operated the GlenLyon Vineyards and Winery since 1989.

His sister Barbara is married to former NFL player and coach Tom Flores.

Filmography YearTitleRoleNotes 1982 Pink Motel George 1983 Imps* Newscaster 1986 Miracles Yates 1988 Mac and Me Ronald McDonald 1990 The Adventures of Ronald McDonald: McTreasure Island Ronald McDonald (voice) Direct-to-video 1995 Village of the Damned The Sheriff

Television

Video games YearTitleRoleNotes 1996 Top Gun: Fire at Will Air Boss