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person_profile-Chill Wills

Chill Wills Died at age: 76

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Chill Wills

Date of Birth:

Jul 18, 1902

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Dec 15, 1978

Biography of

Chill Wills

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

    Chill Theodore Wills (July 18, 1902 – December 15, 1978) was an American film actor, and a singer in the Avalon Boys Quartet.

    He was a performer from early childhood, forming and leading the Avalon Boys singing group in the 1930s. After appearing in a few westerns he disbanded the group in 1938, and struck out on a solo acting career.

    One of his more memorable roles was that of the distinctive voice of Francis the Mule in a series of popular films. Wills' deep, rough voice, with its Western twang, was matched to the personality of the cynical, sardonic mule. As was customary at the time, Wills was given no billing for his vocal work, though he was featured prominently on-screen as blustery General Ben Kaye in the fourth entry, Francis Joins the WACS. He provided the deep voice for Stan Laurel's performance of "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" in Way Out West (1937), in which the Avalon Boys Quartet appeared.

    Wills was cast in numerous serious film roles, including as "the city of Chicago" as personified by a phantom police sergeant in the film noir City That Never Sleeps (1953), and that of Uncle Bawley in Giant (1956), which also features Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. Wills was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his role as Davy Crockett's companion "Beekeeper" in the film The Alamo (1960). However, his aggressive campaign for the award was considered tasteless by many, including the film's star/director/producer John Wayne, who publicly apologized for Wills. Wills' publicity agent, W.S. "Bow-Wow" Wojciechowicz, accepted blame for the ill-advised effort, claiming that Wills had known nothing about it. The Oscar was instead won by Peter Ustinov for his role as Lentulus Batiatus in Spartacus.

    In Rory Calhoun's CBS western series The Texan, Wills appeared in the lead role in the 1960 episode entitled "The Eyes of Captain Wylie".

    Wills starred in the short-run series Frontier Circus which aired for only one season (1961–62) on CBS. In 1966, he was cast in the role of a shady Texas rancher, Jim Ed Love, in the short-lived ABC comedy/western series The Rounders (reprising his role in the 1965 film The Rounders, starring Henry Fonda), with co-stars Ron Hayes, Patrick Wayne and Walker Edmiston.

    in 1963-64, Wills joined William Lundigan, Walter Brennan and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in making appearances on behalf of U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee in the campaign against U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.

    In 1968, Wills refused to support Richard Nixon for the presidency and served as master of ceremonies for George C. Wallace, former governor of Alabama, for the California campaign stops in Wallace's presidential campaign.[5] Wills was among the few Hollywood celebrities to endorse Wallace's bid against Nixon and Hubert H. Humphrey; another was Walter Brennan.

    Also in 1968, he starred in the Gunsmoke episode "A Noose for Dobie Price", where he played Elihu Gorman, a former outlaw who joins forces with Marshal Matt Dillon, played by James Arness, to track down a member of his former gang who has escaped jail. His last role was in 1978, as a janitor in Stubby Pringle's Christmas. CLR

    Description above from the Wikipedia article Chill Wills, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Photos of

Chill Wills

Photos ( 2 Photos

Filmography of

Chill Wills

Found 107 Movies in total

... 2004

That's Entertainment! III

(archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1994

Stubby Pringle's Christmas

The Janitor ( Actor )

... 1978

Poco… Little Dog Lost

Big Burt ( Actor )

... 1977

Mr. Billion

Col. Clayton T. Winkle ( Actor )

... 1977

It's Showtime

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1976

... 1973

Guns of a Stranger

Tom Duncan ( Actor )

... 1973

The Steagle

Tall Guy McCoy ( Actor )

... 1971

The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again

Gentleman George Agnew ( Actor )

... 1970

... 1970

The Over the Hill Gang

Gentleman George Agnew ( Actor )

... 1969

... 1969

Fireball 500

Big Jaw ( Actor )

... 1966

The Rounders

Jim Ed Love ( Actor )

... 1965

The Cardinal

Monsignor ( Actor )

... 1963

The Wheeler Dealers

Jay Ray Spinelby ( Actor )

... 1963

McLintock!

Drago ( Actor )

... 1963

Young Guns of Texas

Preacher Sam Shelby ( Actor )

... 1962

... 1961

... 1961

Gold of the Seven Saints

Doc Wilson Gates, M.D. ( Actor )

... 1961

Where the Boys Are

Police Captain ( Actor )

... 1960

The Alamo

Beekeeper ( Actor )

... 1960

Disneyland '59

Self ( Actor )

... 1959

The Sad Horse

Capt. Connors ( Actor )

... 1959

From Hell to Texas

Amos Bradley ( Actor )

... 1958

Gun Glory

Preacher ( Actor )

... 1957

Gun for a Coward

Loving ( Actor )

... 1956

Giant

Uncle Bawley ( Actor )

... 1956

Santiago

Captain 'Sidewheel' Jones ( Actor )

... 1956

Francis in the Haunted House

Francis (as Francis the Talking Mule) ( Actor )

... 1956

Kentucky Rifle

Tobias Taylor ( Actor )

... 1956

Francis in the Navy

Francis (voice) (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1955

Timberjack

Steve Riika ( Actor )

... 1955

Hell's Outpost

Kevin Russell ( Actor )

... 1954

Ricochet Romance

Tom Williams ( Actor )

... 1954

Francis Joins the WACS

Francis (as Francis the Talking Muke) ( Actor )

... 1954

Tumbleweed

Sheriff Murchoree ( Actor )

... 1953

The Man from the Alamo

John Gage ( Actor )

... 1953

City That Never Sleeps

Sgt. Joe, the 'Voice of Chicago' ( Actor )

... 1953

Francis Covers the Big Town

Francis (as Franis the Talking Mule) ( Actor )

... 1953

Ride the Man Down

Ike Adams ( Actor )

... 1952

Francis Goes to West Point

Francis (as Francis the Talking Mule) ( Actor )

... 1952

Bronco Buster

Dan Bream ( Actor )

... 1952

The Sea Hornet

Swede ( Actor )

... 1951

Cattle Drive

Dallas ( Actor )

... 1951

Francis Goes to the Races

Francis The Talking Mule (as Francis the Talking Mule) ( Actor )

... 1951

Oh! Susanna

Sgt. Barhydt ( Actor )

... 1951

Rio Grande

Dr. Wilkins ( Actor )

... 1950

High Lonesome

Boatwhistle ( Actor )

... 1950

Stella

Chief Clark ( Actor )

... 1950

Rock Island Trail

Hogger McCoy ( Actor )

... 1950

Francis

Francis the Talking Mule (voice) ( Actor )

... 1950

The Sundowners

Sam Beers ( Actor )

... 1950

Red Canyon

Brackton ( Actor )

... 1949

Tulsa

Pinky Jimpson (Narrator) ( Actor )

... 1949

Loaded Pistols

Sheriff Cramer ( Actor )

... 1948

Family Honeymoon

Fred ( Actor )

... 1948

That Wonderful Urge

Homer Beggs ( Actor )

... 1948

The Saxon Charm

Captain Chatham ( Actor )

... 1948

Northwest Stampede

Mileaway ( Actor )

... 1948

The Sainted Sisters

Will Twitchell ( Actor )

... 1948

Heartaches

'Breezie' Mann ( Actor )

... 1947

High Barbaree

Lars (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1947

The Yearling

Buck Forrester ( Actor )

... 1946

Gallant Bess

Chief Petty Officer ( Actor )

... 1946

The Harvey Girls

H.H. Hartsey ( Actor )

... 1946

Leave Her to Heaven

Leick Thome ( Actor )

... 1945

What Next, Corporal Hargrove?

Sgt. Cramp ( Actor )

... 1945

I'll Be Seeing You

Swanson ( Actor )

... 1944

... 1944

Meet Me in St. Louis

Mr. Neely ( Actor )

... 1944

Barbary Coast Gent

Sheriff Hightower ( Actor )

... 1944

See Here, Private Hargrove

First Sgt. Cramp ( Actor )

... 1944

Best Foot Forward

Chester Short ( Actor )

... 1943

A Stranger in Town

Charles Craig ( Actor )

... 1943

Stand by for Action

Mate Jenks, Chef-Bootsmann ( Actor )

... 1942

Apache Trail

'Pike' Skelton ( Actor )

... 1942

The Omaha Trail

Henry Hawkins ( Actor )

... 1942

Her Cardboard Lover

Judge ( Actor )

... 1942

Tarzan's New York Adventure

Manchester Montford ( Actor )

... 1942

The Bugle Sounds

Sgt. Larry Dillon ( Actor )

... 1942

Honky Tonk

The Sniper ( Actor )

... 1941

Belle Starr

Blue Duck ( Actor )

... 1941

Billy the Kid

Tom Patterson ( Actor )

... 1941

The Bad Man

'Red' Giddings ( Actor )

... 1941

Western Union

Homer Kettle ( Actor )

... 1941

Tugboat Annie Sails Again

Shiftless ( Actor )

... 1940

Sky Murder

Sheriff Beckwith ( Actor )

... 1940

The Westerner

Southeast ( Actor )

... 1940

Wyoming

Lafe ( Actor )

... 1940

Boom Town

Harmony Jones ( Actor )

... 1940

Allegheny Uprising

M'Cammon ( Actor )

... 1939

The Day the Bookies Wept

Man on Bus (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1939

Timber Stampede

Whopper Hatch ( Actor )

... 1939

Racketeers of the Range

Whopper Hatch ( Actor )

... 1939

Sorority House

Mr. Johnson ( Actor )

... 1939

Trouble in Sundown

Whopper ( Actor )

... 1939

Arizona Legion

Whopper Hatch ( Actor )

... 1939

Lawless Valley

Deputy Speedy McGow ( Actor )

... 1938

Nobody's Baby

Amateur Hour Lead Quartet Singer (as The Avalon Boys) ( Actor )

... 1937

Way Out West

Lead Singer of the Avalon Boys / Stan's Bass Singing (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1937

Hideaway Girl

Lead Singer of Avalon Boys ( Actor )

... 1936

Call of the Prairie

Singing Cowhand ( Actor )

... 1936

Bar 20 Rides Again

Henchman ( Actor )

... 1935