American actor (1902?1978)
Chill Wills
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/30/Chill_Wills_-_1941.jpg/220px-Chill_Wills_-_1941.jpg) Wills in 1941
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Born
| Theodore Childress Wills
(
1902-07-18
)
July 18, 1902
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Died
| December 15, 1978
(1978-12-15)
(aged 76)
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Resting place
| Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery
Glendale, California
, U.S.
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Occupation(s)
| Actor, singer
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Years active
| 1934?1978
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Spouses
|
Hattie Chappelle
(
m.
1928; died 1971)
Novadeen Googe
(
m.
1973)
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Theodore Childress
"
Chill
"
Wills
(July 18, 1902 ? December 15, 1978)
[1]
was an American actor and a singer in the
Avalon Boys
quartet.
Early life
[
edit
]
Wills was born in
Seagoville, Texas
, on July 18, 1902.
Career
[
edit
]
Wills was a performer from early childhood, forming and leading the Avalon Boys singing group in the 1930s. 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. After appearing in a few
Westerns
, he disbanded the group in 1938, and struck out on a solo acting career.
Jack Kruschen
,
John Wayne
,
Maureen O'Hara
, and Wills in
McLintock!
(1963)
During the 1940s, Wills was a contract player for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, appearing in
Westerns
. Wills was also cast in a number of dramatic 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. His publicity agent, Wojciechowicz "Bow Wow" Wojtkiewicz (former husband of gossip columnist
Sheilah Graham
),
[2]
accepted blame for the ill-advised effort, claiming that Wills knew nothing about it. The Oscar was won by
Peter Ustinov
for his role as
Lentulus Batiatus
in
Spartacus
.
[3]
Wills was the voice of
Francis the Talking Mule
in a series of 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
.
[
citation needed
]
Wills was a poker player and a friend of
Benny Binion
, the founder of the
World Series of Poker
and former owner of
Binion's Horseshoe Casino
in Las Vegas, Nevada. Wills participated in the first World Series, held in 1970, and is seated in the center of the picture.
[4]
In 1959, he starred as Bije Wilcox in "The Bije Wilcox Story" on
Wagon Train
.
[
citation needed
]
In
Rory Calhoun
's Western series
The Texan
, Wills appeared in the lead role in the 1960 episode titled "The Eyes of Captain Wylie".
[5]
Wills starred in the 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 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 1962 he guest-starred as title character “Abe Blocker” on
Gunsmoke
, as a deranged mountain man, and old friend of Matt Dillon, preying on homesteaders. His murderous rampage results in his violent death.
[
citation needed
]
In 1963?1964, 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
.
[6]
Later, 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
.
[7]
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.
[
citation needed
]
In 1971, he appeared as Pat Reedy on
The Men from Shiloh
(rebranded name of the TV Western
The Virginian
) in the episode titled "The Angus Killer".
[
citation needed
]
His last role was in 1978, as a janitor in
Stubby Pringle's Christmas
.
[
citation needed
]
Death
[
edit
]
On December 15, 1978, Wills died of cancer in Encino, California, aged 76. He was cremated
[8]
and interred at
Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery
in Glendale, California.
[9]
Partial filmography
[
edit
]
- It's a Gift
(1934) as Campfire Singer (uncredited)
- Bar 20 Rides Again
(1935) as Background Singer / Henchman
- Anything Goes
(1936) as Member of The Avalon Boys (uncredited)
- Call of the Prairie
(1936) as Singing Cowhand
- Hideaway Girl
(1936) as Lead Singer of Avalon Boys
- Way Out West
(1937) as Lead Singer of the Avalon Boys / Stan's Bass Singing (uncredited)
- Nobody's Baby
(1937) as Amateur Hour Lead Quartet Singer
- Block-Heads
(1938) as Midget in Elevator (voice, uncredited)
- Lawless Valley
(1938) as Deputy Speedy McGow
- Arizona Legion
(1939) as Whopper Hatch
- Trouble in Sundown
(1939) as Whopper
- Sorority House
(1939) as Mr. Johnson
- Racketeers of the Range
(1939) as Whopper Hatch
- Timber Stampede
(1939) as Whopper Hatch
- The Day the Bookies Wept
(1939) as Man on Bus (uncredited)
- Allegheny Uprising
(1939) as John M'Cammon
- Boom Town
(1940) as Deputy Harmony Jones
- Wyoming
(1940) as Lafe (uncredited)
- The Westerner
(1940) as Southeast
- Sky Murder
(1940) as Sheriff Beckwith
- Tugboat Annie Sails Again
(1940) as Shiftless
- Western Union
(1941) as Homer Kettle
- The Bad Man
(1941) as 'Red' Giddings
- Billy the Kid
(1941) as Tom Patterson
- Belle Starr
(1941) as Blue Duck
- Honky Tonk
(1941) as The Sniper
- The Bugle Sounds
(1942) as Sgt. Larry Dillon
- Tarzan's New York Adventure
(1942) as Manchester Montford
- Her Cardboard Lover
(1942) as Judge
- The Omaha Trail
(1942) as Henry Hawkins
- Apache Trail
(1942) as 'Pike' Skelton
- Stand by for Action
(1942) as Chief Boatswain's Mate Jenks
- A Stranger in Town
(1943) as Charles Craig
- Best Foot Forward
(1943) as Chester Short
- See Here, Private Hargrove
(1944) as First Sergeant Cramp
- Rationing
(1944) as Bus Driver (scenes deleted)
- Barbary Coast Gent
(1944) as Sheriff Hightower
- Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944) as Mr. Neely
- I'll Be Seeing You
(1944) as Swanson
- Sunday Dinner for a Soldier
(1944) as Mr. York
- What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
(1945) as Sergeant Cramp
- Leave Her to Heaven
(1945) as Leick Thome
- The Harvey Girls
(1946) as H.H. Hartsey
- Gallant Bess
(1946) as Chief Petty Officer
- The Yearling
(1946) as Buck Forrester
- High Barbaree
(1947) as Lars (uncredited)
- Heartaches
(1947) as 'Breezie' Mann
- The Sainted Sisters
(1948) as Will Twitchell
- Northwest Stampede
(1948) as Mileaway
- The Saxon Charm
(1948) as Captain Chatham
- That Wonderful Urge
(1948) as Homer Beggs, Justice of the Peace, Monroe Township
- Family Honeymoon
(1948) as Fred
- Loaded Pistols
(1948) as Sheriff Cramer
- Tulsa
(1949) as Pinky Jimpson (Narrator)
- Red Canyon
(1949) as Brackton
- Francis
(1950) as Francis the Talking Mule (voice, uncredited)
- The Sundowners
(1950) as Sam Beers
- Rock Island Trail
(1950) as Hogger McCoy
- Stella
(1950) as Chief Clark (uncredited)
- High Lonesome
(1950) as Boatwhistle, Ranch Cook
- Rio Grande
(1950) as Dr. Wilkins (regimental surgeon)
- Oh! Susanna
(1951) as Sergeant Barhydt
- Francis Goes to the Races
(1951) as Francis the Talking Mule (voice, uncredited)
- Cattle Drive
(1951) as Dallas
- The Sea Hornet
(1951) as Swede
- Bronco Buster
(1952) as Dan Bream
- Francis Goes to West Point
(1952) as Francis the Talking Mule (voice, uncredited)
- Ride the Man Down
(1952) as Ike Adams
- Small Town Girl
(1953) as 'Happy', Jailer (uncredited)
- Francis Covers the Big Town
(1953) as Francis the Talking Mule (voice, uncredited)
- City That Never Sleeps
(1953) as Sergeant Joe, the 'Voice of Chicago'
- The Man from the Alamo
(1953) as John Gage
- Tumbleweed
(1953) as Sheriff Murchoree
- Francis Joins the WACS
(1954) as General Benjamin Kaye / Francis the Talking Mule (voice)
- Ricochet Romance
(1954) as Tom Williams
- Hell's Outpost
(1954) as Kevin Russel
- Timberjack
(1955) as Steve Riika
- Kentucky Rifle
(1955) as Tobias Taylor
- Francis in the Navy
(1955) as Francis the Talking Mule (voice, uncredited)
- Santiago
(1956) as Captain 'Sidewheel' Jones
- Giant
(1956) as Uncle Bawley
- Gun for a Coward
(1957) as Loving
- Gun Glory
(1957) as Preacher
- From Hell to Texas
(1958) as Amos Bradley
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(1958) (Season 4 Episode 2: "Don't Interrupt") as Mr. Kilmer
- The Sad Horse
(1959) as Captain Connors
- The Alamo
(1960) as Beekeeper
- Where the Boys Are
(1960) as Police Captain
- Gold of the Seven Saints
(1961) as Doc Wilson Gates
- The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come
(1961) as Major Buford
- The Deadly Companions
(1961) as Turk, "a half-crazed card shark"
[10]
- Gunsmoke
(1962) as Abe Blocker
- Young Guns of Texas
(1962) as Preacher Sam Shelby
- McLintock!
(1963) as Drago
- The Wheeler Dealers
(1963) as Jay Ray Spinelby
- The Cardinal
(1963) as Monsignor Whittle
- The Rounders
(1965) as Jim Ed Love
- Fireball 500
(1966) as Big Jaw Harris
- Big Daddy
(1969)
- The Over-the-Hill Gang
(1969) as George Asque, retired
Texas Ranger
- The Liberation of L.B. Jones
(1970) as Mr. Ike
- The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
(1970) as George Asque
- Night Gallery
(1970) as Heppelwhite (segment "The Little Black Bag")
- The Steagle
(1971)
[11]
as Tall-Guy McCoy
- Alias Smith and Jones
(1972) in Season 2 Episode 19: "
The Biggest Game in the West
"
- Guns of a Stranger
(1973) as Tom Duncan
- Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
(1973) as Lemuel
- Mr. Billion
(1977) as Colonel Clayton T. Winkle
- Poco... Little Dog Lost
(1977) as Big Burt
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Ancestry.com info
- ^
Florence, Mal (November 12, 1997).
"Just Goes to Show It's Dog-Meet-Dog World Out There"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
March 24,
2024
.
- ^
Clark, Donald, & Christopher P. Andersen. John Wayne's The Alamo: The Making of the Epic Film, Carol: 1995.
- ^
"1st World Series of Poker Event Photo"
.
- ^
"
The Texan
"
. Classic Television Archive. Archived from
the original
on April 8, 2012
. Retrieved
January 31,
2013
.
- ^
"The Impact of the Draft Goldwater Committee on the Republican Party"
. ashbrook.org. Archived from
the original
on March 3, 2001
. Retrieved
August 24,
2013
.
- ^
The Politics of Rage: George Wallace
, by Dan T. Carter (
Baton Rouge
:
Louisiana State University Press
, 1995, 2000), pg. 314;
ISBN
0-8071-2597-0
- ^
"Private Rites Set Today for Chill Wills".
Los Angeles Times
. December 18, 1978. p. B5.
- ^
Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001).
Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory
. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. p. 104.
ISBN
9780786409839
.
- ^
Kehr, Dave (May 10, 2013).
"Early Salvos From 'Bloody Sam'
"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
April 7,
2024
.
- ^
Weiler, A. H. (September 16, 1971).
"The Steagle (1971) A Brazilian Youth's Joys and Shocks:' Plantation Boy' Opens at 5th Ave. Cinema Benjamin Proves Deft Comic in 'The Steagle'
"
.
The New York Times
.
External links
[
edit
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International
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National
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Artists
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Other
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