7.6
7.6
Giant
1956
as Uncle Bawley
Chill Wills
Acting
Born:July 18, 1902
Died:December 15, 1978(aged 76)
Birthplace:Seagoville, Texas, USA
N/A
CommunityBiography
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.
Filmography (103 movies)
7.4
7.4
Leave Her to Heaven
1945
as Leick Thome
7.3
7.3
Drive-In Movie Memories
2001
7.2
7.2
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
1973
as Lemuel
7.1
7.1
The Westerner
1940
as Southeast
7.1
7.1
Way Out West
1937
as Lead Singer of the Avalon Boys / Stan's Bass Singing (uncredited)
7.1
7.1
The Alamo
1960
as Beekeeper
7.0
7.0
The Sainted Sisters
1948
as Will Twitchell
7.0
7.0
Gold of the Seven Saints
1961
as Doc Wilson Gates, M.D.
7.0
7.0
Meet Me in St. Louis
1944
as Mr. Neely
7.0
7.0
The Omaha Trail
1942
as Henry Hawkins
7.0
7.0
Ricochet Romance
1954
as Tom Williams
6.9
6.9
I'll Be Seeing You
1944
as Swanson
6.8
6.8
Boom Town
1940
as Harmony Jones
6.8
6.8
Rio Grande
1950
as Dr. Wilkins
6.8
6.8
Stand by for Action
1942
as Mate Jenks, Chef-Bootsmann
6.8
6.8
Sorority House
1939
as Mr. Johnson
6.6
6.6
The Yearling
1946
as Buck Forrester
6.6
6.6
Racketeers of the Range
1939
as Whopper Hatch
6.6
6.6
The Cardinal
1963
as Monsignor
6.6
6.6
McLintock!
1963
as Drago
6.5
6.5
Francis Goes to the Races
1951
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
6.5
6.5
The Harvey Girls
1946
as H.H. Hartsey
6.5
6.5
Ride the Man Down
1952
as Ike Adams
6.5
6.5
The Man from the Alamo
1953
as John Gage
6.5
6.5
That Wonderful Urge
1948
as Homer Beggs
6.5
6.5
Gallant Bess
1946
as Chief Petty Officer
6.4
6.4
Apache Trail
1942
as 'Pike' Skelton
6.4
6.4
Honky Tonk
1941
as The Sniper
6.3
6.3
Tarzan's New York Adventure
1942
as Manchester Montford
6.3
6.3
Sky Murder
1940
as Sheriff Beckwith
6.3
6.3
Tulsa
1949
as Pinky Jimpson (Narrator)
6.2
6.2
The Wheeler Dealers
1963
as Jay Ray Spinelby
6.1
6.1
Cattle Drive
1951
as Dallas
6.1
6.1
Tumbleweed
1953
as Sheriff Murchoree
6.1
6.1
A Stranger in Town
1943
as Charles Craig
6.0
6.0
See Here, Private Hargrove
1944
as First Sgt. Cramp
6.0
6.0
Best Foot Forward
1943
as Chester Short
6.0
6.0
New York Premiere Telecast 'Giant'
1956
as Host
6.0
6.0
Rock Island Trail
1950
as Hogger McCoy
6.0
6.0
The Bugle Sounds
1942
as Sgt. Larry Dillon
6.0
6.0
Western Union
1941
as Homer Kettle
5.9
5.9
City That Never Sleeps
1953
as Sgt. Joe, the 'Voice of Chicago'
5.9
5.9
From Hell to Texas
1958
as Amos Bradley
5.9
5.9
Where the Boys Are
1960
as Police Captain
5.8
5.8
Francis Joins the WACS
1954
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
5.8
5.8
Gun Glory
1957
as Preacher
5.8
5.8
Francis Goes to West Point
1952
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
5.8
5.8
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
1970
as Mr. Ike
5.7
5.7
Nobody's Baby
1937
as Amateur Hour Quartet Singer
5.7
5.7
Loaded Pistols
1948
as Sheriff Cramer
5.7
5.7
Family Honeymoon
1948
as Fred
5.6
5.6
The Deadly Companions
1961
as Turk
5.6
5.6
Belle Starr
1941
as Blue Duck
5.6
5.6
The Over the Hill Gang
1969
as Gentleman George Agnew
5.6
5.6
Allegheny Uprising
1939
as M'Cammon
5.6
5.6
Gun for a Coward
1956
as Loving
5.6
5.6
The Grass Is Always Greener
1950
as Windy
5.5
5.5
The Rounders
1965
as Jim Ed Love
5.5
5.5
Francis in the Navy
1955
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
5.5
5.5
Mr. Billion
1977
as Col. Clayton T. Winkle
5.5
5.5
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
1940
as Shiftless
5.5
5.5
Francis
1950
as Francis the Talking Mule (voice)
5.4
5.4
The Bad Man
1941
as 'Red' Giddings
5.2
5.2
Santiago
1956
as Captain 'Sidewheel' Jones
5.1
5.1
Kentucky Rifle
1956
as Tobias Taylor
5.1
5.1
High Lonesome
1950
as Boatwhistle
5.0
5.0
The Sundowners
1950
as Sam Beers
5.0
5.0
The Sea Hornet
1951
as Swede
5.0
5.0
Bar 20 Rides Again
1935
as Henchman
5.0
5.0
Red Canyon
1949
as Marshal G.T. Brackton
5.0
5.0
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
1970
as Gentleman George Agnew
5.0
5.0
Oh! Susanna
1951
as Sgt. Barhydt
5.0
5.0
Arizona Legion
1939
as Whopper Hatch
5.0
5.0
Bronco Buster
1952
as Dan Bream
5.0
5.0
Hell's Outpost
1954
as Kevin Russell
5.0
5.0
Lawless Valley
1938
as Deputy Speedy McGow
4.9
4.9
Fireball 500
1966
as Big Jaw
4.8
4.8
Francis Covers the Big Town
1953
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
4.8
4.8
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier
1944
as Mr. York
4.7
4.7
Call of the Prairie
1936
as Singing Cowhand
4.7
4.7
Mr. Gardenia Jones
1942
as Hotel Employee
4.6
4.6
Barbary Coast Gent
1944
as Sheriff Hightower
4.5
4.5
Heartaches
1947
as 'Breezie' Mann
4.4
4.4
Her Cardboard Lover
1942
as Judge
4.1
4.1
The Steagle
1971
as Tall Guy McCoy
4.0
4.0
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
1945
as Sgt. Cramp
4.0
4.0
Poco… Little Dog Lost
1977
as Big Burt
3.8
3.8
The Saxon Charm
1948
as Captain Chatham
3.5
3.5
Young Guns of Texas
1962
as Preacher Sam Shelby
3.3
3.3
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
1961
as Major Buford
3.2
3.2
Timberjack
1955
as Steve Riika
3.0
3.0
Guns of a Stranger
1973
as Tom Duncan
1.5
1.5
Northwest Stampede
1948
as Mileaway
The Sad Horse
1959
as Capt. Connors
Stella
1950
as Chief Clark
Stubby Pringle's Christmas
1978
as The Janitor
Timber Stampede
1939
as Whopper Hatch
The Western: A Lost TV Special
1958
as Self
The Immortal Blacksmith
1944
as Tom Davenport
At Sea Ashore
1936
as Leader of The Avalon Four (uncredited)
Trouble in Sundown
1939
as Whopper
Big Daddy
1969
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