Acting
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.
Filmography
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Film · 2004
Drive-In Movie Memories
Film · 2001
That's Entertainment! III
Film · 1994
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
Film · 1992
Stubby Pringle's Christmas
Film · 1978
Mr. Billion
Film · 1977
Poco… Little Dog Lost
Film · 1977
It's Showtime
Film · 1976
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Film · 1973
Guns of a Stranger
Film · 1973
The Steagle
Film · 1971
Alias Smith and Jones
Series · 1971
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
Film · 1970
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
Film · 1970
Night Gallery
Series · 1970
Big Daddy
Film · 1969
The Over the Hill Gang
Film · 1969
Judd, for the Defense
Series · 1967
Fireball 500
Film · 1966
Tarzan
Series · 1966
The Rounders
Series · 1966
The Rounders
Film · 1965
The Wheeler Dealers
Film · 1963
McLintock!
Film · 1963
The Cardinal
Film · 1963
Burke's Law
Series · 1963
Burke's Law
Series · 1963
Burke's Law
Series · 1963
Young Guns of Texas
Film · 1962
The Merv Griffin Show
Series · 1962
The Deadly Companions
Film · 1961
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Film · 1961
Gold of the Seven Saints
Film · 1961
Frontier Circus
Series · 1961
The Alamo
Film · 1960
Where the Boys Are
Film · 1960
Route 66
Series · 1960
The Sad Horse
Film · 1959
Disneyland '59
Film · 1959
Rawhide
Series · 1959
From Hell to Texas
Film · 1958
The Western: A Lost TV Special
Film · 1958
The Texan
Series · 1958
Gun Glory
Film · 1957
Trackdown
Series · 1957
Giant
Film · 1956
Santiago
Film · 1956
Gun for a Coward
Film · 1956
Kentucky Rifle
Film · 1956
New York Premiere Telecast 'Giant'
Film · 1956
Francis in the Navy
Film · 1955
Timberjack
Film · 1955
Gunsmoke
Series · 1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Series · 1955
Gunsmoke
Series · 1955
Gunsmoke
Series · 1955
Francis Joins the WACS
Film · 1954
Ricochet Romance
Film · 1954
Hell's Outpost
Film · 1954
City That Never Sleeps
Film · 1953
The Man from the Alamo
Film · 1953
Tumbleweed
Film · 1953
Francis Covers the Big Town
Film · 1953
Small Town Girl
Film · 1953
Bronco Buster
Film · 1952
Ride the Man Down
Film · 1952
Francis Goes to West Point
Film · 1952
Cattle Drive
Film · 1951
Francis Goes to the Races
Film · 1951
Oh! Susanna
Film · 1951
The Sea Hornet
Film · 1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Series · 1951
Rio Grande
Film · 1950
The Sundowners
Film · 1950
High Lonesome
Film · 1950
The Grass Is Always Greener
Film · 1950
Rock Island Trail
Film · 1950
Stella
Film · 1950
Francis
Film · 1950
Tulsa
Film · 1949
Red Canyon
Film · 1949
Family Honeymoon
Film · 1948
The Sainted Sisters
Film · 1948
Northwest Stampede
Film · 1948
That Wonderful Urge
Film · 1948
Loaded Pistols
Film · 1948
The Saxon Charm
Film · 1948
Heartaches
Film · 1947
High Barbaree
Film · 1947
The Yearling
Film · 1946
Gallant Bess
Film · 1946
The Harvey Girls
Film · 1946
Leave Her to Heaven
Film · 1945
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
Film · 1945
Meet Me in St. Louis
Film · 1944
I'll Be Seeing You
Film · 1944
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier
Film · 1944
Barbary Coast Gent
Film · 1944
See Here, Private Hargrove
Film · 1944
The Immortal Blacksmith
Film · 1944
A Stranger in Town
Film · 1943
Best Foot Forward
Film · 1943
Tarzan's New York Adventure
Film · 1942
The Bugle Sounds
Film · 1942
Her Cardboard Lover
Film · 1942
Apache Trail
Film · 1942
The Omaha Trail
Film · 1942
Stand by for Action
Film · 1942
Mr. Gardenia Jones
Film · 1942
Western Union
Film · 1941
Belle Starr
Film · 1941
Honky Tonk
Film · 1941
Billy the Kid
Film · 1941
The Bad Man
Film · 1941
The Westerner
Film · 1940
Sky Murder
Film · 1940
Boom Town
Film · 1940
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
Film · 1940
Wyoming
Film · 1940
Allegheny Uprising
Film · 1939
Racketeers of the Range
Film · 1939
Sorority House
Film · 1939
Arizona Legion
Film · 1939
The Day the Bookies Wept
Film · 1939
Timber Stampede
Film · 1939
Trouble in Sundown
Film · 1939
Lawless Valley
Film · 1938
Way Out West
Film · 1937
Nobody's Baby
Film · 1937
At Sea Ashore
Film · 1936
Call of the Prairie
Film · 1936
Hideaway Girl
Film · 1936
Anything Goes
Film · 1936
Bar 20 Rides Again
Film · 1935