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Chill Wills

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.

Personal information

Birthday

1902-07-18

Birth Place

Seagoville, Texas, USA

Movies and TV shows :

A Stranger in Town

A Stranger in Town

1943

6.5

Movie
poster

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

7.7

TV
poster

Alias Smith and Jones

1971

6.9

TV
Allegheny Uprising

Allegheny Uprising

1939

5.6

Movie
Apache Trail

Apache Trail

1942

6.4

Movie
Arizona Legion

Arizona Legion

1939

5.0

Movie
At Sea Ashore

At Sea Ashore

1936

0.0

Movie
Bar 20 Rides Again

Bar 20 Rides Again

1935

6.0

Movie
Barbary Coast Gent

Barbary Coast Gent

1944

4.6

Movie
Belle Starr

Belle Starr

1941

5.6

Movie
Best Foot Forward

Best Foot Forward

1943

6.0

Movie
Big Daddy

Big Daddy

1969

0.0

Movie
Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid

1941

4.7

Movie
Boom Town

Boom Town

1940

6.9

Movie
Bronco Buster

Bronco Buster

1952

5.0

Movie
poster

Burke's Law

1963

6.0

TV
Call of the Prairie

Call of the Prairie

1936

5.0

Movie
Cattle Drive

Cattle Drive

1951

6.1

Movie
City That Never Sleeps

City That Never Sleeps

1953

6.0

Movie
Disneyland '59

Disneyland '59

1959

6.5

Movie
Drive-In Movie Memories

Drive-In Movie Memories

2001

7.3

Movie
Family Honeymoon

Family Honeymoon

1948

5.7

Movie
Fireball 500

Fireball 500

1966

4.9

Movie
Francis

Francis

1950

5.5

Movie
Francis Covers the Big Town

Francis Covers the Big Town

1953

5.1

Movie
Francis Goes to the Races

Francis Goes to the Races

1951

6.5

Movie
Francis Goes to West Point

Francis Goes to West Point

1952

5.8

Movie
Francis in the Navy

Francis in the Navy

1955

5.5

Movie
Francis Joins the WACS

Francis Joins the WACS

1954

5.8

Movie
From Hell to Texas

From Hell to Texas

1958

5.9

Movie
poster

Frontier Circus

1961

4.7

TV
Gallant Bess

Gallant Bess

1946

6.5

Movie
Giant

Giant

1956

7.6

Movie
Gold of the Seven Saints

Gold of the Seven Saints

1961

7.0

Movie
Gun for a Coward

Gun for a Coward

1956

5.6

Movie
Gun Glory

Gun Glory

1957

5.8

Movie
Guns of a Stranger

Guns of a Stranger

1973

3.0

Movie
poster

Gunsmoke

1955

6.5

TV
poster

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

8.7

TV
Heartaches

Heartaches

1947

5.2

Movie
Hell's Outpost

Hell's Outpost

1954

5.0

Movie
Her Cardboard Lover

Her Cardboard Lover

1942

5.1

Movie
High Lonesome

High Lonesome

1950

5.1

Movie
Honky Tonk

Honky Tonk

1941

6.4

Movie
I'll Be Seeing You

I'll Be Seeing You

1944

7.0

Movie
It's Showtime

It's Showtime

1976

7.0

Movie
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'

John Wayne's 'The Alamo'

1992

6.0

Movie
poster

Judd for the Defense

1967

7.5

TV
Kentucky Rifle

Kentucky Rifle

1956

5.1

Movie
Lawless Valley

Lawless Valley

1938

5.0

Movie
Leave Her to Heaven

Leave Her to Heaven

1945

7.4

Movie
Loaded Pistols

Loaded Pistols

1948

5.7

Movie
McLintock!

McLintock!

1963

6.5

Movie
Meet Me in St. Louis

Meet Me in St. Louis

1944

7.0

Movie
Mr. Billion

Mr. Billion

1977

5.4

Movie
Mr. Gardenia Jones

Mr. Gardenia Jones

1942

4.2

Movie
New York Premiere Telecast 'Giant'

New York Premiere Telecast 'Giant'

1956

6.0

Movie
poster

Night Gallery

1970

7.8

TV
Nobody's Baby

Nobody's Baby

1937

5.7

Movie
Northwest Stampede

Northwest Stampede

1948

2.0

Movie
Oh! Susanna

Oh! Susanna

1951

5.0

Movie
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid

1973

7.2

Movie
Poco… Little Dog Lost

Poco… Little Dog Lost

1977

4.0

Movie
Racketeers of the Range

Racketeers of the Range

1939

6.2

Movie
poster

Rawhide

1959

7.1

TV
Red Canyon

Red Canyon

1949

5.0

Movie
Ricochet Romance

Ricochet Romance

1954

7.0

Movie
Ride the Man Down

Ride the Man Down

1952

6.5

Movie
Rio Grande

Rio Grande

1950

6.8

Movie
Rock Island Trail

Rock Island Trail

1950

6.0

Movie
poster

Route 66

1960

6.4

TV
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade

Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade

2004

7.3

Movie
Santiago

Santiago

1956

5.1

Movie
See Here, Private Hargrove

See Here, Private Hargrove

1944

6.0

Movie
Sky Murder

Sky Murder

1940

6.3

Movie
Sorority House

Sorority House

1939

6.8

Movie
Stand by for Action

Stand by for Action

1942

7.0

Movie
Stella

Stella

1950

0.0

Movie
Stubby Pringle's Christmas

Stubby Pringle's Christmas

1978

0.0

Movie
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier

Sunday Dinner for a Soldier

1944

6.0

Movie
poster

Tarzan

1966

6.7

TV
Tarzan's New York Adventure

Tarzan's New York Adventure

1942

6.4

Movie
That Wonderful Urge

That Wonderful Urge

1948

6.4

Movie
That's Entertainment! III

That's Entertainment! III

1994

6.9

Movie
The Alamo

The Alamo

1960

7.1

Movie
The Bad Man

The Bad Man

1941

5.4

Movie
The Bugle Sounds

The Bugle Sounds

1942

6.0

Movie
The Cardinal

The Cardinal

1963

6.5

Movie
The Day the Bookies Wept

The Day the Bookies Wept

1939

5.0

Movie
The Deadly Companions

The Deadly Companions

1961

5.6

Movie
The Grass Is Always Greener

The Grass Is Always Greener

1950

5.5

Movie
The Harvey Girls

The Harvey Girls

1946

6.4

Movie
The Liberation of L.B. Jones

The Liberation of L.B. Jones

1970

5.7

Movie
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come

The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come

1961

4.0

Movie
The Man from the Alamo

The Man from the Alamo

1953

6.6

Movie
The Omaha Trail

The Omaha Trail

1942

7.0

Movie
The Over the Hill Gang

The Over the Hill Gang

1969

5.6

Movie
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again

The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again

1970

5.0

Movie
The Rounders

The Rounders

1965

5.5

Movie
poster

The Rounders

1966

4.0

TV
The Sad Horse

The Sad Horse

1959

0.0

Movie
The Sainted Sisters

The Sainted Sisters

1948

7.0

Movie
The Saxon Charm

The Saxon Charm

1948

4.3

Movie
The Sea Hornet

The Sea Hornet

1951

5.0

Movie
The Steagle

The Steagle

1971

4.8

Movie
The Sundowners

The Sundowners

1950

5.4

Movie
poster

The Texan

1958

5.5

TV
The Westerner

The Westerner

1940

7.0

Movie
The Wheeler Dealers

The Wheeler Dealers

1963

6.2

Movie
The Yearling

The Yearling

1946

6.5

Movie
Timber Stampede

Timber Stampede

1939

0.0

Movie
Timberjack

Timberjack

1955

3.2

Movie
poster

Trackdown

1957

6.4

TV
Trouble in Sundown

Trouble in Sundown

1939

0.0

Movie
Tugboat Annie Sails Again

Tugboat Annie Sails Again

1940

5.5

Movie
Tulsa

Tulsa

1949

6.3

Movie
Tumbleweed

Tumbleweed

1953

6.1

Movie
Way Out West

Way Out West

1937

7.0

Movie
Western Union

Western Union

1941

6.0

Movie
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?

What Next, Corporal Hargrove?

1945

2.0

Movie
Where the Boys Are

Where the Boys Are

1960

6.1

Movie
Wyoming

Wyoming

1940

5.9

Movie
Young Guns of Texas

Young Guns of Texas

1962

3.7

Movie