Chill Wills
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- July 18, 1902
- Died
- December 15, 1978 (aged 76)
- Birthplace
- Seagoville, Texas, USA
Biography
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.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Drive-In Movie Memories
Movie
That's Entertainment! III
Movie · as (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
Movie · as Beekeeper
Stubby Pringle's Christmas
Movie · as The Janitor
Mr. Billion
Movie · as Col. Clayton T. Winkle
Poco… Little Dog Lost
Movie · as Big Burt
It's Showtime
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Movie · as Lemuel
Guns of a Stranger
Movie · as Tom Duncan
The Steagle
Movie · as Tall Guy McCoy
Alias Smith and Jones
TV · 1 ep
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
Movie · as Gentleman George Agnew
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
Movie · as Mr. Ike
Night Gallery
TV · as Heppelwhite (segment "The Little Black Bag") · 1 ep
Big Daddy
Movie
The Over the Hill Gang
Movie · as Gentleman George Agnew
Judd, for the Defense
TV · 1 ep
Fireball 500
Movie · as Big Jaw
Tarzan
TV · 1 ep
The Rounders
TV · 18 eps
The Rounders
Movie · as Jim Ed Love
The Wheeler Dealers
Movie · as Jay Ray Spinelby
McLintock!
Movie · as Drago
The Cardinal
Movie · as Monsignor
Burke's Law
TV · as Harry Riggs, Stanton Custer, General Hector Harder · 1 ep
Young Guns of Texas
Movie · as Preacher Sam Shelby
The Merv Griffin Show
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Deadly Companions
Movie · as Turk
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Movie · as Major Buford
Gold of the Seven Saints
Movie · as Doc Wilson Gates, M.D.
Frontier Circus
TV · as Colonel Casey Thompson /Col. Casey Thompson · 26 eps
The Alamo
Movie · as Beekeeper
Where the Boys Are
Movie · as Police Captain
Route 66
TV · 2 eps
The Sad Horse
Movie · as Capt. Connors
Disneyland '59
Movie · as Self
Rawhide
TV · as Sheriff Asa Tanner · 2 eps
From Hell to Texas
Movie · as Amos Bradley
The Western: A Lost TV Special
Movie · as Self
The Texan
TV · 1 ep
Gun Glory
Movie · as Preacher
Trackdown
TV · 1 ep
Giant
Movie · as Uncle Bawley
Santiago
Movie · as Captain 'Sidewheel' Jones
Gun for a Coward
Movie · as Loving
Kentucky Rifle
Movie · as Tobias Taylor
New York Premiere Telecast 'Giant'
Movie · as Host
Francis in the Navy
Movie · as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Timberjack
Movie · as Steve Riika
Gunsmoke
TV · as Abe Blocker, Elihu Gorman, Red Conniston · 1 ep
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
TV · as Mr. Kilmer · 1 ep
Francis Joins the WACS
Movie · as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Ricochet Romance
Movie · as Tom Williams
Hell's Outpost
Movie · as Kevin Russell
City That Never Sleeps
Movie · as Sgt. Joe, the 'Voice of Chicago'
The Man from the Alamo
Movie · as John Gage
Tumbleweed
Movie · as Sheriff Murchoree
Francis Covers the Big Town
Movie · as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Small Town Girl
Movie · as Happy
Bronco Buster
Movie · as Dan Bream
Ride the Man Down
Movie · as Ike Adams
Francis Goes to West Point
Movie · as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Cattle Drive
Movie · as Dallas
Francis Goes to the Races
Movie · as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Oh! Susanna
Movie · as Sgt. Barhydt
The Sea Hornet
Movie · as Swede
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV · as The Janitor · 1 ep
Rio Grande
Movie · as Dr. Wilkins
The Sundowners
Movie · as Sam Beers
High Lonesome
Movie · as Boatwhistle
The Grass Is Always Greener
Movie · as Windy
Rock Island Trail
Movie · as Hogger McCoy
Stella
Movie · as Chief Clark
Francis
Movie · as Francis the Talking Mule (voice)
Tulsa
Movie · as Pinky Jimpson (Narrator)
Red Canyon
Movie · as Marshal G.T. Brackton
Family Honeymoon
Movie · as Fred
The Sainted Sisters
Movie · as Will Twitchell
Northwest Stampede
Movie · as Mileaway
That Wonderful Urge
Movie · as Homer Beggs
Loaded Pistols
Movie · as Sheriff Cramer
The Saxon Charm
Movie · as Captain Chatham
Heartaches
Movie · as 'Breezie' Mann
High Barbaree
Movie · as Lars (uncredited)
The Yearling
Movie · as Buck Forrester
Gallant Bess
Movie · as Chief Petty Officer
The Harvey Girls
Movie · as H.H. Hartsey
Leave Her to Heaven
Movie · as Leick Thome
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
Movie · as Sgt. Cramp
Meet Me in St. Louis
Movie · as Mr. Neely
I'll Be Seeing You
Movie · as Swanson
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier
Movie · as Mr. York
Barbary Coast Gent
Movie · as Sheriff Hightower
See Here, Private Hargrove
Movie · as First Sgt. Cramp
The Immortal Blacksmith
Movie · as Tom Davenport
A Stranger in Town
Movie · as Charles Craig
Best Foot Forward
Movie · as Chester Short
Tarzan's New York Adventure
Movie · as Manchester Montford
The Bugle Sounds
Movie · as Sgt. Larry Dillon
Her Cardboard Lover
Movie · as Judge
Apache Trail
Movie · as 'Pike' Skelton
The Omaha Trail
Movie · as Henry Hawkins
Stand by for Action
Movie · as Mate Jenks, Chef-Bootsmann
Mr. Gardenia Jones
Movie · as Hotel Employee
Western Union
Movie · as Homer Kettle
Belle Starr
Movie · as Blue Duck
Honky Tonk
Movie · as The Sniper
Billy the Kid
Movie · as Tom Patterson
The Bad Man
Movie · as 'Red' Giddings
The Westerner
Movie · as Southeast
Sky Murder
Movie · as Sheriff Beckwith
Boom Town
Movie · as Harmony Jones
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
Movie · as Shiftless
Wyoming
Movie · as Lafe
Allegheny Uprising
Movie · as M'Cammon
Racketeers of the Range
Movie · as Whopper Hatch
Sorority House
Movie · as Mr. Johnson
Arizona Legion
Movie · as Whopper Hatch
The Day the Bookies Wept
Movie · as Man on Bus (uncredited)
Timber Stampede
Movie · as Whopper Hatch
Trouble in Sundown
Movie · as Whopper
Lawless Valley
Movie · as Deputy Speedy McGow
Way Out West
Movie · as Lead Singer of the Avalon Boys / Stan's Bass Singing (uncredited)
Nobody's Baby
Movie · as Amateur Hour Quartet Singer
At Sea Ashore
Movie · as Leader of The Avalon Four (uncredited)
Call of the Prairie
Movie · as Singing Cowhand
Hideaway Girl
Movie · as Lead Singer of Avalon Boys
Anything Goes
Movie · as Quartette Member
Bar 20 Rides Again
Movie · as Henchman