Milton Sills
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- January 11, 1882
- Died
- September 15, 1930 (aged 48)
- Birthplace
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
Biography
From Wikipedia Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century. Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henry Sills, a successful mineral dealer, and Josephine Antoinette Troost Sills, an heiress from a prosperous banking family. Upon completing high school, Sills was offered a one-year scholarship to the University of Chicago, where he studied psychology and philosophy. After graduating, he was offered a position at the university as a researcher and within several years worked his way up to become a professor at the school. In 1905, stage actor Donald Robertson visited the school to lecture on author and playwright Henrik Ibsen and suggested to Sills that he try his hand at acting. On a whim, Sills agreed and left his prestigious teaching career to embark on a stint in acting. Sills joined Robertson's stock theater company and began touring the country. In 1914, Sills decided to conquer the new medium of motion pictures. He made his film debut the same year in the big-budget drama The Pit for the World Film Company and was signed to a contract with film producer William A. Brady. The film was enormously successful, and Sills made three more films for the company, including another huge box-office draw The Deep Purple opposite silent screen star Clara Kimball Young. By the late 1910s, Sills had reached leading man status and parted ways with World Film, taking the then unusual path of freelancing as an actor. By the early 1920s, Sills was enjoying a highly successful acting career and working for such prominent film studios as MGM, Paramount Pictures, and Pathé Exchange. He was often paired with the most popular leading ladies of the era, including: Geraldine Farrar, Gloria Swanson and Viola Dana. His greatest public and commercial successes came with the now lost Flaming Youth (1923) opposite Colleen Moore, and the enormous box-office hit The Sea Hawk (1924). Sills made two sound pictures, showing that he had an excellent voice. Many may have forgotten that Sills had extensive stage training before embarking on his career before the cameras. Sills died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1930 while playing tennis with his wife at his Santa Barbara, California home at the age of 48. He was interred at the Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Chicago, Illinois.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Man Trouble
Movie · as Mac
The Sea Wolf
Movie · as 'Wolf' Larsen
His Captive Woman
Movie · as Officer Thomas McCarthy
Love and the Devil
Movie
The Barker
Movie · as Nifty Miller
The Circus: Premiere
Movie · as Self
The Hawk's Nest
Movie · as The Hawk/John Finchley
The Crash
Movie · as Jim Flannagan
Burning Daylight
Movie · as Elam 'Burning Daylight' Harnish
The Sea Tiger
Movie · as Justin Ramos
Framed
Movie · as Etienne Hilaire
Hard-Boiled Haggerty
Movie · as Hard-Boiled Haggerty
The Valley of the Giants
Movie · as Bryce Cardigan
Paradise
Movie · as Tony
Puppets
Movie · as Nicola Riccobini
Men of Steel
Movie · as Jan Bokak
The Silent Lover
Movie · as Count Pierre Tornal
As Man Desires
Movie · as Major John Craig
The Making of O'Malley
Movie · as O'Malley
The Knockout
Movie · as Sandy Donlin
The Unguarded Hour
Movie · as Andrea
I Want My Man
Movie · as Gulian Eyre
The Sea Hawk
Movie · as Sir Oliver Tressilian
Flowing Gold
Movie · as Calvin Gray
A Lady of Quality
Movie · as Gerald Mertoun, Duke of Osmonde
Madonna of the Streets
Movie · as Reverend John Morton
The Heart Bandit
Movie · as John Rand
Single Wives
Movie · as Perry Jordan
The Last Hour
Movie · as Steve Cline
Souls for Sale
Movie · as Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)
Adam's Rib
Movie · as Michael Ramsay
Flaming Youth
Movie · as Cary Scott
The Isle of Lost Ships
Movie · as Frank Howard
Legally Dead
Movie · as Will Campbell / George Brown
The Spoilers
Movie · as Roy Glennister
What a Wife Learned
Movie · as Rudolph Martin
Seeing Stars
Movie · as Self
The Forgotten Law
Movie · as Richard Jarnette
A Trip to Paramountown
Movie · as Self
Skin Deep
Movie · as Bud Doyle
One Clear Call
Movie · as Dr. Alan Hamilton
Burning Sands
Movie · as Daniel Lane
The Woman Who Walked Alone
Movie · as Clement Gaunt
Environment
Movie · as Steve MacLaren
The Faith Healer
Movie · as Michaelis
Miss Lulu Bett
Movie · as Neil Cornish
At the End of the World
Movie · as Gordon Deane
The Great Moment
Movie · as Bayard Delaval
The Little Fool
Movie · as Richard Forrest
Salvage
Movie · as Fred Martin
The Street Called Straight
Movie · as Peter Devenant
The Furnace
Movie · as Keene Mordaunt
Sweet Lavender
Movie · as Horace Weatherburn
Behold My Wife
Movie · as Frank Armour
The Inferior Sex
Movie · as Knox Randall
Dangerous to Men
Movie · as Sandy Verrall
The Hushed Hour
Movie · as Luke Appleton
The Woman Thou Gavest Me
Movie · as Conrad
Eyes of Youth
Movie · as Louis Anthony
The Stronger Vow
Movie · as Juan Estudillo
Satan Junior
Movie · as Paul Worden
What Every Woman Learns
Movie · as Walter Melrose
The Fear Woman
Movie · as Robert Craig
The Claw
Movie · as Major Anthony Kinsella
The Hell Cat
Movie · as Sheriff Jack Webb
The Yellow Ticket
Movie · as Julian Rolfe
The Savage Woman
Movie · as Jean Lerier
Patria
Movie · as Capt. Donald Parr
Making Monkey Business
Movie · as The Flea
The Honor System
Movie · as Joseph Stanton
Married in Name Only
Movie · as Robert Worthing
Under Southern Skies
Movie · as Burleigh Mavor
The Woman Who Lied
Movie · as Jack Stanley
The Arrival of Perpetua
Movie · as Thaddeus Curzon
The Taming of Mary
Movie · as Harry Benton
The Rack
Movie · as Tom Gordon
The Pit
Movie · as Corthell