Cast
Chill Wills
Acting
Cast
Chill Wills
Known for
Acting
Born
1902-07-18
From
Seagoville, Texas, USA
Died
1978-12-15
Also known as Theodore Childress Wills
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.
Giant
as Uncle Bawley
McLintock!
as Drago
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
as Lemuel
The Alamo
as Beekeeper
Rio Grande
as Dr. Wilkins
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
as Self (archive footage)
The Yearling
as Buck Forrester
The Rounders
as Jim Ed Love
That's Entertainment! III
as (archive footage)
The Sundowners
as Sam Beers
The Cardinal
as Monsignor
Western Union
as Homer Kettle
Meet Me in St. Louis
as Mr. Neely
Belle Starr
as Blue Duck
Where the Boys Are
as Police Captain
Tulsa
as Pinky Jimpson (Narrator)
Sorority House
as Mr. Johnson
Leave Her to Heaven
as Leick Thome
High Barbaree
as Lars (uncredited)
Red Canyon
as Marshal G.T. Brackton
Stella
as Chief Clark
Cattle Drive
as Dallas
The Harvey Girls
as H.H. Hartsey
Apache Trail
as 'Pike' Skelton
Arizona Legion
as Whopper Hatch
The Man from the Alamo
as John Gage
Northwest Stampede
as Mileaway
Mr. Billion
as Col. Clayton T. Winkle
The Westerner
as Southeast
Gun Glory
as Preacher
Honky Tonk
as The Sniper
High Lonesome
as Boatwhistle
The Over the Hill Gang
as Gentleman George Agnew
Boom Town
as Harmony Jones
It's Showtime
as Self (archive footage)
Kentucky Rifle
as Tobias Taylor
Tarzan's New York Adventure
as Manchester Montford
Billy the Kid
as Tom Patterson
Tumbleweed
as Sheriff Murchoree
Francis
as Francis the Talking Mule (voice)
New York Premiere Telecast 'Giant'
as Host
That Wonderful Urge
as Homer Beggs
Loaded Pistols
as Sheriff Cramer
Way Out West
as Lead Singer of the Avalon Boys / Stan's Bass Singing (uncredited)
Gun for a Coward
as Loving
Francis Covers the Big Town
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
as Sgt. Cramp
Oh! Susanna
as Sgt. Barhydt
The Sea Hornet
as Swede
The Deadly Companions
as Turk
The Wheeler Dealers
as Jay Ray Spinelby
Family Honeymoon
as Fred
City That Never Sleeps
as Sgt. Joe, the 'Voice of Chicago'
Francis Goes to the Races
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Francis Goes to West Point
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Young Guns of Texas
as Preacher Sam Shelby
Call of the Prairie
as Singing Cowhand
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
as Mr. Ike
Heartaches
as 'Breezie' Mann
Ride the Man Down
as Ike Adams
Stand by for Action
as Mate Jenks, Chef-Bootsmann
Santiago
as Captain 'Sidewheel' Jones
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
as Gentleman George Agnew
Fireball 500
as Big Jaw
Allegheny Uprising
as M'Cammon
Small Town Girl
as Happy
Hideaway Girl
as Lead Singer of Avalon Boys
From Hell to Texas
as Amos Bradley
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
as Beekeeper
I'll Be Seeing You
as Swanson
Disneyland '59
as Self
The Steagle
as Tall Guy McCoy
Gold of the Seven Saints
as Doc Wilson Gates, M.D.
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
as Shiftless
See Here, Private Hargrove
as First Sgt. Cramp
Drive-In Movie Memories
Timberjack
as Steve Riika
Rock Island Trail
as Hogger McCoy
The Day the Bookies Wept
as Man on Bus (uncredited)
Wyoming
as Lafe
The Bugle Sounds
as Sgt. Larry Dillon
Gallant Bess
as Chief Petty Officer
Best Foot Forward
as Chester Short
Francis in the Navy
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Nobody's Baby
as Amateur Hour Quartet Singer
Big Daddy
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
as Major Buford
Francis Joins the WACS
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Lawless Valley
as Deputy Speedy McGow
Sky Murder
as Sheriff Beckwith
The Saxon Charm
as Captain Chatham
The Sainted Sisters
as Will Twitchell
Her Cardboard Lover
as Judge
A Stranger in Town
as Charles Craig
Timber Stampede
as Whopper Hatch
Hell's Outpost
as Kevin Russell
Ricochet Romance
as Tom Williams
The Grass Is Always Greener
as Windy
Bar 20 Rides Again
as Henchman
Trouble in Sundown
as Whopper
Barbary Coast Gent
as Sheriff Hightower
The Omaha Trail
as Henry Hawkins
Stubby Pringle's Christmas
as The Janitor
The Bad Man
as 'Red' Giddings
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier
as Mr. York
Racketeers of the Range
as Whopper Hatch
Bronco Buster
as Dan Bream
At Sea Ashore
as Leader of The Avalon Four (uncredited)
Guns of a Stranger
as Tom Duncan
The Sad Horse
as Capt. Connors
The Western: A Lost TV Special
as Self
Poco… Little Dog Lost
as Big Burt
Mr. Gardenia Jones
as Hotel Employee
The Immortal Blacksmith
as Tom Davenport