Chill Wills
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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
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Acted in
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
2004
as Self (archive footage)
Drive-In Movie Memories
2001
That's Entertainment! III
1994
as (archive footage)
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
1992
as Beekeeper
Stubby Pringle's Christmas
1978
as The Janitor
Poco… Little Dog Lost
1977
as Big Burt
Mr. Billion
1977
as Col. Clayton T. Winkle
It's Showtime
1976
as Self (archive footage)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
1973
as Lemuel
Guns of a Stranger
1973
as Tom Duncan
The Steagle
1971
as Tall Guy McCoy
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
Night Gallery
1970
as Heppelwhite (segment "The Little Black Bag")
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
1970
as Gentleman George Agnew
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
1970
as Mr. Ike
The Over the Hill Gang
1969
as Gentleman George Agnew
Big Daddy
1969
Judd for the Defense
1967
Tarzan
1966
The Rounders
1966
Fireball 500
1966
as Big Jaw
The Rounders
1965
as Jim Ed Love
The Cardinal
1963
as Monsignor
The Wheeler Dealers
1963
as Jay Ray Spinelby
McLintock!
1963
as Drago
Burke's Law
1963
as Harry Riggs
Burke's Law
1963
as Stanton Custer
Burke's Law
1963
as General Hector Harder
Young Guns of Texas
1962
as Preacher Sam Shelby
Frontier Circus
1961
The Deadly Companions
1961
as Turk
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
1961
as Major Buford
Gold of the Seven Saints
1961
as Doc Wilson Gates, M.D.
Where the Boys Are
1960
as Police Captain
The Alamo
1960
as Beekeeper
Route 66
1960
Disneyland '59
1959
as Self
The Sad Horse
1959
as Capt. Connors
Rawhide
1959
as Sheriff Asa Tanner
The Texan
1958
From Hell to Texas
1958
as Amos Bradley
Trackdown
1957
Gun Glory
1957
as Preacher
Gun for a Coward
1956
as Loving
Giant
1956
as Uncle Bawley
New York Premiere Telecast 'Giant'
1956
as Host
Santiago
1956
as Captain 'Sidewheel' Jones
Kentucky Rifle
1956
as Tobias Taylor
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Mr. Kilmer
Gunsmoke
1955
as Abe Blocker
Gunsmoke
1955
as Elihu Gorman
Gunsmoke
1955
as Red Conniston
Francis in the Navy
1955
as Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Timberjack
1955
as Steve Riika
Hell's Outpost
1954
as Kevin Russell
Ricochet Romance
1954
as Tom Williams
Francis Joins the WACS
1954
as Francis (as Francis the Talking Muke)
Tumbleweed
1953
as Sheriff Murchoree
The Man from the Alamo
1953
as John Gage
City That Never Sleeps
1953
as Sgt. Joe, the 'Voice of Chicago'
Francis Covers the Big Town
1953
as Francis (as Franis the Talking Mule)
Ride the Man Down
1952
as Ike Adams
Francis Goes to West Point
1952
as Francis (as Francis the Talking Mule)
Bronco Buster
1952
as Dan Bream
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as The Janitor
The Sea Hornet
1951
as Swede
Cattle Drive
1951
as Dallas
Francis Goes to the Races
1951
as Francis The Talking Mule (as Francis the Talking Mule)
Oh! Susanna
1951
as Sgt. Barhydt
Rio Grande
1950
as Dr. Wilkins
High Lonesome
1950
as Boatwhistle
Stella
1950
as Chief Clark
Rock Island Trail
1950
as Hogger McCoy
Francis
1950
as Francis the Talking Mule (voice)
The Sundowners
1950
as Sam Beers
The Grass Is Always Greener
1950
as Windy
Red Canyon
1949
as Brackton
Tulsa
1949
as Pinky Jimpson (Narrator)
Loaded Pistols
1948
as Sheriff Cramer
Family Honeymoon
1948
as Fred
That Wonderful Urge
1948
as Homer Beggs
The Saxon Charm
1948
as Captain Chatham
Northwest Stampede
1948
as Mileaway
The Sainted Sisters
1948
as Will Twitchell
Heartaches
1947
as 'Breezie' Mann
The Yearling
1946
as Buck Forrester
Gallant Bess
1946
as Chief Petty Officer
The Harvey Girls
1946
as H.H. Hartsey
Leave Her to Heaven
1945
as Leick Thome
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
1945
as Sgt. Cramp
I'll Be Seeing You
1944
as Swanson
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier
1944
as Mr. York
Meet Me in St. Louis
1944
as Mr. Neely
Barbary Coast Gent
1944
as Sheriff Hightower
See Here, Private Hargrove
1944
as First Sgt. Cramp
Best Foot Forward
1943
as Chester Short
A Stranger in Town
1943
as Charles Craig
Stand by for Action
1942
as Mate Jenks, Chef-Bootsmann
Apache Trail
1942
as 'Pike' Skelton
The Omaha Trail
1942
as Henry Hawkins
Her Cardboard Lover
1942
as Judge
Mr. Gardenia Jones
1942
as Hotel Employee
Tarzan's New York Adventure
1942
as Manchester Montford
The Bugle Sounds
1942
as Sgt. Larry Dillon
Honky Tonk
1941
as The Sniper
Belle Starr
1941
as Blue Duck
Billy the Kid
1941
as Tom Patterson
The Bad Man
1941
as 'Red' Giddings
Western Union
1941
as Homer Kettle
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
1940
as Shiftless
Sky Murder
1940
as Sheriff Beckwith
The Westerner
1940
as Southeast
Wyoming
1940
as Lafe
Boom Town
1940
as Harmony Jones
Allegheny Uprising
1939
as M'Cammon
The Day the Bookies Wept
1939
as Man on Bus (uncredited)
Timber Stampede
1939
as Whopper Hatch
Racketeers of the Range
1939
as Whopper Hatch
Sorority House
1939
as Mr. Johnson
Trouble in Sundown
1939
as Whopper
Arizona Legion
1939
as Whopper Hatch
Lawless Valley
1938
as Deputy Speedy McGow
Nobody's Baby
1937
as Amateur Hour Lead Quartet Singer (as The Avalon Boys)
Way Out West
1937
as Lead Singer of the Avalon Boys / Stan's Bass Singing (uncredited)
At Sea Ashore
1936
as Leader of The Avalon Four (uncredited)
Call of the Prairie
1936
as Singing Cowhand
Bar 20 Rides Again
1935
as Henchman