Chill 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.
Known For
Mr. Neely
Meet Me in St. Louis
Uncle Bawley
Giant
Beekeeper
The Alamo
Swanson
I'll Be Seeing You
Lemuel
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Dr. Wilkins
Rio Grande
Jim Ed Love
The Rounders
Sgt. Joe, the 'Voice of Chicago'
City That Never Sleeps
Manchester Montford
Tarzan's New York Adventure
Southeast
The Westerner
Jay Ray Spinelby
The Wheeler Dealers
Police Captain
Where the Boys Are
Sam Beers
The Sundowners
Drago
McLintock!
Homer Kettle
Western Union
M'Cammon
Allegheny Uprising
Francis (voice) (uncredited)
Francis in the Navy
Col. Clayton T. Winkle
Mr. Billion
John Gage
The Man from the Alamo
Sheriff Beckwith
Sky Murder
Leick Thome
Leave Her to Heaven
Turk
The Deadly Companions
Buck Forrester
The Yearling
Blue Duck
Belle Starr
Harmony Jones
Boom Town
Amos Bradley
From Hell to Texas
Big Jaw
Fireball 500
The Sniper
Honky Tonk
Gentleman George Agnew
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
Boatwhistle
High Lonesome
Fred
Family Honeymoon
Sgt. Larry Dillon
The Bugle Sounds
Judge
Her Cardboard Lover
Pinky Jimpson (Narrator)
Tulsa
Major Buford
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Dallas
Cattle Drive
Preacher
Gun Glory
Brackton
Red Canyon
Charles Craig
A Stranger in Town
Drive-In Movie Memories
Captain 'Sidewheel' Jones
Santiago
Sgt. Cramp
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
Shiftless
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
Francis (as Francis the Talking Muke)
Francis Joins the WACS
Capt. Connors
The Sad Horse
Francis The Talking Mule (as Francis the Talking Mule)
Francis Goes to the Races
Windy
The Grass Is Always Greener
Will Twitchell
The Sainted Sisters
Preacher Sam Shelby
Young Guns of Texas
Mr. York
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier
Dan Bream
Bronco Buster
Whopper Hatch
Racketeers of the Range
Loving
Gun for a Coward
Chief Petty Officer
Gallant Bess
Sheriff Murchoree
Tumbleweed
Monsignor
The Cardinal
Sgt. Barhydt
Oh! Susanna
Doc Wilson Gates, M.D.
Gold of the Seven Saints
Steve Riika
Timberjack
Sheriff Hightower
Barbary Coast Gent
Mileaway
Northwest Stampede
Tobias Taylor
Kentucky Rifle
Leader of The Avalon Four (uncredited)
At Sea Ashore
Homer Beggs
That Wonderful Urge
'Pike' Skelton
Apache Trail
Mr. Johnson
Sorority House
Lead Singer of the Avalon Boys / Stan's Bass Singing (uncredited)
Way Out West
Tom Patterson
Billy the Kid
Hogger McCoy
Rock Island Trail
Ike Adams
Ride the Man Down
Whopper Hatch
Arizona Legion
Henchman
Bar 20 Rides Again
Tom Williams
Ricochet Romance
Chester Short
Best Foot Forward
Man on Bus (uncredited)
The Day the Bookies Wept
Singing Cowhand
Call of the Prairie
Whopper Hatch
Timber Stampede
Henry Hawkins
The Omaha Trail
Deputy Speedy McGow
Lawless Valley
Whopper
Trouble in Sundown
Mr. Ike
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
Chief Clark
Stella
Lafe
Wyoming
Kevin Russell
Hell's Outpost
Mate Jenks, Chef-Bootsmann
Stand by for Action
'Breezie' Mann
Heartaches
Francis the Talking Mule (voice)
Francis
Big Burt
Poco… Little Dog Lost
Francis (as Franis the Talking Mule)
Francis Covers the Big Town
Francis (as Francis the Talking Mule)
Francis Goes to West Point
The Janitor
Stubby Pringle's Christmas
Swede
The Sea Hornet
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
'Red' Giddings
The Bad Man
Sheriff Cramer
Loaded Pistols
Tom Duncan
Guns of a Stranger
Host
New York Premiere Telecast 'Giant'
First Sgt. Cramp
See Here, Private Hargrove
Hotel Employee
Mr. Gardenia Jones
Tall Guy McCoy
The Steagle
Big Daddy
Self (archive footage)
It's Showtime
H.H. Hartsey
The Harvey Girls
Self
Disneyland '59
Beekeeper
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
Captain Chatham
The Saxon Charm
Self (archive footage)
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Amateur Hour Lead Quartet Singer (as The Avalon Boys)
Nobody's Baby
Gentleman George Agnew
The Over the Hill Gang
Lars (uncredited)
High Barbaree
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
110
Gender
Male
Birthday
1902-07-18
Place of Birth
Seagoville, Texas, USA
Also Known As
Theodore Childress Wills