Chill Wills

Q: What is Chill Wills's most recent movie or series?

Chill Wills's most recent release is Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade, which premiered on July 25, 2004.

Jul 18, 1902 — Dec 15, 1978 (76 years) Seagoville, Texas, USA

101 Movies 6 Series

Chill Wills has spent over 91 years in front of the camera, with more than 107 film and TV credits. his Uncle Bawley in 'Giant' ranks among the most remembered of his filmography.

Known for

The Grass Is Always Greener

as Windy

Poco… Little Dog Lost

as Big Burt

76R.I.P.

101Movies

6Series

Chill Wills has spent over 91 years in front of the camera, with more than 107 film and TV credits. his Uncle Bawley in 'Giant' ranks among the most remembered of his filmography.

Known for

The Grass Is Always Greener

as Windy

Poco… Little Dog Lost

as Big Burt

76 R.I.P.

R.I.P.

101

Movies

Series

Movies

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid

The Deadly Companions

Gold of the Seven Saints

The Man from the Alamo

City That Never Sleeps

Tarzan's New York Adventure

Francis Goes to West Point

Francis Joins the WACS

The Liberation of L.B. Jones

Francis Goes to the Races

TV Shows

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

⭐ 7.8

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Latest Trailers

Watch Trailer

Mr. Billion

Full Filmography

Stubby Pringle's Christmas

The Janitor

1978

Film

Poco… Little Dog Lost

Big Burt

1977

Film

Mr. Billion

Col. Clayton T. Winkle

1977

Film

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid

Film

Film

Film

Heppelwhite (segment "The Little Black Bag")

1970

The Liberation of L.B. Jones

Film

Film

Photos

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chill Wills still alive?

Chill Wills passed away on December 15, 1978 at age 76.

What are the most famous roles of Chill Wills?

Chill Wills is best known for roles in Giant, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, Meet Me in St. Louis.

How many movies has Chill Wills been in?

Over a 43-year career (since 1935), Chill Wills has appeared in 110 movies and 15 TV shows.

What was Chill Wills's first movie?

The career of Chill Wills began with Bar 20 Rides Again (1935).

What is Chill Wills's most recent movie or series?

Chill Wills's most recent release is Stubby Pringle's Christmas, which premiered on December 17, 1978.

What TV shows has Chill Wills appeared in?

On television, Chill Wills has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, Night Gallery, Rawhide.

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. CLRChill Wills, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Chill Wills

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