John MillsBirth Place: The Watts Naval Training College, North Elmham, Norfolk, England, UK Date of Birth: February 22, 1908 Heritage: British Famous for: Oscar win for 'Ryan's Daughter' (1970) Contact John Mills |
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Ryan's Daughter Background: “One of the luckiest things that ever happened to me was to be born with a desperate desire to become an actor. I never remember at any age wanting to be anything else.” John Mills One of the most well-known and beloved British actors, Sir John Mills, born in 1908, died in 2005, created a reputation for himself as a prolific performer with more than 120 films under his belt since making his debut in 1932's “The Midshipmaid,” opposite Jessie Matthews. He was also a standout in “Tudor Rose” (1936), “Goodbye Mr. Chips” (1939), his American debut, “The Way to the Stars” (1945), “The October Man” (1947), “Tiger Bay” (1959), “Tunes of Glory” (1960, won a Venice Film Festival Award) and “The Family Way”(1966, won a San Sebastián International Film Festival Award), among others. However, Mills was most recognized for his long term collaboration with director David Lean. First working together in the remarkable war drama “In Which We Serve” (1942), the two continued to enjoy success with “This Happy Breed” (1944), “Great Expectations” (1946) and “Hobson's Choice” (1954). The latter even brought Mills a BAFTA nomination for his role as the competitive son-in-law. Their affiliation reached its peak in the early 1970s when Mills took home an Oscar, a Golden Globe Award and a Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award after playing the supporting role of a brain-damaged mute in Lean's disappointing epic romance “Ryan's Daughter” (1970). He said, “'Ryan's Daughter' is not my best film, but it is the best thing that happened to me professionally. It brought me the Academy Award and that meant I could finally be known again as somebody other than Hayley Mills' father.” Mills was also known for making cameo appearances in such vehicles as Kenneth Branagh's “Hamlet” (1996), “Bean” (1997), “Cats” (1998) and “Bright Young Things” (2003). His last appearance was in the 2005 British short “Lights2.” While acting for eight decades, Mills also collected a number of TV credits, including the CBS series “Dundee and the Culhane” (1967), the NBC show “The Zoo Gang” (1974), the British series “Quartermass” (1979) and others. He was also a well-respected stage actor. He was nominated for a Tony award for his work in 1961's “Ross,” his Broadway debut, and received attention for playing George in 1939's “Of Mice and Men.” As for his private life, Mills had been married twice, once to actress Aileen Raymond (from 1927 to 1941) and then to playwright Mary Hayley Bell (from 1941 until his death in 2005). He was the father of actresses Juliet Mills and Hayley Mills and writer/producer Jonathan Mills.
Childhood and Family: Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, professionally known as John Mills, was born on February 22, 1908, in The Watts Naval Training College, in Norfolk, England. Along with his older sister, Annette, who later became famous as a puppeteer on British television, he spent his childhood in Belton, Suffolk, where his father worked as a school headmaster before his family finally settled in London. His mother was a theater box-office manager. Mills enrolled at Norwich High School for Boys, in Norwich and St John Leeman School in Suffolk. Upon moving to London, he was educated at Balham Grammar School and later at Zelia Raye's Dancing School. While gaining ground at amateur theaters, Mills supported himself by working as a clerk and traveling salesman. John Mills, nicknamed Johnny, married actress Aileen Raymond in 1927, but they divorced in 1941. He was then married to Mary Hayley Bell on January 16, 1941. The couple had two daughters, Juliet and Hayley (both actresses), and a son, Jonathan (writer/producer) and lived together happily at their home in Denham, Buckinghamshire, until Mill's death on April 23, 2005. His wife died a few months later on December 1, 2005.
Career: John Mills made his acting debut at the Sir John Leman School in Beccles in a performance of “A Midsummer Night's Dream.” He went on to hone in on his craft in amateur theaters and after training at Zelia Raye's Dancing School, made his professional stage debut as a chorus boy in the musical “The Five O'Clock Girl” at London’s Hippodrome. At the time, he was 21 years old. Later that same year, he toured Asia and India as a member of the performing troupe The Quaints and performed in such plays as “Mr. Cinders,” “Hamlet” and “Journey's End.” Upon returning to London, Mills further established his stage career. He delivered a comic turn as Lord Babberly in “Charley's Aunt” in 1930 and showed his dramatic flair in Noel Coward's “Cavalcade” in 1931. Mills, however, had to wait for about eight years to receive the role of George in the adaptation of John Steinbeck's “Of Mice and Men” (1939). By then, he was well on his way to a triumphant film career. Mills had his first taste in front of the film camera with a small role in the 1932 film “The Midshipmaid,” starring Jessie Matthews. He quickly moved up the ranks to appear as a leading man in the movies “Tudor Rose” (1936), where he earned attention for playing Lord Dudley, opposite teen actress Nova Pilbeam, and “The Green Cockatoo” (1937). His American debut feature arrived in the late 1930s when he was cast as young Peter Colley in the Robert Donat vehicle “Goodbye Mr. Chips” (1939). Throughout the next decade, Mills had no less then 19 films under his belt. He embarked on his successful partnership with director David Lean in the 1942 notable war drama “In Which We Serve,” which was co-directed and written by Noel Coward (also starred in). The two teamed up again for “This Happy Breed” (1944), which was based on a play by Coward, and “Great Expectations” (1946). He also teamed up with Stewart Granger in the WWII set drama “Waterloo Road” (1945), memorably portrayed Peter Penrose in a superb war drama by director Anthony Asquith, “The Way to the Stars” (1945), worked with his daughter, Juliet, for the first time in the suspense thriller “The October Man” (1947), and had the title role in the biopic “Scott of the Antarctic” (1948). He made his producing debut with Anthony Pelissier's “The History of Mr. Polly” (1949), where he also played the title character. Despite his busy film schedule, Mills still found time to pursue his stage career. He acted and co-directed (with Bernard Miles) “Men in Show” (1942), which was penned by wife Mary Hayley Bell, and then directed and starred in 1947's “Angel,” again written by Bell. Mills also continued his film career. After roles in “Morning Departure” (1950), “The Rocking Horse Winner” (1950, also a producer), “The Long Memory” (1952), “Mr. Denning Drives North” (1952) and “The Gentle Gunman” (1952), he and David Lean reunited for the pleasing comedy/drama “Hobson's Choice” (1954), in which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Actor for his portrayal of Charles Laughton's son-in-law. He resurfaced on the stage later that same year when he recreated the role of Lord Babberly in a revival of “Charley's Aunt.” Mills next found himself in “The Colditz Story” (1955), “War and Peace” (1956) and making his American TV acting debut as Robert Crosbie in the “Producer's Showcase” episode of “The Letter” in 1956, directed by William Wyler. He appeared as a cab driver in the Oscar winning “Around the World in 80 Days” (1956) and closed out the decade by playing a detective in the film “Tiger Bay” (1959). Daughter Hayley also appeared with him in the movie. “Tunes of Glory,” opposite Alec Guinness, marked Mills' comeback in 1960. Starring as an English officer bent on restoring order, his performance was hailed as one of his finest offerings and he was awarded a Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 1960 Venice Film Festival and a 1961 BAFTA nomination for Best British Actor. The following year saw Mills on stage in “Ross,” a production based on the life of T E Lawrence. Following an on-screen appearance with daughter Hayley in the Roy Boulting directed “The Family Way” (1966), where he picked up the San Sebastián International Film Festival Prize for Best Actor, Mills made his feature film directorial debut with “Sky West and Crooked/Gypsy Girl,” starring Hayley and co-written by wife Bell. He returned to American TV in a series regular role as British attorney Dundee in CBS' summer replacement series, “Dundee and the Culhane” (1967) and directed the movie version of “Oh! What a Lovely War” (1969). He then took on a cameo role, as Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, in the film. After nearly four decades in the film industry, Mills eventually experienced an unforgettable moment in his career when in 1971 he won an Academy Award for his scene-stealing role of the drunken village idiot, Michael, in the David Lean epic romance “Ryan's Daughter” (1970). The role also brought the then 62-year-old actor a Golden Globe and a Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award, as well as a BAFTA nomination. Referring to his role in the film, he said, “It was weird. I just thought I'd been wasting my time for the past 55 years learning all these millions of lines, and then getting an Oscar for not speaking.” Still active as he grew older, the rest of the 1970s found Mills working on films like “Young Winston” (1972, as General Kitchener), “Oklahoma Crude” (1973, as the father of Faye Dunaway) and “Zulu Dawn” (1979). He was seen on the small screen in NBC's “The Zoo Gang” (1974) and the four-part British TV series “Quartermass” (1979), as well as on the stage in the London revival of Terrence Rattigan's “Separate Tables” (1977). Next, the actor played the governor in “Gandhi” (1982) for director Richard Attenborough, was featured as Henry Rossiter, Emma Harte's advisor, on the syndicated miniseries “A Woman of Substance” (1984), a role he reprised in the 1986 installment “Hold That Dream,” supported pop superstar Madonna in the comedy “Who's That Girl” (1987), had a role in the NBC miniseries adaptation of “Around the World in 80 Days” (1989) and played Jarvis Lorry on the PBS multi-part adaptation of “A Tale of Two Cities” (1989). Meanwhile, on stage, he starred in the production of “The Petition” (1986) and made his last Broadway performance in a 1987 revival of “Pygmalion.” Mills continued his acting career into the 1990s although he appeared primarily in cameo roles. Among his impressive performances, he was seen as the Chairman in the 1997 comedy “Bean” and Gus the Theatre Cat in the direct-to-video release of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Cats” (1998). Before his death, he appeared in the made-for-TV film “The Gentleman Thief” (2001), the Stephen Fry movie “Bright Young Things” (2003) and the short “Lights2” (2005).
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