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John Mills Biography (1908-)

Original name, Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; born February 22, 1908, in Felixstowe, Suffolk, England; son of Lewis (a mathematics teacher and headmaster) andEdith (a theatre box office manager; maiden name, Baker) Mills; married Aileen Raymond (an actress), March 1932 (divorced, 1940); married Mary Hayley Bell(an actress and playwright), January 16, 1941; children: (second marriage) Juliet (an actress), Hayley (an actress), Jonathan; grandfather of Crispian Mills (a singer). Addresses: Contact: c/o Artist Mail, BBC Information,P.O. Box 1116, Belfast BT2 7AJ, United Kingdom; Hill House, Denham Village, Buckinghamshire, England.

Nationality

British

Gender

Male

Occupation

Actor, director, producer

Birth Details

February 22, 1908

Felixstowe, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Stage Appearances
• Member of the chorus, The Five O'Clock Girl, London Hippodrome, London, 1929
• Lord Fancourt Babberley, Charley's Aunt, New Theatre, London, 1930
• Joe Marryot, Cavalcade, Drury Lane Theatre, London, 1931
• The 1931 Review, London Pavilion, London, 1931
• Birkinshaw, London Wall, Duke of York's Theatre, London, 1931
• Words and Music, Adelphi Theatre, London, 1932
• Cliff Read, Give Me a Ring, London Hippodrome, 1933
• Bobby Jones, Jill, Darling, Saville Theatre, London, 1934
• Private Syd Summers, Red Night, Queen's Theatre, London, 1936
• Roger Holly, Aren't Men Beasts!, Strand Theatre, London, 1936
• Floodlight, Saville Theatre, 1937
• Roger Miller, Talk of the Devil, Piccadilly Theatre, London, 1937
• Pelissier's Follies of 1938, Saville Theatre, 1938
• Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Old Vic Theatre, London, 1938
• Young Marlow, She Stoops to Conquer, Old Vic Theatre, 1938
• Tommy, We at the Crossroads, Globe Theatre, London, 1939
• George, Of Mice and Men, Gate Theatre, then Apollo Theatre, 1939
• Lew, Men in Shadow, Vaudeville Theatre, London, 1942
• Stephen Cass, Duet for Two Hands, Lyric Theatre, London, 1945
• Angel, Strand Theatre, 1947
• Bertie, Top of the Ladder, St. James's Theatre, London, 1950
• The Damascus Blade, 1950
• Freddie, Figure of Fun, Aldwych Theatre, London, 1951
• Candy, The Uninvited Guest, St. James's Theatre, 1953
• Lord Fancourt Babberley, Charley's Aunt, New Theatre, 1954
• Title role, Ross, Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York City, 1961
• Otto Moll, Power of Persuasion, Garrick Theatre, London, 1963
• Laurence D'Orsay, Veterans, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1972
• Henry Jackson, At the End of the Day, Savoy Theatre, London, 1973
• Jess Oakroyd, The Good Companions, Her Majesty's Theatre, London,1974
• Joe Gargery, Great Expectations, Arnaud Theatre, then Guildford Theatre, 1975
• Mr. Malcolm and Major Pollack, Separate Tables, Apollo Theatre, 1977
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Chichester Theatre Festival, Chichester, England, 1982
• Mr. Posket, Little Lies, Wyndham's Theatre, London, 1983
• Little Lies, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1984
• General Sir Edmund Milne, The Petition, Lyttelton Theatre, London,then Wyndham's Theatre, both 1986
• Pygmalion, Guildford Theatre, then Plymouth Theatre, New York City, 1987
• Also appeared in An Evening with John Mills.
• Major Tours
• Lieutenant Raleigh, Journey's End, The Quaints, Indian and Far Eastern cities, 1929
• Young Woodley, The Quaints, Indian and Far Eastern cities, 1929
• Mr. Cinders, The Quaints, Indian and Far Eastern cities, 1929
• Hamlet, The Quaints, Indian and Far Eastern cities, 1929
• Joe Gargery, Great Expectations, 1975
• Mr. Malcolm and Major Pollack, Separate Tables, 1976
• Stage Director
• Angel, Strand Theatre, London, 1947
• (With others) Power of Persuasion, Garrick Theatre, London, 1963
• Film Appearances
• Golightly, Midshipmaid Gob (also known as The Midshipmaid),Woolf and Freedman Film Service, 1932
• Fred Bolton, Britannia of Billingsgate, Ideal, 1933
• Ernest Elton, The Ghost Camera, Radio Pictures, 1933
• Tony Smithers, A Political Party, Pathe, 1933
• Ralph Summers, Blind Justice, Real Art, 1934
• Ronnie Blake, Doctor's Orders, Wardour, 1934
• Peter Farrell, The River Wolves, Radio Pictures, 1934
• Arthur Houghton, The Lash, RKO Radio Pictures, 1934
• Bobby, Those Were the Days, Wardour, 1934
• Albert Brown, Born for Glory (also known as Forever England, Brown on Resolution, and Torpedo Raider), Gaumont, 1935
• Robert Miller, Car of Dreams, Gaumont, 1935
• Tony, Charing Cross Road, British Lion, 1935
• Boy, Regal Cavalcade (originally released in England as Royal Cavalcade), Alliance, 1935
• Johnnie Penrose, First Offence (also known as Bad Blood andThe First Offense), Gaumont, 1936
• Lord Guildford Dudley, Lady Jane Grey (also known as Tudor Rose and Nine Days a Queen), Gaumont, 1936
• Jim Connor, The Green Cockatoo (also known as Four Dark Hours and Race Gang), Devonshire Films, 1937
• Corporal Bert Dawson, You're in the Army Now (also known as O.H.M.S.), Gaumont, 1937
• Peter Colley as a young man, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939
• Young Bill Busby, Old Bill and Son, General Films Distributors, 1940
• Jack, All Hands (short film), 1940
• Dangerous Comment (short film), 1940
• Now You're Talking (short film), 1940
• Bobby Jessop, Black Sheep of Whitehall, United Artists, 1941
• Flight Lieutenant George Perrey, Bombsight Stolen (also known as Cottage to Let), General Films Distributors, 1941
• Tom, The Big Blockade, Ealing, 1942
• Ordinary Seaman Shorty Blake, In Which We Serve, British Lion, 1942
• William Wilberforce, The Young Mr. Pitt, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1942
• (Uncredited) The Goose Steps Out, 1942
• Captain-Lieutenant Freddie Taylor, We Dive at Dawn, General FilmsDistributors, 1943
• Billy Mitchell, This Happy Breed, Prestige-Universal, 1944
• Victory Wedding (short film), 1944
• Peter Penrose, Johnny in the Clouds (also known as The Way to the Stars), United Artists, 1945
• Jim Colter, Waterloo Road, General Films Distributors/Eagle-Lion,1945
• Narrator, Total War in Britain (documentary), 1945
• Narrator, Land of Promise (documentary), 1946
• Pip Pirrip as a young man, Great Expectations, Universal, 1946
• George Boswell, So Well Remembered, RKO Radio Pictures, 1947
• Jim Ackland, The October Man, Eagle-Lion, 1947
• Alfred Polly, The History of Mr. Polly, General Films Distributors, 1949
• Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Scott of the Antarctic, Eagle-Lion/Pyramid, 1949
• Narrator, Friend of the Family (documentary), 1949
• The Flying Skyscraper (short film), 1949
• Bassett, The Rocking Horse Winner, General Films Distributors, 1950
• Lieutenant Commander Armstrong, Operation Disaster (also known asMorning Departure), Universal, 1950
• Terrence Sullivan, The Gentle Gunman, General Films Distributors,1952
• Tom Denning, Mr. Denning Drives North, Carroll Pictures, 1953
• Phillip Davidson, The Long Memory, General Films Distributors, 1953
• Willie Mossop, Hobson's Choice, British Lion, 1954
• Pat Reid, The Colditz Story, British Lion, 1955
• Albert Parkis, The End of the Affair, Columbia, 1955
• John Hampden, Escapade, Eros, 1955
• Commander Frazer, Above Us the Waves, Republic, 1955
• London cabby, Around the World in Eighty Days, United Artists, 1956
• Mr. Dingle, It's Great to Be Young, Associated British-Pathe, 1956
• Platon Karatsev, War and Peace (also known as Guerra e pace), Paramount, 1956
• Puncher Roberts, The Baby and the Battleship, British Lion, 1956
• Dr. Howard Lattimer, The Circle (also known as The Vicious Circle), Kassler Films, 1957
• Superintendent Mike Halloran, Town on Trial, Columbia, 1957
• Corporal Tubby Binns, Dunkirk, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1958
• Captain Anson, Desert Attack (also known as Ice Cold in Alex), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958
• Major Harvey, Hell, Heaven, or Hoboken (also known as I Was Monty's Double), National Trade Association, 1958
• Superintendent Graham, Tiger Bay, Rank-Continental, 1959
• Mr. Robinson, Swiss Family Robinson, Buena Vista, 1960
• Lieutenant Colonel Basil Barrow, Tunes of Glory, Lopert, 1960
• Barney, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (also known as Season ofPassion), 1960
• Father Keogh, The Singer Not the Song, Warner Bros., 1961
• Jacko Palmer, Flame in the Streets, Atlantic, 1962
• Lieutenant Colonel Clifford Southey, Tiara Tahiti, Zenith, 1962
• Captain Morgan, The Valiant (also known as L'affondamento dellaValiant), United Artists, 1962
• Maitland, The Chalk Garden, Universal, 1964
• Colonel Smedley-Taylor, King Rat, Columbia, 1965
• General Boyd of M.I.6, Operation Crossbow, (also known as CodeName: Operation Crossbow, The Great Spy Mission, and OperazioneCrossbow), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1965
• Tommy Tyler, The Truth about Spring, Universal, 1965
• Masterman Finsbury, The Wrong Box, Columbia, 1966
• Wing Commander Howard Hayes, Africa--Texas Style! (also known as Cowboy in Africa), Paramount, 1967
• Colonel Stuart Valois, Chuka (also known as Chuka: The Gunfighter), Paramount, 1967
• Ezra Fitton, The Family Way, Warner Bros., 1967
• Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Oh! What a Lovely War, Paramount,1969
• The Moorman, Run Wild, Run Free (also known as The White Colt), Columbia, 1969
• Sir William Hamilton, Lady Hamilton (also known as Lady Hamilton--Zwichen Smach und Liebe, Emma Hamilton, The Making of a Lady, Le calde notti di Lady Hamilton, and Les amours de Lady Hamilton), Constantin, 1969
• Inspector Franz Bulov, A Black Veil for Lisa (also known as Lamorte non ha sesso, Death Has No Sex and Das Geheimnis der Jungen Witwe), Commonwealth United, 1969
• Michael, Ryan's Daughter, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1970
• Sir Phillip MacDonald, Adam's Woman (also known as The Return of the Boomerang), Warner Bros., 1970
• Mr. Parker, Dulcima, Cinevision, 1971
• Canning, Lady Caroline Lamb (also known as Peccato d'amore), United Artists, 1972
• General Herbert Kitchener, Young Winston, Columbia, 1972
• Cleon Doyle, Oklahoma Crude, Columbia, 1973
• Mike McCallister, The Human Factor, Bryanston, 1975
• Bertie Cook, Dirty Knight's Work (also known as Trial by Combat, Choice of Arms, and Choice of Weapons), Gamma III, 1976
• Blaise Meredith, The Devil's Advocate (also known as Des Teufels Advokat), Rank Film Distributors, 1977
• Inspector Jim Carson, The Big Sleep, United Artists, 1978
• Colonel Scudder, The Thirty-Nine Steps (also known as The 39 Steps), International Picture Show, 1978
• Professor Bernard Quartermass, Quartermass (also known as The Quartermass Conclusion), Euston Films, 1978
• Sir Henry Bartle Frere, Zulu Dawn, Warner Bros., 1980
• Lord Chelmsford, Gandhi, Columbia, 1982
• Cambridge, Sahara, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1984
• Narrator, Tribute to Her Majesty (documentary), ITC Entertainment,1986
• Voice of Jim Bloggs, When the Wind Blows (animated), Recorded Releasing, 1987
• (As Sir John Mills) Montgomery Bell, Who's That Girl?, Warner Bros., 1987
• (In archive footage) Himself, The 1950's: Music, Memories & Milestones, 1988
• Dapper man, The Big Freeze, Mountshannon Productions, 1993
• Jack the Ripper, Deadly Advice, Rosebud Communications Releasing,1994
• Sir Edward Cleghorn, Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets (also known as Grave Indiscretion and The Grotesque), LIVE Entertainment, 1995
• Old Norway, Hamlet (also known as William Shakespeare's Hamlet), Sony Pictures Entertainment, 1996
• (As Sir John Mills) Chairman, Bean (also known as Dr. Bean, Bean: The Movie, and Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie), Gramercy, 1997
• Gus the Theatre Cat, Cats (also known as Andrew Lloyd Webber's"Cats"), PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1998
• (As Sir John Mills) Narrator, The Best of British Cinema, 1999
• Himself, Sir John Mills' Moving Memories (also known as MovingMemories), 2000
• Also appeared in Blue for Waterloo; Red Wagon; Showdown.
• Film Work
• Producer, The History of Mr. Polly, General Films Distributors, 1949
• Producer, The Rocking Horse Winner, General Films Distributors, 1950
• Producer and director, Gypsy Girl (also known as Sky West and Crooked), Continental, 1966
• Television Appearances
• Series
• Dundee, Dundee and the Culhane, CBS, 1967
• Captain Tommy "The Elephant" Devon, The Zoo Gang, NBC, 1975
• Professor Bernard Quartermass, Quartermass, 1979
• Albert Collyer, Young at Heart, 1980
• (In archive footage) The Sketch Story Show (also known as Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story), BBC, 2001
• Miniseries
• Henry Rossiter, A Woman of Substance, Operation Prime Time, 1984 then Channel 4, 1985
• Henry Rossiter, Hold the Dream, Operation Prime Time, then Channel4, both 1986
• Jarvis Lorry, "A Tale of Two Cities," Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1989
• Faversham, Around the World in Eighty Days, NBC, 1989
• Old Chuffey, Martin Chuzzlewit (also known as Charles Dickens'Martin Chuzzlewit), BBC-2, 1994 later broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1995
• Movies
• Dr. John H. Watson, Masks of Death (also known as Sherlock Holmes and the Masks of Death), 1984
• Lewis Serrocold, Murder with Mirrors (also known as Agatha Christie's Murder with Mirrors), CBS, 1985
• Bernard, Ending Up, Thames Television, 1989
• Sir Lawrence Dobson, The Lady and the Highwayman (also known as Dangerous Love), CBS, 1989
• General Munro, Night of the Fox, syndicated, 1990
• Bernard Quigley, Harnessing Peacocks, 1992
• De Lacey, Frankenstein, TNT, 1993
• Arthur Rosehip, The Gentleman Thief, 2001
• Specials
• The 18th Annual American Film Institute Life Achievement Award: A Salute to Sir David Lean, ABC, 1990
• D-Day Remembered--A Musical Tribute from the QE2, PBS, 1994
• Narrator, Forty Years on Coronation Street, Granada TV, 2000
• Episodic
• Robert Crosbie "The Letter," Producers' Showcase, NBC, 1956
• "The Interrogator," The DuPont Show of the Week, NBC, 1962
• "The Hell Walkers," The DuPont Show of the Week, NBC, 1964
• The Danny Kaye Show, CBS, 1964
• "The Human Fly," Nanny and the Professor, ABC, 1971
• (As Sir John Mills) Bertram MacDonald, "A Good and Faithful Servant/Secret Life of Burl Smith/Tug of War/Designated Lover," The Love Boat, ABC,1979
• Parker, "The Galloping Foxley," Tales of the Unexpected, Anglia Television, then syndicated, 1979
• The man, "The Umbrella Man," Tales of the Unexpected, Anglia Television, then syndicated, 1980
• "Make Peace, Not War," Dempsey and Makepeace, London Weekend Television, then syndicated, 1985
• Charles, "Changes of Heart," Hotel, ABC, 1986
• Himself, Clive Anderson All Talk, BBC1, 1999
• Himself, Parkinson, BBC, 2001
• Also appeared in episodes of Festival Theatre; Morecambe and Wise, Associated Television, BBC, BBC-2, and Thames Television; as himself,Open House.
• Pilots
• Thomas Lindmer, the sorcerer, Dr. Strange, CBS, 1978
• The Earl of Dorincourt, Little Lord Fauntleroy, CBS, 1982
• Other
• Appeared in Edge of the Wind and The True Story of Spit MacPhee.
• WRITINGS
• Memoirs
• Up in the Clouds, Gentlemen Please, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, England), 1980
• Still Memories: An Autobiography in Photography, Hutchinson, 2000
• Nonfiction
• Book of Famous Firsts, 1984

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

• International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, St. James Press, 1996
• Tantich, Robert, John Mills, 1993

Periodicals

• British Heritage, February, 2000, p. 44