Chill Wills Biography, Age, Death, Wife, Children’s Net Worth, Group, Oscar & Movies

BIOGRAPHY DE CHILL WILLS

Texas native Chill Wills will be remembered for his role in movies like Allegheny Uprising, Boom Town, Loaded Pistols Remarkably, The Sundowners, Rock Island Trail. He began his career as a singer in the Avalon Boys Quartet, which led to his acting debut. He appeared in films like The Alamo, Giant and voiced Francis the Mule in a series of films.

Chill has mostly played character roles in American Western films. Wills mostly played jovial and sometimes sinister character roles, mostly in westerns. MGM signed Chill as one of their regular comedy cowpokes in 1940. Chill also gained notoriety as a voice actor.

The most notable of his voice roles is that of Francis, the Talking Mule. His deep, raspy voice later earned him several other voice roles. The breakthrough role was John Wayne’s funny, whiskey-drinking pal in The Alamo. The film earned him notoriety in the film fraternity for using blatant and embarrassing means to promote his Academy nomination.

CHILL WILLS DEATH

Wills died of cancer on December 15, 1978, at the age of 76. Consequently, he was interred at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

CHILL WILLS WIFE | CHILDREN

Wills married dancer Hattie Elizabeth “Betty” Chappelle on December 4, 1928. He remained married to her until her death in November 1971. The couple had two children, Jill Wills, born in 1939, and Will Wills, born in 1942. Chill was married to Novadeen Googe from 1973 to 1978. Chill was an avid poker player. One of his close friends, Benny Binion, was the former owner of “Binion’s Horseshoe Casino” in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the man who started the “World Series of Poker”. In 1970, Chill took part in the first “World Series”. ‘ Game.

CHILL WILLS AGE

Wills was born Theodore Childress Wills on July 18, 1902, in Seagoville, Texas. He died at the age of 76. Wills was an American citizen. Also, he had a place with a white ethnic base. Impressively, he was only 12 when he started performing with tent shows in vaudeville. This with stock companies. Wills attended Minsky College of Burlesque.

CHILL WILLS NET WORTH

Will had an estimated net worth of $4 million. The theater was the main source of his wealth. Nevertheless, he has appeared in several films, and he also has a vocalist in The Avalon Boys. Wills had a serious role in the 1956 film, Giant, and voiced Francis the Mule in a series of films

CHILL WILLS BAND: LES AVALON BOYS

Wills’ early beginnings as a performer led him to found and lead the singing group Chill Wills and His Avalon Boys ‘ (also known as ‘The Avalon Boys’) in the 1930s. disbanded in 1938. Before that, he had worked with his band in several low-budget westerns. An “RKO” executive spotted him while his band was performing at the “Trocadéro” in Hollywood. Following this, he built an acting career.

One of Chill’s notable appearances with ‘The Avalon Boys’ was in the 1937 comedy film ‘Way Out West’, in which he provided the bass voice in comic actor Stan Laurel’s performance from ‘The Trail of the Lonesome Pine’. His other notable voice role was for “Francis the Talking Mule,” a 1950s celebrity character, in seven popular “Universal-International” motion picture comedies. He performed the self-composed song ‘The Blue-Eyed Sailor Man’ in the 1942 ‘MGM’ feature film ‘Stand By for Action.’ He continued to work as a voice actor and became the ‘Voice of Chicago’, ‘Sgt. Joe,’ in the 1953 crime noir film ‘City That Never Sleeps’. Chill performed ‘Uncle Bawley’ in the epic 1956 Western drama film ‘Giant’. He next appeared in a breakthrough role in the epic 1960 war film The Alamo. “His remarkable performance as a beekeeper and protagonist” Col. The Tennessee sidekick to Davy Crockett (played by John Wayne) earned him an ‘Oscar’ nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actor’.

CHILL WILLS ACADEMY AWARD

Unfortunately, Chill lost his only chance to win the most coveted award due to his aggressive and tasteless campaign for a victory, which was considered one of the most expensive and overly political campaigns of the time. He was 58 at the time and had no fear of losing the Academy Award, as he earned the nomination after spending decades in the industry.

The film’s star John Wayne, who also directed and produced “The Alamo,” issued a public apology on Chill’s behalf. The “Alamo” advertising campaigns have led to several controversies and debates about the professional and moral ethics of film promotion. Chill’s publicist, WS “Bow-Wow” Wojciechowicz, took responsibility for the profanity campaign and saved Chill, claiming he knew nothing about it. In 1960, Chill played the title role in an episode of Rory Calhoun’s Western “CBS” series “The Texan,” titled “Captain Wylie’s Eyes.” The same year, on February 8, he was honored with a ‘star’ on the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ (at 6923 Hollywood Boulevard). Subsequently, Chill appeared in the only season (1961-1962) of the Western “CBS” series “Frontier Circus”. From 1963 to 1964, Chill was active in politics and made appearances on behalf of Republican candidate U.S. Senator Barry. Goldwater, in his campaign against US President Lyndon B. Johnson. However, in 1968 he declined to endorse Richard Nixon for the presidential race and served as emcee for former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace’s campaigns instead.

CHILL WILLS GUNSMOKE

Chill was one of the few Hollywood stars to endorse Wallace’s campaign against Nixon and Hubert H Humphrey. In 1966, he reprized his role as the goofy Texas rancher named “Jim Ed Love” from the 1965 western film “The Rounders” in the “ABC” comedy/western series of the same name. In 1968, he starred in an episode of the western radio and television drama series “Gunsmoke,” titled “A Noose for Dobie Price.”

He played the character “Elihu Gorman”, a former outlaw who worked with “Marshal Matt Dillon” (played by James Arness) to track down a former gang member who had escaped from prison. Chill’s last appearance was in the 1978 TV movie “Stubby Pringle’s Christmas,” in which he played a janitor.

Chill Wills Voice

The nickname “Chill” was a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the day he was born, as it was the hottest day on record that year. However, it is also believed to be simply a shortened version of her middle name, ‘Childress’. Chill was not paid for his voice role of “Francis”, even though he was the main character in the “Francis” franchise.

FILMS DE CHIL WILLS

It’s a Gift (1934) as Campfire Singer (uncredited)
Bar 20 Rides Again (1935) as Background Singer / Henchman Anything Goes (1936) as Member of The Avalon Boys ( uncredited) credited) Call of the Prairie (1936) as Cow Singing Hideaway Girl (1936) as Avalon Boys Lead Vocalist
Way Out West (1937) as Avalon Boys Lead Vocalist / Stan’s Bass Singing (uncredited )
Nobody’s Baby (1937) as Vocalist of Chief Hour Amateur Quartet Block-Heads (1938) as Midget in Elevator (voice, uncredited) Lawless Valley (1938) as Deputy Speedy McGow Arizona Legion (1939) as Whopper Hatch
Trouble in Sundown (1939) as Whopper
Sorority House (1939) as Mr. Johnson
Racketeers of the Range (1939) as Whopper Hatch
Timber Stampede (1939) as Whopper Hatch The Day the Bookies Wept (1939) as Man on Bus (uncredited)
Allegheny Uprising (1939) as John M’Cammon
Arizona Legion ( 1939) as Whooper Hatch
Boom Town (1940) as Deputy Harmony Jones
Wyoming (1940) as Lafe (uncredited)
The Westerner (1940) as Southeast Sky Murder (1940) as Sheriff Beckwith
Tugboat Annie Sails Again (1940) as Shiftless
Western Union (1941) as Homer Kettle The Bad Man (1941) as “Red” Giddings
Billy the Kid (1941) as Tom Patterson Belle Starr (1941) as Blue Duck
Honky Tonk (1941) as The Sniper
The Bugle Sounds (1942) as Sgt. Larry Dillon
Tarzan’s New York Adventure (1942) as Manchester Montford
His Cardboard Lover (1942) as Judge The Omaha Trail (1942) as Henry Hawkins
Apache Trail (1942) as “Pike” Skelton
Stand by for Action (1942) as Chief Boatswain Jenks
A Stranger in Town (1943) as Charles Craig
Best Foot Forward (1943) as Chester Short See Here, Private Hargrove (1944) as First Sgt. Ration
Cramp (1944) as Bus Driver (scenes deleted)
Barbary Coast Gent (1944) as Sheriff Hightower
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) as Mr. Neely, I’ll See You (1944) as as Swanson
Sunday Dinner for a Private (1944) as Mr. York
What Next, Corporal Hargrove? (1945) as Sgt. Cramp
Leave Her in Heaven (1945) as Leick Thome
The Harvey Girls (1946) as HH Hartsey Gallant Bess (1946) as Chief Petty Officer
The Yearling (1946) as Buck Forrester
High Barbaree (1947) as Lars (uncredited)
Heartaches (1947) as “Breezie” Mann
The Sainted Sisters (1948) as Will Twitchell Northwest Stampede (1948) as Mileaway
The Saxon Charm (1948) as Captain Chatham
That Wonderful Envy (1948) as Homer Beggs – Justice of the Peace – Township of Monroe
Family Honeymoon (1948) as Fred
Loaded Pistols (1948) as Sheriff Cramer Tulsa (1949) as Pinky Jimpson (Narrator)
Red Canyon (1949) as Brackton
Francis (1950) as Francis the Talking Mule (voice, uncredited)
The Sundowners (1950) as Sam Beers
Rock Island Trail (1950) as Hogger McCoy Stella (1950) as Chief Clark (uncredited)
High Lonesome (1950) as Boatwhistle, Ranch Cook
Rio Grande (1950) as Dr. Wilkins (Regimental Surgeon)
Oh! Susanna (1951) as Sergeant Barhydt
Francis Goes to the Races (1951) as Francis the Talking Mule (voice, uncredited)
Cattle Drive (1951) as Dallas
The Sea Hornet (1951) as Swede
Bronco Buster (1952) as Dan Bream Francis Goes to West Point (1952) as Francis the Talking Mule (voice, uncredited)
Ride the Man Down (1952) as Ike Adams
Small Town Girl (1953) as ‘Happy’ , Jailer (uncredited)
Francis Covers the Big Town (1953) as Francis the Talking Mule (voice, uncredited)
Town That Never Sleeps (1953) as Sgt. Joe, the “Voice of Chicago” The Man from the Alamo (1953) as John Gage
Tumbleweed (1953) as Sheriff Murchoree
Francis Joins the WACS (1954) as General Benjamin Kaye/Francis the Talking Mule (voice )
Ricochet Romance (1954) as Tom Williams
Hell’s Outpost (1954) as Kevin Russel Timberjack (1955) as Steve Riika
Kentucky Rifle (1955) as Tobias Taylor
Francis in the Navy (1955) as Francis the Talking Mule (voice, uncredited)
Santiago (1956) as Captain “Sidewheel”
Giant Jones (1956) as Uncle Bawley Gun for a Coward (1957) as Loving
Gun Glory (1957) as Preacher
From Hell in Texas (1958) as Amos Bradley
The Sad Horse (1959) as Capt Connors
The Alamo (1960) as Beekeeper Where the Boys Are (1960) as Police Captain
Seven Saints’ Gold (1961) as Doc Wilson Gates
The Little Shepherd of the Kingdom Come (1961) as Major Buford
The Deadly Companions (1961) as Turk, “a half-mad shark”[9] Gunsmoke (1962) as Abe Blocker
Young Guns of Texas (1962) as preacher Sam Shelby
McLintock! (1963) as Drago
The Wheeler Dealers (1963) as Jay Ray Spinelby
The Cardinal (1963) as Monsignor Whittle The Rounders (1965) as Jim Ed Love
Fireball 500 (1966) as Big Jaw Harris
Big Daddy (1969)
The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969) as George Asque, retired Texas Ranger
The Liberation of LB Jones (1970) as Mr. Ike The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again (1970) as the George Asque
Night Gallery role (1970) as Heppelwhite (“The Little Black Bag” segment)
The Steagle (1971) [10] as Tall-Guy McCoy
Guns of a Stranger (1973) as Tom Duncan
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) as Lemuel
M. Billion (1977) as Colonel Clayton T. Winkle
Poco… Little Dog Lost (1977) as Big Burt