John Mills

Although his has been knighted and won acting awards, John Mills has been seemingly overshadowed by his contemporaries (i.e., Alec Guinness, John Gielgud, James Mason) many of whom delivered showier performances in contrast to his more stoic, low-key turns. Whatever accounts for the discrepancy, when one reviews the extraordinary career of this actor (who continued to turn in neat cameos after some sixty years in showbiz), one is amazed at the range and scope of the material and the dazzling versatility displayed by the actor.

Raised in Suffolk where his father was working as a school headmaster, Mills and his family (including older sister Annette who later found fame on British TV as a puppeteer) eventually settled in London. His mother managed the box office at the Haymarket Theatre and Mills was intrigued by an acting career. He began appearing in amateur theatricals while earning a living as a clerk and traveling salesman. After training at Zelia Raye's Dancing School, Mills made his stage debut as a chorus boy in the "The Five O'Clock Girl" (1929). Later that year, he joined the performing troupe the Quaints and toured India and Asian in such plays as "Journey's End", "Mr. Cinders" and "Hamlet". Returning to England, Mills continued his stage career offering a comic turn in "Charley's Aunt" then displaying his dramatic capabilities in Noel Coward's "Cavalcade". In 1939, he won plaudits for his dynamic turn as George in the stage adaptation of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men". By then, the actor was well on his way to a successful film career.

After making his debut supporting Jessie Matthews in the lightweight but entertaining "The Midshipmaid/The Midshipmaid Gob" (1932), Mills first garnered notice as Lord Dudley in the period drama "Tudor Rose/Nine Days a Queen" (1936) and as one of the numerous Peter Colleys who were students of Robert Donat's in "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1939). The actor began a fruitful association with director David Lean with the acclaimed war drama "In Which We Serve" (1942), which was co-directed by and starred Noel Coward. Lean further used Mills' reliability and unprepossessing solidity in such efforts as "This Happy Breed" (1944, adapted from a Coward play), as the adult Pip in "Great Expectations" (1946) and as the competitive son-in-law of Charles Laughton in the delightful "Hobson's Choice" (1954). Among his other notable features of the period is the superb war drama "The Way to the Stars/Johnny in the Clouds" (1945, as a pilot unwilling to commit to his lover) and "The October Man" (1947), a tidy thriller about a man with a brain injury (Mills) who becomes the prime suspect in his neighbor's murder.

Mills added producer to his credits with a pair of films in which he starred under the direction of Anthony Pelissier, "The History of Mr. Polly" (1949) and "The Rocking Horse Winner" (1950). The latter is reputedly the first film adapted from a D.H. Lawrence work and offered a meaty role as a groomsman. The actor added another military man to his gallery as a POW in "The Colditz Story" (1955) then tackled the role of a Russian peasant (complete with British accent!) in "War and Peace" (1956). Mills acted opposite his real-life daughter Hayley in several efforts, most notably "Tiger Bay" (1959, as a detective questioning the child about a murder) and "The Family Way" (1966, as her father-in-law). He also made his feature directorial debut with "Sky West and Crooked/Gypsy Girl" (1966), starring Hayley.

Paired with Alec Guinness, Mills offered one of his greatest film performances as a British martinet who clashes with his rival over the comportment of a regiment in "Tunes of Glory" (1960). Despite this fine portrayal, much of his film work during the 60s was in subpar fare. Mills received a Tony nomination for his Broadway debut in "Ross", a play based on the life of T E Lawrence in 1961 and later made his American TV series debut in "Dundee and the Culhane" (CBS, 1967). The latter cost him a chance to direct the film version of "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1969), a series of vignettes about British involvement in the Great War. Turning over the reins of the film to Richard Attenborough, Mills did make a cameo in the film (as did his other actress daughter Juliet). Reteaming with David Lean for the disappointing would-be epic romance "Ryan's Daughter" (1970), the actor offered a scene-stealing turn as the drunken village idiot and earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar that was as much for his career achievements as for that particular role. Still agile and capable as he aged, Mills continued to find challenging roles, although the overall quality of the vehicles varied wildly. He was at his best as men of rank and prestige (i.e., "The Quartermass Conclusion" 1979; "Gandhi" 1982). and continued to turn in incisive cameo appearances as the 90s wound down, most notably in the comedy "Bean" (1997) and as Gus the Theatre Cat in the direct-to-video release of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats" (1998).

• Also Credited As:
  Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, Sir John Mills
• Born:
  February 22, 1908 in North Elmham, England, United Kingdom
• Died:
  April 23, 2005.
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Director, Producer, Clerk, Traveling salesman

Family

• Daughter: Hayley Mills. born on April 18, 1946; mother, Mary Hayley Bell
• Daughter: Juliet Mills. born on November 21, 1941; mother, Mary Hayley Bell
• Father: Lewis Mills. taught mathematics; also served as headmaster
• Mother: Edith Mills. worked at the Haymarket Theatre in London
• Sister: Annette Mills. born in 1894; died in 1955; created puppet Muffin the Mule
• Son: Jonathan Mills. born in 1949; mother, Mary Hayley Bell

Education

• Balham Grammar School, London, England
• Zelia Raye s Dancing School, London, England
• Norwich High School, Norwich, England
• St John Leeman School, Suffolk, England

Milestones

• 1929 Toured India and Asia as a member of the performing troupe, The Quaints, acting in Journey s End , Mr. Cinders and Hamlet among other plays
• 1929 London stage debut as a chorus boy in the musical The Five O Clock Girl at London Hippodrome
• 1930 First character part onstage, Lord Babberly in Charley s Aunt
• 1931 Acted in Noel Coward s Cavalcade in London
• 1932 Film acting debut in The Midshipmaid , opposite Jessie Matthews
• 1933 Reteamed with Coward for Words and Music
• 1934 Signed contract with Gaumont-British
• 1936 Portrayed Lord Dudley in the historical drama Tudor Rose/Nine Days a Queen , opposite teen actress Nova Pilbeam
• 1939 Breakthrough stage role as George in Of Mice and Men
• 1939 Had role as student Peter Colley going off to war in the drama Goodbye, Mr. Chips , starring Robert Donat; first US film
• 1942 Acted in and co-directed (with Bernard Miles) Men in Shadow , written by second wife Mary Hayley Bell
• 1942 Appeared in In Which We Serve , co-directed by Noel Coward and David Lean
• 1944 Co-starred in Waterloo Road
• 1946 Reteamed with Lean to play Pip in Great Expectations
• 1947 Directed and starred in the stage play Angel , also written by Bell
• 1947 Starred in the suspense thriller The October Man ; first onscreen appearance with duaghter Juliet
• 1948 Had title role in the biopic Scott of the Antarctic
• 1949 Producing debut, The History of Mr. Polly ; also starred
• 1954 Co-starred as Charles Laughton s son-in-law in Hobson s Choice , directed by Lean
• 1954 Reprised role of Lord Babberly in revival of Charley s Aunt
• 1956 American TV debut in production of The Letter , directed by William Wyler
• 1956 Played a cab driver in Around the World in 80 Days
• 1957 Formed John Mills Productions Ltd
• 1959 Appeared with daughter Hayley in Tiger Bay
• 1960 Offered one of his best performances as a British officer bent on restoring order to a regiment in Tunes of Glory , co-starring Alec Guinness
• 1961 Made Broadway debut in title role of Ross , based on the life of T E Lawrence; received a Tony Award nomination
• 1966 Acted with daughter Hayley in Roy Boulting s The Family Way
• 1966 Feature directorial debut, Sky West and Crooked/Gypsy Girl , starring daughter Hayley and co-written by wife Mary Hayley Bell
• 1967 Starred in the CBS series Dundee and the Culhane
• 1970 Earned Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing the village idiot in Ryan s Daughter , directed by David Lean
• 1971 Made guest appearance on Nanny and the Professor , starring daughter Juliet
• 1972 Essayed role of General Kitchener in Young Winston
• 1973 Portrayed Faye Dunaway s father in the drama Oklahoma Crude
• 1975 Co-starred with Lilli Palmer and Barry Morse in the NBC series The Zoo Gang
• 1977 Headlined London revival of Terrence Rattigan s Separate Tables
• 1978 Acted in the remake of The 39 Steps
• 1979 Starred in the four-part British TV series Quartermass ; episodes were re-edited and released theatrically under the title The Quartermass Conclusion
• 1982 Portrayed the viceroy in Richard Attenborough s Gandhi
• 1984 Had featured role as Henry Rossiter, advisor to Emma Harte (Jenny Seagrove and Deborah Kerr) in the syndicated miniseries A Woman of Substance
• 1986 Reprised role of Henry Rossiter in the syndicated sequel Hold That Dream
• 1986 Starred in the stage production The Petition
• 1987 Last Broadway role, co-starring in revival of Pygmalion
• 1987 Supported Madonna in the comedy Who s That Girl
• 1989 Acted in the NBC miniseries version of Around the World in 80 Days
• 1989 Co-starred in the multi-part adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities (PBS)
• 1993 Co-starred in the British TV-movie Ending Up ; aired in USA on PBS (filmed in 1989)
• 1994 Portrayed Old Chuffey in the British miniseries Charles Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (aired on PBS in 1995 in the USA)
• 1996 Made cameo appearance as Old Norway in Kenneth Branagh s full-length feture version of Hamlet
• 1997 Appeared as the Chairman in the comedy Bean
• 1998 Played Gus the Theatre Cat in the direct-to-video release Cats , adapted from the successful Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical; production also aired on PBS stations in USA
• After failing to land a spot with the Norwich City Football Club, worked as a clerk in Ipswich and later a traveling salesman
• Began appearing in amateur theatricals
• Moved with family to London
• Served in WWII as a member of the Royal Engineers; eventually discharged on medical grounds because of an ulcer
• Spent childhood in Belton, Suffolk, where his father worked as a school headmaster
• Under contract with the Rank Organization