Chill Wills

Acting

Chill Wills

Born — Died

1902-07-18 — 1978-12-15

Place of birth

Seagoville, Texas, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

79 titles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 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 fe…

Known for

Film credits

2000s · 2 titles

1970s · 6 titles

1960s · 10 titles

The Cardinal poster
6.5

A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.

The Cardinal

1963

McLintock! poster
6.6

Aging rancher and self-made man, George Washington McLintock is forced to deal with numerous personal and professional problems. Seemingly everyone wants a piece of his enormous farmstead, including high-ranking government men and nearby Native Americans. As McLintock tries to juggle his various adversaries, his wife—who left him two years previously—suddenly returns. But she isn't interested in George; she wants custody of their daughter.

McLintock!

1963

The Alamo poster
7.1

The legendary true story of a small band of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.

The Alamo

1960

Where the Boys Are poster
6.1

Good girls Merritt, Melanie, Tuggle and Angie - all students at mid-western Penmore University - are planning on going to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for spring break to get away from the mid-western snow despite not having much money to spend once there. On the drive down, they admit their real purpose is to go where the boys are.

Where the Boys Are

1960

The Rounders poster
5.5

Ben (Glenn Ford) and Marion (Henry Fonda) are two cowboys who make a meager living breaking wild horses. Their frequent employer Jim (Chill Wills), who always gets the better of them, talks them into taking a nondescript horse in lieu of some of their wages. Ben finds that the horse is un-rideable, he comes up with the idea of taking it to a rodeo and betting other cowhands they cannot ride it.

The Rounders

1965

Gold of the Seven Saints poster
7.2

Fur-trapping partners stumble across a cache of gold, but their discovery quickly attracts every greedy villain in the territory.

Gold of the Seven Saints

1961

The Wheeler Dealers poster
6.3

Henry J. Tyroon leaves Texas, where his oil wells are drying up, and arrives in New York with a lot of oil money to play with in the stock market. He meets stock analyst Molly Thatcher, who tries to ignore the lavish attention he spends on her but, in the end, she falls for his charm.

The Wheeler Dealers

1963

The Deadly Companions poster
5.6

An ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son and tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.

The Deadly Companions

1961

Fireball 500 poster
5.1

Stock car racer Dave Owens plays into the hands of whiskey runners by agreeing to drive in a cross-country road race.

Fireball 500

1966

Big Daddy poster
8.0

A visitor to the Everglades swamps in Florida encounters and falls in love with an uneducated girl. But he finds competition for her affections from the unlikely and mysterious A. Beauregard Lincoln. He also discovers danger from nature in the form of vicious alligators and from the mystical in the form of a voodoo witch doctor.

Big Daddy

1969

1950s · 17 titles

Giant poster
7.6

Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

Giant

1956

The Man from the Alamo poster
6.6

During the war for Texas independence, one man leaves the Alamo before the end (chosen to help others' families) but is too late to accomplish his mission, and is branded a coward. Unable to expose a gang of turncoats, he infiltrates them instead.

The Man from the Alamo

1953

City That Never Sleeps poster
6.0

Chicago cop Johnny Kelly, dissatisfied with his job and marriage, would like to run away with his stripper girlfriend Angel Face, but keeps getting cold feet. During one crowded night, Angel Face decides she's had enough vacillation, and crooked lawyer Biddel has an illegal mission for Johnny that could put him in a financial position to act. But other, conflicting schemes are also in progress...

City That Never Sleeps

1953

Rio Grande poster
6.8

Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke is posted on the Texas frontier to defend settlers against depredations of marauding Apaches. Col. Yorke is under considerable stress by a serious shortage of troops of his command. Tension is added when Yorke's son (whom he hasn't seen in fifteen years), Trooper Jeff Yorke, is one of 18 recruits sent to the regiment.

Rio Grande

1950

Oh! Susanna poster
7.0

Unable to keep peace between frontier Indians and the US Cavalry, a heroic Captain risks court-martial to prevent bloodshed.

Oh! Susanna

1951

Cattle Drive poster
6.5

The spoilt young son of a wealthy railroad owner manages to get himself lost in the middle of nowhere. He is found by a cowboy on a cattle drive and the lad must start learning the hard lessons of working in a team if he wants to make it to San Diego.

Cattle Drive

1951

Francis poster
5.8

During World War II, a junior American Army officer, Lt. Peter Stirling, gets sent to the psychiatric ward whenever he insists that an Army mule named Francis speaks to him.

Francis

1950

Gun for a Coward poster
6.0

A young cowboy, whose dedication to the principles of peace and reason has earned him a reputation for cowardice, overcomes his psychological aversion to violence after his elder brother unjustly censures him for not joining in a foolhardy gunfight in which their youngest brother is killed.

Gun for a Coward

1956

From Hell to Texas poster
6.0

The naive cowboy Tod Lohman accidentally kills the son of the powerful land baron Hunter Boyd. Tod runs for his life, pursued by the dead man's vengeful brothers. Tod shelters on the ranch of Amos Bradley and he falls in love with his daughter Juanita. However, Tod is concerned that he'll eventually have to leave when his pursuers catch up with him.

From Hell to Texas

1958

Ride the Man Down poster
6.3

After Celia's father dies, a war erupts over control of his land.

Ride the Man Down

1952

Rock Island Trail poster
6.3

A greedy businessman tries to block the building of a new railroad in his area.

Rock Island Trail

1950

Francis Goes to the Races poster
6.5

In this funny sequel to the popular Francis the Talking Mule, the talkative Mule and his pal Peter get a job working on a horse-breeder's ranch. They end up saving it from financial ruin when Francis, who has the inside track with the racehorses, provides Peter with names of the winners before the races are run. Sure enough Peter finds himself with a fistful of cash and uses it to buy a racehorse for the farm. Unfortunately, the horse he chooses is suffering from a debilitating lack of confidence. When not dealing with the mare, Peter finds time to court the horse breeder's niece and trying to avoid the gangsters who want in on the winnings.

Francis Goes to the Races

1951

The Sea Hornet poster
6.0

"The Sea Hornet" was a merchant ship sunk, supposedly by a torpedo, less than a mile off the California Coast during World War Two. Six years later when his buddy is killed, attempting to blow up the sunken ship, on the orders of Suntan Radford and Tony Sullivan, deep-sea diver "Gunner" McNeil has his suspicions aroused... especially since Suntan is the daughter of the ship's captain that died when the ship sunk, and Sullivan was a crew member. Plus the fact the ship had over a million dollars in cash on board. During the course of his investigation, he becomes romantically involved with Ginger Sullivan

The Sea Hornet

1951

High Lonesome poster
5.5

When a sudden spurt of murders occurs in the Big Bend country, suspicion immediately falls on a young drifter who just moved to the area.

High Lonesome

1950

Francis in the Navy poster
5.6

In the U. S. Army intelligence office, bumbling lieutenant Peter Stirling receives a coded message from his friend, Francis, a talking mule. The note urges Pete to hurry to the Coronado, California naval base, where Francis is about to be sold as surplus. Pete rushes to the train station, but before he can board, nurse Betsy Donevan mistakes him for her shell-shocked brother, Navy boatswain Slicker Donevan. She tries to forcibly remove his uniform so he will not get into trouble for impersonating an Army officer. Finally she realizes that Pete is not Slicker but merely his mirror image.

Francis in the Navy

1955

The Sundowners poster
5.2

Brother is pitted against brother in this tale of fueding ranchers in the old west.

The Sundowners

1950

Hell's Outpost poster
5.5

A returning Korean War vet becomes embroiled in a fight over possession of a tungsten mine.

Hell's Outpost

1954

1940s · 21 titles

Leave Her to Heaven poster
7.5

A socialite marries a prominent novelist, which spurs a violent, obsessive, and dangerous jealousy in her.

Leave Her to Heaven

1945

Meet Me in St. Louis poster
7.0

A year in the life of a turn-of-the-century middle class family, leading up to the opening of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

Meet Me in St. Louis

1944

Western Union poster
6.0

When Edward Creighton leads the construction of the Western Union to unite East with West, he hires a Western reformed outlaw and a tenderfoot Eastern surveyor. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in 2000.

Western Union

1941

Tarzan's New York Adventure poster
6.4

Circus owner Buck Rand kidnaps Boy to perform in his show. He forces a pilot to fly him, Boy and his animal trainer out of the jungle. Tarzan and Jane follow them to New York.

Tarzan's New York Adventure

1942

The Yearling poster
6.7

Jody convinces his parents to allow him to adopt a young deer, but what will happen if the deer misbehaves?

The Yearling

1946

Billy the Kid poster
5.3

Billy "The Kid" Bonney is a hot-headed gunslinger who postpones his life of crime when he is befriended and hired by peaceful cattle rancher Eric Keating. When Keating is killed by a rival, Billy seeks revenge, even if it means opposing his old friend, Marshal Jim Sherwood.

Billy the Kid

1941

That Wonderful Urge poster
6.8

When an heiress finds out that the friendly young man she's met at Sun Valley is really an investigative reporter, she ruins his career by falsely claiming they're married.

That Wonderful Urge

1948

Belle Starr poster
5.9

After her family's mansion is burned down by Yankee soldiers for hiding the rebel leader Captain Sam Starr Belle Shirley vows to take revenge. Breaking Starr out of prison, she joins his small guerrilla group for a series of raids on banks and railroads, carpetbaggers and enemy troops. Belle's bravado during the attacks earns her a reputation among the locals as well as the love of Starr himself. The pair get married, but their relationship starts to break down when Sam Starr lets a couple of psychotic rebels into the gang, leaving Belle to wonder if he really cares about the Southern cause.

Belle Starr

1941

Boom Town poster
7.0

Two buddies who rise from fly-by-night wildcatters to oil tycoons over a twenty year period both love the same woman. McMasters and Sand come to oil towns to get rich. Betsy comes West intending to marry Sand but marries McMasters instead. Getting rich and losing it all teaches McMasters and Sand the value of personal ties.

Boom Town

1940

The Westerner poster
7.1

Drifter Cole Harden is accused of stealing a horse and faces hanging by self-appointed Judge Roy Bean, but Harden manages to talk his way out of it by claiming to be a friend of stage star Lillie Langtry, with whom the judge is obsessed, even though he has never met her. Tensions rise when Harden comes to the defense of a group of struggling homesteaders who Judge Bean is trying to drive away.

The Westerner

1940

Honky Tonk poster
6.3

Fast-talking con-man and grifter Candy Johnson rises to be the corrupt boss of Yellow Creek, but his wife's alcoholic father tries to set things right.

Honky Tonk

1941

I'll Be Seeing You poster
6.9

Mary Marshall, serving six years for accidental manslaughter, is given a Christmas furlough to visit her closest relatives, her uncle and his family in a small Midwestern town. On the journey, she meets Zach Morgan, a troubled army sergeant on leave from a military hospital. Although his physical wounds have healed, he suffers from PTSD and is subject to panic attacks. The pair are attracted to one another and, in the warm atmosphere of the Christmas season friendship, blossoms into romance, but Mary is reluctant to tell him of her past and that she must shortly return to serve the remainder of her sentence.

I'll Be Seeing You

1944

Apache Trail poster
6.9

The brother of a notorious outlaw is put in a charge of a stagecoach line way station in dangerous Apache territory. A stagecoach arrives at the station with a valuable box of cargo, and the outlaw brother soon shows up, though denying that he's planning to take the cargo box. Soon, however, rampaging Apaches attack the station, and the station manager, his brother and a disparate group of passengers and employees must fight them off.

Apache Trail

1942

Tulsa poster
6.3

It's Tulsa, Oklahoma at the start of the oil boom and Cherokee Lansing's rancher father is killed in a fight with the Tanner Oil Company. Cherokee plans revenge by bringing in her own wells with the help of oil expert Brad Brady and childhood friend Jim Redbird. When the oil and the money start gushing in, both Brad and Jim want to protect the land but Cherokee has different ideas. What started out as revenge for her father's death has turned into an obsession for wealth and power.

Tulsa

1949

Sky Murder poster
6.8

This final Carter film is a lot of fun, with Nick (unwillingly, at first) taking on a ring of Fifth Columnists (since this was filmed before the US entered the war, we're not told the villains are Nazis, but it's pretty clear anyway). Of course, the helpful and persistent Bartholomew is at his side--much to Nick's irritation. To further complicate things--and to make them still funnier--Joyce Compton is along for the ride too, as a delightfully brainless "detective" named Christine Cross.

Sky Murder

1940

See Here, Private Hargrove poster
6.5

Journalist Marion Hargrove enters the Army intending to supplement his income by writing about his training experiences. He muddles through basic training at Fort Bragg with the self-serving help of a couple of buddies intent on cutting themselves in on that extra income.

See Here, Private Hargrove

1944

Stand by for Action poster
7.0

U. S. Navy Lieutenant Gregg Masterman, of The Harvard and Boston Back Bay Mastermans, learned about the sea while winning silver cups sailing his yacht. He climbs swiftly in rank, and is now Junior Aide to Rear Admiral Stephen Thomas.

Stand by for Action

1942

The Harvey Girls poster
6.6

On a train trip out west to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley meets a cheery crew of young women traveling out to open a "Harvey House" restaurant at a remote whistle-stop.

The Harvey Girls

1946

What Next, Corporal Hargrove? poster
5.4

An Army corporal and his con-man sidekick take a shortcut to heroism in World War II France.

What Next, Corporal Hargrove?

1945

Loaded Pistols poster
5.6

A singing cowboy clears a boy accused of murder by finding the real killer.

Loaded Pistols

1948

The Saxon Charm poster
4.6

In order to get his way, New York producer Matt Saxon manipulates and controls everyone around him but his latest protégé, novelist Eric Busch, finally stands-up to him.

The Saxon Charm

1948

Series credits

The Merv Griffin Show poster
6.8

No synopsis available yet.

The Merv Griffin Show

1962

Rawhide poster
7.3

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.

Rawhide

1959

Route 66 poster
6.7

After discovering that his late father has gone through most of the family fortune, Tod Stiles hits the title trans-America highway in his Corvette in search of adventure with friend Buz Murdock, a survivor of New York's mean streets. The two work odd jobs as they meet and interact with colorful characters and find themselves plunged into one situation after another, some of them romantic, some of them very dangerous. Later, Linc Case, a Vietnam war hero trying to find himself, takes over as Tod's travel companion.

Route 66

1960

Night Gallery poster
7.8

Rod Serling narrates an anthology of fantasy, horror and sci-fi stories from a set resembling a macabre museum. A chilling work of art serves as the connective link between the stories.

Night Gallery

1970

Gunsmoke poster
6.7

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.

Gunsmoke

1955

Gunsmoke poster
6.7

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.

Gunsmoke

1955

Gunsmoke poster
6.7

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.

Gunsmoke

1955

Alfred Hitchcock Presents poster
7.8

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

Burke's Law poster
6.2

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.

Burke's Law

1963

Burke's Law poster
6.2

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.

Burke's Law

1963

Burke's Law poster
6.2

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.

Burke's Law

1963

Alias Smith and Jones poster
7.0

Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of cousin outlaws trying to reform. The governor offers them a conditional amnesty, as he wants to keep the pact under wraps for political reasons. The condition is that they will still be wanted— until the governor can claim they have reformed and warrant clemency.

Alias Smith and Jones

1971

The Texan poster
6.0

The Texan was a Western television series starring popular B movie actor Rory Calhoun, which aired on the CBS television network from 1958 to 1960.

The Texan

1958

Trackdown poster
6.9

Trackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS between 1957 and 1959. More than seventy episodes of this series were produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio. The series was itself a spin-off of Powell's anthology series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater.

Trackdown

1957

Judd, for the Defense poster
7.7

High-priced Houston lawyer Clinton Judd and his assistant Ben Caldwell take difficult cases throughout the U.S.

Judd, for the Defense

1967

Tarzan poster
6.9

Tarzan is a series that aired on NBC from 1966 – 1968. The series portrayed Tarzan as a well-educated character, one who, tired of civilization, had returned to the jungle where he had been raised. The show retained many of the trappings of the classic movie series, including Cheeta, while excluding other elements, such as Jane, as part of the "new look" for the fabled apeman that producer Sy Weintraub had introduced in previous motion pictures starring Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, and Mike Henry. CBS aired repeat episodes the program during the summer of 1969.

Tarzan

1966

Hallmark Hall of Fame poster
8.8

Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

Frontier Circus poster
5.2

Frontier Circus is an American Western television series about a traveling circus roaming the American West in the 1880s. Filmed by Revue Productions, the program aired on the CBS from October 5, 1961, until September 6, 1962.

Frontier Circus

1961

The Rounders poster
5.3

The Rounders was a 17-episode western-style situation comedy about two cowboys on the fictitious J.L. Ranch in Texas. It starred Ron Hayes as Ben Jones and Patrick Wayne, a son of John Wayne, as Howdy Lewis. The M-G-M television series aired on ABC from September 6, 1966, to January 3, 1967. The program was loosely based on a 1965 film of the same name, The Rounders, starring Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda, set near Sedona, Arizona, rather than Texas. Chill Wills, a native Texan and formerly of CBS's Frontier Circus, appeared as the shady ranch owner, Jim Ed Love. Janis Hansen co-starred as Ben's girlfriend, Sally, and Bobbi Jordan played Howdy's girlfriend, Ada. Jason Wingreen appeared as Shorty Dawes, and Walker Edmiston as Regan. Character actors Strother Martin and J. Pat O'Malley appeared as "Cousin Fletch" and "Vince", respectively. James Brown, formerly the lieutenant on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, played "Luke". Selected episodes with notable guest stars include: "A Horse on Jim Ed Love", series premiere with Harry Carey, Jr.; "It's a Noble Thing to Do", with John Smith, formerly Slim Sherman on NBC's Laramie; "Don't Buffalo Me", with Jay Silverheels, formerly Tonto of The Lone Ranger, as John Tallgrass; "The Moonshine Still Shines"; "It Takes Only One to Suffer"; "The Scavenger Hunt" with Zsa Zsa Gabor as Ilona Hobson; "Some Things Are Not for Sale"; "Four Alarm Wing Ding", with Dick Haynes as a sheriff; "Horse of a Different Cutter" with Andy Devine as Honest John Denton and Strother Martin as Cousin Fletch; "Polo, Anyone?", with Jay C. Flippen as Kenny Fahrbush; "Efficiency Is for Experts", and "What Elephants?", the series finale, in which Ben and Howdy try to hide an elephant in plain sight.

The Rounders

1966