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Milton Sills
Actor

Milton Sills

11 Jan 1882Born
15 Sep 1930Died
48Age at death
74Credits

Biography

From Wikipedia

Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century.

Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henry Sills, a successful mineral dealer, and Josephine Antoinette Troost Sills, an heiress from a prosperous banking family.

Upon completing high school, Sills was offered a one-year scholarship to the University of Chicago, where he studied psychology and philosophy.

Read the full biography

After graduating, he was offered a position at the university as a researcher and within several years worked his way up to become a professor at the school.

In 1905, stage actor Donald Robertson visited the school to lecture on author and playwright Henrik Ibsen and suggested to Sills that he try his hand at acting. On a whim, Sills agreed and left his prestigious teaching career to embark on a stint in acting. Sills joined Robertson's stock theater company and began touring the country.

In 1914, Sills decided to conquer the new medium of motion pictures. He made his film debut the same year in the big-budget drama The Pit for the World Film Company and was signed to a contract with film producer William A. Brady. The film was enormously successful, and Sills made three more films for the company, including another huge box-office draw The Deep Purple opposite silent screen star Clara Kimball Young. By the late 1910s, Sills had reached leading man status and parted ways with World Film, taking the then unusual path of freelancing as an actor.

By the early 1920s, Sills was enjoying a highly successful acting career and working for such prominent film studios as MGM, Paramount Pictures, and Pathé Exchange. He was often paired with the most popular leading ladies of the era, including: Geraldine Farrar, Gloria Swanson and Viola Dana.

His greatest public and commercial successes came with the now lost Flaming Youth (1923) opposite Colleen Moore, and the enormous box-office hit The Sea Hawk (1924).

Sills made two sound pictures, showing that he had an excellent voice. Many may have forgotten that Sills had extensive stage training before embarking on his career before the cameras. Sills died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1930 while playing tennis with his wife at his Santa Barbara, California home at the age of 48. He was interred at the Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Chicago, Illinois.

Known for

Filmography

  1. 1930The Sea WolfFilm: 'Wolf' Larsen
  2. 1930Man TroubleFilm: Mac
  3. 1929Love and the DevilFilm
  4. 1929His Captive WomanFilm
  5. 1928The CrashFilm: Jim Flannagan
  6. 1928The BarkerFilm: Nifty Miller
  7. 1928The Hawk's NestFilm: The Hawk/John Finchley
  8. 1928Burning DaylightFilm: Elam 'Burning Daylight' Harnish
  9. 1927The Valley of the GiantsFilm: Bryce Cardigan
  10. 1927Hard-Boiled HaggertyFilm: Hard-Boiled Haggerty
  11. 1927FramedFilm: Etienne Hilaire
  12. 1927The Sea TigerFilm: Justin Ramos
  13. 1926The Silent LoverFilm: Count Pierre Tornal
  14. 1926ParadiseFilm: Tony
  15. 1926Men of SteelFilm: Jan Bokak, Writer
  16. 1926PuppetsFilm: Nicola Riccobini
  17. 1925The Unguarded HourFilm: Andrea
  18. 1925A Lover's OathFilm: Writer
  19. 1925The KnockoutFilm: Sandy Donlin
  20. 1925The Making of O'MalleyFilm: O'Malley
  21. 1925I Want My ManFilm: Gulian Eyre
  22. 1925As Man DesiresFilm: Major John Craig
  23. 1924Madonna of the StreetsFilm: Reverend John Morton
  24. 1924Single WivesFilm: Perry Jordan
  25. 1924The Sea HawkFilm: Sir Oliver Tressilian
  26. 1924Flowing GoldFilm: Calvin Gray
  27. 1924The Heart BanditFilm: John Rand
  28. 1924A Lady of QualityFilm: Gerald Mertoun, Duke of Osmonde
  29. 1923Flaming YouthFilm: Cary Scott
  30. 1923Adam's RibFilm: Michael Ramsay
  31. 1923The SpoilersFilm: Roy Glennister
  32. 1923Legally DeadFilm: Will Campbell / George Brown
  33. 1923The Isle of Lost ShipsFilm: Frank Howard
  34. 1923What a Wife LearnedFilm: Rudolph Martin
  35. 1923The Last HourFilm: Steve Cline
  36. 1922EnvironmentFilm: Steve MacLaren
  37. 1922The Forgotten LawFilm: Richard Jarnette
  38. 1922Burning SandsFilm: Daniel Lane
  39. 1922Skin DeepFilm: Bud Doyle
  40. 1922The Woman Who Walked AloneFilm: Clement Gaunt
  41. 1922One Clear CallFilm: Dr. Alan Hamilton
  42. 1921Miss Lulu BettFilm: Neil Cornish
  43. 1921The Great MomentFilm: Bayard Delaval
  44. 1921At the End of the WorldFilm: Gordon Deane
  45. 1921SalvageFilm: Fred Martin
  46. 1921The Little FoolFilm: Richard Forrest
  47. 1921The Faith HealerFilm: Michaelis
  48. 1920The FurnaceFilm: Keene Mordaunt
  49. 1920Behold My WifeFilm: Frank Armour
  50. 1920Sweet LavenderFilm: Horace Weatherburn
  51. 1920Dangerous to MenFilm: Sandy Verrall
  52. 1920The Inferior SexFilm: Knox Randall
  53. 1920The Street Called StraightFilm: Peter Devenant
  54. 1919Eyes of YouthFilm: Louis Anthony
  55. 1919What Every Woman LearnsFilm: Walter Melrose
  56. 1919The Fear WomanFilm: Robert Craig
  57. 1919The Woman Thou Gavest MeFilm: Conrad
  58. 1919The Hushed HourFilm: Luke Appleton
  59. 1919The Stronger VowFilm: Juan Estudillo
  60. 1919Satan JuniorFilm: Paul Worden
  61. 1918The Hell CatFilm: Sheriff Jack Webb
  62. 1918The Savage WomanFilm: Jean Lerier
  63. 1918The ClawFilm: Major Anthony Kinsella
  64. 1918The Yellow TicketFilm: Julian Rolfe
  65. 1917Married in Name OnlyFilm: Robert Worthing
  66. 1917Making Monkey BusinessFilm: The Flea
  67. 1917The Honor SystemFilm: Joseph Stanton
  68. 1917PatriaFilm: Capt. Donald Parr
  69. 1915The RackFilm: Tom Gordon
  70. 1915The Woman Who LiedFilm: Jack Stanley
  71. 1915Under Southern SkiesFilm: Burleigh Mavor
  72. 1915The Taming of MaryFilm: Harry Benton
  73. 1915The Arrival of PerpetuaFilm: Thaddeus Curzon
  74. 1914The PitFilm: Corthell

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.