--- name: "Chill Wills" canonical: "https://film.one/person/chill-wills" roles: ["Actor"] born: "18 July 1902" died: "15 December 1978" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 68 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-20T03:35:50.058400+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Chill Wills Actor. Born 18 July 1902 in Seagoville, Texas, USA. Died 15 December 1978. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 18 July 1902, Seagoville, Texas, USA - **Died:** 15 December 1978 - **Active:** 1946–1960 - **Also known as:** Theodore Childress Wills, The Avalon Boys - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination - **Average Fi1m score:** 68, as actor, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 79 (1), 1950s 74 (1), 1960s 50 (1) - **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Western 3, Drama 2, Adventure 1, Family 1, History 1, War 1 - **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $41m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chill_Wills, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1072969, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0932629/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14001 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*The Yearling*](https://film.one/film/the-yearling.md) (79) - **Pluto TV:** [*The Alamo*](https://film.one/film/the-alamo.md) (50) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Chill Wills > A Texas voice first and an actor second. Chill Wills spent four decades as the large, talkative man at the edge of other people's westerns, and his best work is heard before it is seen; a reliable pleasure, not a revelation. You hear Chill Wills before you see him. The voice is deep and rough, with a Texas drag in it, and it comes from the side of the room where a big man is leaning on something. He is usually talking, usually to a hero who is trying to get somewhere, and the talk is homespun philosophy of a kind that sounds wise for a moment and then turns out to be a joke. In *The Yearling* (1946) he is Buck Forrester, one of a household of large men up the road who drink, sing and take offence, and he fits the house as if it had been built round him. The voice was the career. Wills came up through medicine shows and tent shows as a boy, led a singing quartet called the Avalon Boys through the 1930s, and in *Way Out West* (1937) supplied the uncredited bass when Stan Laurel opened his mouth to sing. He broke the group up in 1938, went solo, and by the 1940s was on contract at MGM in westerns and the odd drama. In the 1950s he was the voice of Francis the Talking Mule, uncredited again, across a run of comedies, and then spent much of the rest of his working life in character parts for John Wayne, four films in all, before a late appearance in Sam Peckinpah's *Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid* (1973). What he did well was be a sound. Francis works because the mule is cynical and the voice is cheerful about it; Wills could put a sneer into a drawl without raising it. In *The Yearling* we laughed at the Forresters more than we expected to, because the film needs a house that is louder than the boy's, and Wills, Forrest Tucker and Clem Bevans make it loud without straining. It is rough comedy and Clarence Brown lets it stay rough. What he did less well was be the centre of anything, and he knew it. He said he had no rules about acting, "only to make a favorable impression and keep the audience from thinking I'm trying to louse up or steal a scene from any big star I happen to be working with." That is a decent working principle for a supporting player and it is also a limit on him. In *Giant* (1956) he is Uncle Bawley, and in a film that runs an hour too long we did not pick him out. The part is there and he fills it, but George Stevens's film is so busy telling us what it means that a man whose whole method is to stay out of the way goes unnoticed. The homespun sidekick, jovial and now and then sinister, is one part, and he played it for four decades. Start with *The Yearling*, where the Forresters are worth the visit. Then, if the voice has got into your head, look for the mule. It usually has. ## Biography Chill Wills was an American actor and singer, also credited as Theodore Childress Wills and associated with the Avalon Boys. Born in Seagoville, Texas, on 18 July 1902, he performed from childhood and formed and led the Avalon Boys singing quartet in the 1930s. After appearing with the group in films including *Way Out West* (1937), Wills disbanded it in 1938 and began a solo career as a character actor, mainly in Westerns. He played Buck Forrester in *The Yearling* (1946) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Beekeeper in *The Alamo* (1960). Other credits include *Giant* (1956), *McLintock!* (1963) and *Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid* (1973). Wills died in Encino, California, on 15 December 1978. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *The Alamo* (1960), Fi1m 50, as Beekeeper — [page](https://film.one/film/the-alamo.md) - *Giant* (1956), Fi1m 74, as Uncle Bawley — [page](https://film.one/film/giant-1956.md) - *The Yearling* (1946), Fi1m 79, as Buck Forrester — [page](https://film.one/film/the-yearling.md) ## Complete filmography (125) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Drive-In Movie Memories* (2001), Actor - *That's Entertainment! III* (1994), as (archive footage) (uncredited) - *John Wayne's 'The Alamo'* (1992), as Beekeeper - *Stubby Pringle's Christmas* (1978), as The Janitor - *Poco… Little Dog Lost* (1977), as Big Burt - *Mr. Billion* (1977), as Col. Clayton T. Winkle - *Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid* (1973), as Lemuel - *Guns of a Stranger* (1973), as Tom Duncan - *The Steagle* (1971), as Tall Guy McCoy - *Alias Smith and Jones* (1971), series, Actor - *Night Gallery* (1970), series, as Heppelwhite (segment "The Little Black Bag") - *The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again* (1970), as Gentleman George Agnew - *The Liberation of L.B. Jones* (1970), as Mr. Ike - *The Over the Hill Gang* (1969), as Gentleman George Agnew - *Big Daddy* (1969), Actor - *Judd, for the Defense* (1967), series, Actor - *Tarzan* (1966), series, Actor - *The Rounders* (1966), series, Actor - *Fireball 500* (1966), as Big Jaw - *The Rounders* (1965), as Jim Ed Love - *The Cardinal* (1963), as Monsignor - *The Wheeler Dealers* (1963), as Jay Ray Spinelby - *McLintock!* (1963), as Drago - *Burke's Law* (1963), series, as Harry Riggs, Stanton Custer, General Hector Harder - *Young Guns of Texas* (1962), as Preacher Sam Shelby - *Frontier Circus* (1961), series, as Colonel Casey Thompson /Col. Casey Thompson - *The Deadly Companions* (1961), as Turk - *The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come* (1961), as Major Buford - *Gold of the Seven Saints* (1961), as Doc Wilson Gates, M.D. - *Where the Boys Are* (1960), as Police Captain - *The Alamo* (1960), as Beekeeper — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/the-alamo.md) - *Route 66* (1960), series, Actor - *The Sad Horse* (1959), as Capt. Connors - *Rawhide* (1959), series, as Sheriff Asa Tanner - *The Texan* (1958), series, Actor - *From Hell to Texas* (1958), as Amos Bradley - *Trackdown* (1957), series, Actor - *Gun Glory* (1957), as Preacher - *Gun for a Coward* (1956), as Loving - *Giant* (1956), as Uncle Bawley — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/giant-1956.md) - *New York Premiere Telecast 'Giant'* (1956), as Host - *Santiago* (1956), as Captain 'Sidewheel' Jones - *Kentucky Rifle* (1956), as Tobias Taylor - *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Mr. Kilmer - *Gunsmoke* (1955), series, as Abe Blocker, Elihu Gorman, Red Conniston - *Francis in the Navy* (1955), as Francis (voice) (uncredited) - *Timberjack* (1955), as Steve Riika - *Hell's Outpost* (1954), as Kevin Russell - *Ricochet Romance* (1954), as Tom Williams - *Francis Joins the WACS* (1954), as Francis (voice) (uncredited) - *Tumbleweed* (1953), as Sheriff Murchoree - *The Man from the Alamo* (1953), as John Gage - *City That Never Sleeps* (1953), as Sgt. Joe, the 'Voice of Chicago' - *Francis Covers the Big Town* (1953), as Francis (voice) (uncredited) - *Small Town Girl* (1953), as Happy - *Ride the Man Down* (1952), as Ike Adams - *Francis Goes to West Point* (1952), as Francis (voice) (uncredited) - *Bronco Buster* (1952), as Dan Bream - *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as The Janitor - *The Sea Hornet* (1951), as Swede - *Cattle Drive* (1951), as Dallas - *Francis Goes to the Races* (1951), as Francis (voice) (uncredited) - *Oh! Susanna* (1951), as Sgt. Barhydt - *Rio Grande* (1950), as Dr. Wilkins - *High Lonesome* (1950), as Boatwhistle - *Stella* (1950), as Chief Clark - *Rock Island Trail* (1950), as Hogger McCoy - *Francis* (1950), as Francis the Talking Mule (voice) - *The Sundowners* (1950), as Sam Beers - *The Grass Is Always Greener* (1950), as Windy - *Red Canyon* (1949), as Marshal G.T. Brackton - *Tulsa* (1949), as Pinky Jimpson (Narrator) - *Loaded Pistols* (1948), as Sheriff Cramer - *Family Honeymoon* (1948), as Fred - *That Wonderful Urge* (1948), as Homer Beggs - *The Saxon Charm* (1948), as Captain Chatham - *Northwest Stampede* (1948), as Mileaway - *The Sainted Sisters* (1948), as Will Twitchell - *Heartaches* (1947), as 'Breezie' Mann - *High Barbaree* (1947), as Lars (uncredited) - *The Yearling* (1946), as Buck Forrester — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/the-yearling.md) - *Gallant Bess* (1946), as Chief Petty Officer - *The Harvey Girls* (1946), as H.H. Hartsey - *Leave Her to Heaven* (1945), as Leick Thome - *What Next, Corporal Hargrove?* (1945), as Sgt. Cramp - *I'll Be Seeing You* (1944), as Swanson - *Sunday Dinner for a Soldier* (1944), as Mr. York - *Meet Me in St. Louis* (1944), as Mr. Neely - *Barbary Coast Gent* (1944), as Sheriff Hightower - *The Immortal Blacksmith* (1944), as Tom Davenport - *See Here, Private Hargrove* (1944), as First Sgt. Cramp - *Best Foot Forward* (1943), as Chester Short - *A Stranger in Town* (1943), as Charles Craig - *Stand by for Action* (1942), as Mate Jenks, Chef-Bootsmann - *Apache Trail* (1942), as 'Pike' Skelton - *The Omaha Trail* (1942), as Henry Hawkins - *Her Cardboard Lover* (1942), as Judge - *Mr. Gardenia Jones* (1942), as Hotel Employee - *Tarzan's New York Adventure* (1942), as Manchester Montford - *The Bugle Sounds* (1942), as Sgt. Larry Dillon - *Honky Tonk* (1941), as The Sniper - *Belle Starr* (1941), as Blue Duck - *Billy the Kid* (1941), as Tom Patterson - *The Bad Man* (1941), as 'Red' Giddings - *Western Union* (1941), as Homer Kettle - *Tugboat Annie Sails Again* (1940), as Shiftless - *Sky Murder* (1940), as Sheriff Beckwith - *The Westerner* (1940), as Southeast - *Wyoming* (1940), as Lafe - *Boom Town* (1940), as Harmony Jones - *Allegheny Uprising* (1939), as M'Cammon - *The Day the Bookies Wept* (1939), as Man on Bus (uncredited) - *Timber Stampede* (1939), as Whopper Hatch - *Racketeers of the Range* (1939), as Whopper Hatch - *Sorority House* (1939), as Mr. Johnson - *Trouble in Sundown* (1939), as Whopper - *Arizona Legion* (1939), as Whopper Hatch - *Lawless Valley* (1938), as Deputy Speedy McGow - *Nobody's Baby* (1937), as Amateur Hour Quartet Singer - *Way Out West* (1937), as Lead Singer of the Avalon Boys / Stan's Bass Singing (uncredited) - *Hideaway Girl* (1936), as Lead Singer of Avalon Boys - *At Sea Ashore* (1936), as Leader of The Avalon Four (uncredited) - *Call of the Prairie* (1936), as Singing Cowhand - *Anything Goes* (1936), as Quartette Member - *Bar 20 Rides Again* (1935), as Henchman ## Gallery - ![Photo of Chill Wills as Pinky Jimson in a scene from the 1949 film Tulsa.](https://film.one/media/person/1235478/gallery-2f073409ef04.jpg) Photo of Chill Wills as Pinky Jimson in a scene from the 1949 film Tulsa. — Walter Wanger-Eagle Lion Films, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Chill_Wills_Tulsa_1949.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Chill Wills](https://film.one/media/person/1235478/gallery-2087c0bea0f9.jpg) Chill Wills — Trailer screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Chill_Wills_in_Stand_By_for_Action_trailer.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![RELICS OF GLORY – Actor Chill Wills sits on flatcar under Our Gang Cafe, holding handful of weeds he pulled from cracked streets of Hal Roach's “laugh factory” (1963)](https://film.one/media/person/1235478/gallery-e61037d83397.jpg) RELICS OF GLORY – Actor Chill Wills sits on flatcar under Our Gang Cafe, holding handful of weeds he pulled from cracked streets of Hal Roach's “laugh factory” (1963) — Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Chill_Wills_1963.jpg/1280px-Chill_Wills_1963.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Chill Wills](https://film.one/media/person/1235478/gallery-1abc50868476.jpg) Chill Wills — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1961: Best Supporting Actor (nominated), for *The Alamo* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/chill-wills