Milton Sills
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- January 11, 1882
- Died
- September 15, 1930
- Birthplace
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
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. 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.
Filmography
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino 1961
as Self (archive footage)
The Sea Wolf 1930
as 'Wolf' Larsen
Man Trouble 1930
as Mac
Love and the Devil 1929
Actor
His Captive Woman 1929
as Officer Thomas McCarthy
The Crash 1928
as Jim Flannagan
The Barker 1928
as Nifty Miller
The Hawk's Nest 1928
as The Hawk/John Finchley
Burning Daylight 1928
as Elam 'Burning Daylight' Harnish
The Circus: Premiere 1928
as Self
The Valley of the Giants 1927
as Bryce Cardigan
- Hard-Boiled Haggerty
Hard-Boiled Haggerty 1927
as Hard-Boiled Haggerty
Framed 1927
as Etienne Hilaire
The Sea Tiger 1927
as Justin Ramos
The Silent Lover 1926
as Count Pierre Tornal
Paradise 1926
as Tony
Men of Steel 1926
as Jan Bokak, Writer
- Puppets
Puppets 1926
as Nicola Riccobini
The Unguarded Hour 1925
as Andrea
A Lover's Oath 1925
Editor, Writer
The Knockout 1925
as Sandy Donlin
The Making of O'Malley 1925
as O'Malley
I Want My Man 1925
as Gulian Eyre
As Man Desires 1925
as Major John Craig
Madonna of the Streets 1924
as Reverend John Morton
Single Wives 1924
as Perry Jordan
The Sea Hawk 1924
as Sir Oliver Tressilian
Flowing Gold 1924
as Calvin Gray
The Heart Bandit 1924
as John Rand
A Lady of Quality 1924
as Gerald Mertoun, Duke of Osmonde
Flaming Youth 1923
as Cary Scott
Adam's Rib 1923
as Michael Ramsay
The Spoilers 1923
as Roy Glennister
- Legally Dead
Legally Dead 1923
as Will Campbell / George Brown
Souls for Sale 1923
as Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)
The Isle of Lost Ships 1923
as Frank Howard
What a Wife Learned 1923
as Rudolph Martin
The Last Hour 1923
as Steve Cline
Environment 1922
as Steve MacLaren
The Forgotten Law 1922
as Richard Jarnette
Seeing Stars 1922
as Self
Burning Sands 1922
as Daniel Lane
Skin Deep 1922
as Bud Doyle
A Trip to Paramountown 1922
as Self
The Woman Who Walked Alone 1922
as Clement Gaunt
One Clear Call 1922
as Dr. Alan Hamilton
Miss Lulu Bett 1921
as Neil Cornish
The Great Moment 1921
as Bayard Delaval
At the End of the World 1921
as Gordon Deane
Salvage 1921
as Fred Martin
The Little Fool 1921
as Richard Forrest
The Faith Healer 1921
as Michaelis
The Furnace 1920
as Keene Mordaunt
Behold My Wife 1920
as Frank Armour
Sweet Lavender 1920
as Horace Weatherburn
Dangerous to Men 1920
as Sandy Verrall
The Inferior Sex 1920
as Knox Randall
The Street Called Straight 1920
as Peter Devenant
Eyes of Youth 1919
as Louis Anthony
What Every Woman Learns 1919
as Walter Melrose
The Fear Woman 1919
as Robert Craig
The Woman Thou Gavest Me 1919
as Conrad
The Hushed Hour 1919
as Luke Appleton
The Stronger Vow 1919
as Juan Estudillo
Satan Junior 1919
as Paul Worden
The Hell Cat 1918
as Sheriff Jack Webb
The Savage Woman 1918
as Jean Lerier
The Claw 1918
as Major Anthony Kinsella
The Yellow Ticket 1918
as Julian Rolfe
Married in Name Only 1917
as Robert Worthing
- Making Monkey Business
Making Monkey Business 1917
as The Flea
The Honor System 1917
as Joseph Stanton
Patria 1917
as Capt. Donald Parr
The Rack 1915
as Tom Gordon
- The Woman Who Lied
The Woman Who Lied 1915
as Jack Stanley
Under Southern Skies 1915
as Burleigh Mavor
- The Taming of Mary
The Taming of Mary 1915
as Harry Benton
- The Arrival of Perpetua
The Arrival of Perpetua 1915
as Thaddeus Curzon
- The Pit
The Pit 1914
as Corthell
Credits from TMDB.