What is Ray Milland birthday?

Ray Milland was born at 1907-01-03

When was Ray Milland died?

Ray Milland was died at 1986-03-10

Where was Ray Milland died?

Ray Milland was died in Torrance

Where is Ray Milland's birth place?

Ray Milland was born in Neath, Glamorgan, Wales

What is Ray Milland nationalities?

Ray Milland's nationalities is Welsh

Who is Ray Milland spouses?

Ray Milland's spouses is Muriel Frances Weber

Who is Ray Milland childrens?

Ray Milland's childrens is Daniel Milland, Victoria Milland

Who is Ray Milland's father?

Ray Milland's father is Alfred Jones

Who is Ray Milland's mother?

Ray Milland's mother is Elizabeth Annie Jones

How famous is Ray Milland?

Ray Milland is famouse as Actor

Ray Milland - Welsh Men, Birthday and Life

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Table of contents

Personal Details
Photo
Overview
Awards
Timeline
FAQ

Welsh Film & Theater Personalities Actors Capricorn Celebrities

Ray Milland's Personal Details

Ray Milland was a renowned Welsh actor and director

Information	Detail
Birthday	January 3, 1907
Died on	March 10, 1986
Nationality	Welsh
Famous	Film & Theater Personalities, Actors, Welsh Men
Spouses	Muriel Frances Weber
Known as	Alfred Reginald Jones
Childrens	Daniel Milland, Victoria Milland
Birth Place	Neath, Glamorgan, Wales
Height	187
Gender	Male
Father	Alfred Jones
Mother	Elizabeth Annie Jones
Sun Sign	Capricorn
Born in	Neath, Glamorgan, Wales
Famous as	Actor
Died at Age	79

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Who is Ray Milland?

Ray Milland was a renowned Welsh actor and director. Born in the early twentieth century, he grew up to be a Hollywood actor who impressively personified the characters of a dipsomaniac author in ‘The Lost Weekend’ and a scheming husband who plots his wife’s murder in ‘Dial M for Murder’. In the beginning of his career, he served in the British Household Cavalry, winning many trophies for his team. Eventually, he moved on to acting and appeared as an ‘extra’ in British films. After a brief period of unproductiveness, he featured in ‘The Flying Scotsman’ which landed him a nine-month contract with MGM. He then shifted to the United States where he appeared as a character actor. Later, he was signed by Paramount Pictures, which cast him in lesser speaking roles. In 1936, he was loaned out to Universal for a film called ‘Three Smart Girls’. The success of the film won him the lead role in ‘The Jungle Princess’, a commercial hit. His strongest performance came in 1945, in the critically acclaimed film, ‘The Lost Weekend’. He continued with Paramount Pictures for the next 20 years after which he directed films and television series. Towards the end of his career, he featured in a few television series as well.

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Childhood & Early Life

Milland was born Alfred Reginald Jones on 3 January, 1907 (1905 according to some sources) in the Welsh town of Neath, Glamorgan to Elizabeth Annie and Alfred Jones.

He studied at King's College School in Cardiff and enjoyed sports in his youth. At the time, he also worked at his uncle's horse-breeding estate and became an expert rider.

Career

At 21, Milland went to London and joined the British Household Cavalry. He trained for several months, learning fencing, boxing and shooting, and won the Bisley Match for his team. In 1928, he decided to become an actor.

He initially appeared as an extra in ‘Piccadilly’ (1929) and other insignificant roles. Later he got hired as an extra at the British International Pictures studio, in Arthur Robison's production of ‘The Informer’ (1929).

After a while, Director Castleton Knight cast him in his first major role in ‘The Flying Scotsman’ (1929). Around this time, he adopted the screen name ‘Milland’. His performance in the film won him a six-month contract and he starred in two more films directed by Knight, ‘The Lady from the Sea’ and ‘The Plaything’.

Eager to improve his acting skills, he decided to do some stage work and enacted the second lead in a production of Shipman and Marcin's ‘The Woman in Room 13’. Within five weeks he acquired valuable acting experience.

Meanwhile, MGM vice-president Robert Rubin approached him and offered him a nine-month contract, based in Hollywood. He accepted the offer and left the United Kingdom in August 1930.

In the beginning, MGM cast him as a character actor, featuring him in mainstream productions but in less speaking roles. In this initial phase, he faced a lot of criticism for acting.

Unabashed, he continued in Hollywood and in 1930 appeared in his first US film ‘Passion Flower’. Over the next two years, he appeared in several minor roles for MGM and a few uncredited roles in films loaned out to Warner Brothers. His most prominent role during this period was in ‘Payment Deferred’ (1932).

Shortly afterwards, MGM refused to renew his contract and he was out of work. Hence, he returned to England, hoping to land roles in British films based on his Hollywood experience.

In Britain, he appeared in two unimportant films, ‘This is the Life’ and ‘Orders is Orders’ (1934), but failed to find regular work. He eventually returned to the US and took to menial jobs. After a while, he received an offer to act in Paramount Pictures - George Raft’s film ‘Bolero’ (1934).

Next, he appeared in a screwball musical comedy, ‘We're Not Dressing’ (1934). His stellar performance won the confidence of director Norman Taurog and he was signed for seven years with Paramount Pictures.

Initially, Paramount cast him in less speaking roles. In 1936, Joe Pasternak from Universal Studios approached him for playing the lead role in ‘Three Smart Girls’; Paramount agreed to loan him out.

Later that year, he appeared in the huge hit ‘The Jungle Princess’ opposite starlet Dorothy Lamour. By the end of 1936, he was being considered for lead roles. Paramount rewrote his contract, tripling his salary.

In 1937, he was cast in ‘Bulldog Drummond Escapes’. This was followed by another lead role in ‘Gilded Lily’. Eventually, he acted in ‘Ebb Tide’ for Paramount and a couple of loan-out films for Universal and Columbia Pictures.

In 1939, while shooting for ‘Hotel Imperial’, he suffered a near-fatal injury. The accident badly damaged his left hand. Soon after, a second injury followed in which he lost his left thumb.

Notwithstanding the pain, he flew to England to star in ‘French Without Tears’. By the time he returned to the US, World War II had been declared in Europe. In 1939 he appeared in ‘Beau Geste’ and ‘Everything Happens at Night’.

In 1940, he acted with some of the leading ladies of the era such as ‘Arise, My Love’ with Claudette Colbert, ‘Irene’ opposite Anna Neagle, and ‘Untamed’ with Patricia Morison.

He was eager to enlist in the US Air Force during the war, but was turned down because of his damaged left hand. Nevertheless, he worked as a civilian flight instructor for the army.

As the war continued, he acted in more action orientated films like ‘I Wanted Wings’ (1941) and ‘Reap the Wild Wind’ (1942). In 1943, he appeared in the all-star musical ‘Star Spangled Rhythm’ and the collaborative drama ‘Forever and a Day’.

In 1944, he appeared in the supernatural film ‘The Uninvited’ and Fritz Lang’s film noir ‘Ministry of Fear’. He also travelled with the United Service Organisation South Pacific troupe the same year.

In 1945, he starred as an alcoholic writer in ‘The Lost Weekend’. He was applauded for his performance and won several awards, including an Oscar. His contract was rewritten and he became Paramount's highest paid actor.

Thereafter, he starred in several pictures like ‘California’ (1947), ‘The Big Clock’ (1948), ‘Alias Nick Beal’ (1949), ‘A Life of Her Own’ (1950), etc. He continued as the lead man of Paramount till the early 1950s.

In 1951, he acted with Gene Tierney in ‘Close to My Heart’ as a couple trying to adopt a child. His performance in the film was critically acclaimed. The same year, he also acted in ‘Circle of Danger’, set in the UK.

In 1952, he acted in ‘The Thief’ – a challenging role with no dialogue. In 1954, he starred opposite Grace Kelly in Hitchcock's only 3D movie, ‘Dial M for Murder’.

After leaving Paramount, he dabbled in direction. His directorial debut was a Western film called ‘A Man Alone’ (1955). This was followed by a crime drama, ‘Lisbon’ (1956).

He also successfully ventured into television. From 1953 - 1955, he starred in the CBS sitcom ‘Meet Mr. McNutley’ (later called ‘The Ray Milland Show’) and from 1959–1960, he featured in CBS detective series ‘Markham’.

In 1966, he played the lead role in Broadway ‘Hostile Witness’ directed by Reginald Denham. The play was fairly successful and in 1968, he reprised his role of Simon Crawford, Q.C. in a film of the same title, which he also directed.

In the early 1960s, three of his films became cult classics: Roger Corman’s ‘The Premature Burial’ (1962) and ‘X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes’ (1963); the third was his self-directed sci-fi drama ‘Panic in Year Zero!’ (1962).

In the late 60s and the 70s, he returned as a character actor, and featured in cult classics like ‘Daughter of the Mind’ (1969), Love Story (1970), and its sequel ‘Oliver's Story’ (1978).

Towards the end of his career, he appeared twice in ABC’s ‘Hart to Hart’, two episodes of ‘Columbo’ in 1971 and 1972, and guest starred in the pilot episode of ‘Battlestar Galactica’.

Major Works

In Billy Wilder’s ‘The Lost Weekend’ (1945), Milland played the challenging role of an alcoholic writer. His performance was so compelling that he was harassed for years by rumours that he was actually an alcoholic.

In Russell Rouse’s American Cold War-noir-spy film, ‘The Thief’ (1952) he effortlessly played the lead role of a character that had no dialogues.

In Alfred Hitchcock’s detective 3D fiction film, ‘Dial M for Murder’ (1954), he played the lead role of a murder plotting husband.

Awards & Achievements

In 1945, Milland won the Academy Award for Best Actor, Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, National Board of Review Award for Best Actor, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, for his compelling performance in the film ‘The Lost Weekend’.

In 1952, he got a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor, for ‘The Thief’.

Personal Life & Legacy

He married Muriel Frances Weber on 30 September, 1932. The couple had a son, Daniel in 1940 and adopted a daughter named Victoria. Hi son, Daniel died under mysterious circumstances in March 1981.

Milland died in his sleep on 10 March, 1986 in California, after suffering from cancer for many years.

Trivia

He was rumoured to have had a short affair with co-star Grace Kelly.

During filming ‘Reap the Wind’, he had to undergo the curling iron treatment to coil his naturally straight hair. He later blamed this for his untimely hair-loss.

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