Ray Milland

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.

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.

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 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.