Ray Milland

Ray Milland
Milland in 1947
Born
Alfred Reginald Jones

(1907-01-03)3 January 1907
Neath, Glamorgan, Wales
Died10 March 1986(1986-03-10) (aged 79)
Torrance, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • film director
Years active1928–1985
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Muriel Weber
​
(m. 1932)​
Children2

Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director.[1][2] He is often remembered for his portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend (1945), which won him Best Actor at Cannes, a Golden Globe Award, and ultimately an Academy Award—the first such accolades for any Welsh actor.

Before becoming an actor, Milland served in the Household Cavalry of the British Army, becoming a proficient marksman, horseman and aeroplane pilot. He left the army to pursue a career in acting and appeared as an extra in several British productions before getting his first major role in The Flying Scotsman (1929). This led to a nine-month contract with MGM, and he moved to the United States, where he worked as a stock actor. After his MGM contract ended, Milland was picked up by Paramount, which used him in a range of lesser speaking parts, usually as an English character. He was lent to Universal for the Deanna Durbin musical Three Smart Girls (1936), and its success led to Milland's playing the lead role in The Jungle Princess (also 1936) alongside new starlet Dorothy Lamour. The film was quite successful and raised both to stardom. Milland remained with Paramount for almost 20 years.

Milland appeared in many other notable films, including Easy Living (1937), Beau Geste (1939), Billy Wilder's The Major and the Minor (1942), opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind (1942), The Uninvited (1944), Fritz Lang's Ministry of Fear (1944), The Big Clock (1948), and The Thief (1952)—for which he was nominated for his second Golden Globe. Two standout films later in his career include Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (1954) and Love Story (1970). After leaving Paramount, he began directing and moved into television acting.[3] Once Paramount Pictures' highest-paid actor, Milland co-starred alongside many of the most popular actresses of the time, including Gene Tierney, Jean Arthur, Grace Kelly, Lana Turner, Marlene Dietrich, Maureen O'Hara, Ginger Rogers, Jane Wyman, Loretta Young, and Veronica Lake.

  1. ^ "Ray Milland in 'Circle of Danger'". The New York Times. 12 July 1951.
  2. ^ "Top 10 Welsh actors: Ray Milland". BBC News WalesArts website. BBC. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Ray Milland dies". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 11 March 1986. p. B-5.