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Ray Milland

Welsh-American actor and film director (1907–1986)

AI overview

Ray Milland was a Welsh-American actor and film director who worked in Hollywood from the early 20th century until 1986. He is remembered as an important figure in cinema during the classic Hollywood era, contributing to the film industry both as a performer and behind the camera as a director.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Person

Born: 1907-01-03
Died: 1986-03-10

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Neath, Glamorgan, Wales, UK

Ray Milland (born Reginald Alfred John Truscott-Jones or Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh actor and director. He is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend (1945), as well as for his performances in Dial M for Murder (1954) and Love Story (1970).

Known for

The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender — Self (archive footage)1997
Sad? — (archive footage)1996
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey — Don Birnam (archive footage) (uncredited)1995
Faces of Horror — Maxwell Kirshner (archive)1989
Grace Kelly: The American Princess — Self (archive footage)1987
The Sea Serpent — Professor Timothy Wallace1985
The Masks of Death — Home Secretary1984
Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land — Q. T. Thornwell1983
Cave-In! — Prof. Harrison Soames

Article

Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh and American actor. Initially known as a star of light comedies, he achieved a dramatic breakthrough with his portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend (1945). His performance earned him the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe Award, and ultimately an Academy Award—the first such accolades for any Welsh-born 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.