James Millican

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James Millican (born February 17, 1911 in Palisades , New Jersey , † November 24, 1955 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor. He made over 185 film and television appearances between 1932 and 1956 and was best known for his supporting roles in westerns.

life and career

After attending high school, James Millican studied at the University of Southern California . Immediately after graduating there he attended the drama school of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and made his film debut in Mills of the Gods in 1934 with an appearance as a chauffeur. His film career did not develop as expected, however, and he had to be content with minor roles in films such as Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936), Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) and His Special Case Girl (1940); often as a policeman, reporter, bouncer or soldier. During the Second World War, the powerful actor was seen in a particularly large number of US propaganda war films, but there too his appearances were limited to only a few seconds. It was not until the late 1940s that he was able to position himself as a successful supporting actor. The western in particular became his genre: he played General Custer in On the Stake of the Sioux (1951), a hesitant acquaintance of Gary Cooper in twelve noon (1952) and the village sheriff in The Man from Laramie (1955).

In westerns, Millican was often seen in the role of the tough but fair officer or sheriff, and he often played the main character's best friend in B-Westerns. He was seen as the sidekick of B-Western star Wild Bill Elliott in several films, a good friend of his. In addition to his 170+ film appearances, Millican also appeared on a dozen television series in the last few years of his life. He died in December 1955 after a brief illness at the age of only 44. He was married to Dorothy Eleanor Griffith and was buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Millican . In: The Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles, California November 25, 1955, pp. 35 ( newspapers.com [accessed January 3, 2020]).
  2. ↑ James Millican at Matinee Classics ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.matineeclassics.com
personal data
SURNAME Millican, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Palisades , New Jersey , United States
DATE OF DEATH November 24, 1955
Place of death Los Angeles , California , United States