James Millhollin
Encyclopedia
James A. Millhollin was an American character actor
known for his portrayal of nervous, excited, and befuddled men with pop eyes and peculiar mannerisms, usually occupying such positions as hotel clerks, government bureaucrats, military officers, or other authority figures. He portrayed Major Royal B. Demming, a psychiatrist, in Andy Griffith
's 1958 film, No Time for Sergeants
, later made into an ABC
television series. In 1963, Milholland was cast in two episodes as Anson Foster, the employer of the Imogene Coca
lead character in the NBC
sitcom, Grindl
.
Millhollin's first television role was as "Weiner" of the 1955 episode "The $1,000 Window" of The Elgin Hour. His last role was as Mr. Rudi in the 1979 episode of ABC's Happy Days
entitled "Potsi Quits School." In between, Millhollin appeared as Gerold Manners in the 1960 episode "Shadow Catcher" of Will Hutchins
's ABC western
Sugarfoot
. He then played Doc Cameron in the episode "Starfall: Part 1" of NBC's Outlaws. In 1961, he played Leroy Finch in "The Diamond Dude" of Dale Robertson
's Tales of Wells Fargo
. That same year, he was Dean Peterson in "Pinky Goes to College" on ABC's The Roaring 20s, starring Dorothy Provine
.
In 1960 and 1962, Millhollin appeared in two segments of ABC's 77 Sunset Strip
as Jon Keith in "The Wide-Screen Caper" and as Bayard Parmentor in "The Odds on Odette". Three times in 1960, 1961, and 1963, he appeared on Rod Serling
's CBS fantasy adventure series The Twilight Zone
: as Mr. Armbruster in "The After Hours
", as Abernathy in "Mr. Dingle, the Strong
", and as Masters in "I Dream of Genie
". Milhollin appeared three times between 1961 and 1963 on CBS's Perry Mason
: as Ben Otis in "The Case of the Angry Dead Man", as Professor Grove in "The Case of the Brazen Bequest," and as a floorwalker in "The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe."
In 1961, Millhollin also appeared in two situation comedies: as Osborne in "Pity the Poor Working Girl" on ABC's sitcom Margie
and as Harold in two episodes, "Mr. Big Shot" and "The Wedding" of CBS
's The Ann Sothern Show
. From 1961 to 1962, he guest starred in different roles on four episodes of CBS's The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
, starring Dwayne Hickman
. That year, he played a librarian in the film Bon Voyage!
. In 1965, he appeared on the George Burns
sitcom, Wendy and Me
in the episode "A Bouquet for Mr. Bundy." In 1966 and 1967, he played a hotel clerk in two episodes of the Marlo Thomas
sitcom, That Girl
. In 1969, he played Horace Burkhart in the episode "The Con Man" of CBS's The Doris Day Show
.
From 1970 to 1973, Millhollin appeared five times on ABC's Love, American Style
. He also made three appearance on The Odd Couple
. In 1971, he was cast as Mr. Ponsonby in "Lucy and Candid Camera" of CBS's Here's Lucy
, starring Lucille Ball
, and as Lorillard Atwood in "Kid Stuff" of ABC's Nanny and the Professor
. In 1973, he was cast as principal Osgood Peters in the film The Student Teachers.
Millhollin was born in Peoria
, Illinois
. He was living in Nebraska
when he obtained his Social Security
number. He retired to Mississippi
, where he died of cancer at the age of seventy-seven in Biloxi
.
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
known for his portrayal of nervous, excited, and befuddled men with pop eyes and peculiar mannerisms, usually occupying such positions as hotel clerks, government bureaucrats, military officers, or other authority figures. He portrayed Major Royal B. Demming, a psychiatrist, in Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
's 1958 film, No Time for Sergeants
No Time for Sergeants (1958 film)
No Time for Sergeants is a 1958 American comedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy starring Andy Griffith and featuring Myron McCormick, Don Knotts and most of the original Broadway cast. Warner Brothers contract player Nick Adams joined the cast as Stockdale's fellow military draftee Benjamin B....
, later made into an ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series. In 1963, Milholland was cast in two episodes as Anson Foster, the employer of the Imogene Coca
Imogene Coca
Imogene Fernandez de Coca was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows....
lead character in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom, Grindl
Grindl
Grindl is an American situation comedy that began in the fall of 1963 on NBC, originally sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The show, starring Imogene Coca in the title role, lasted for one season.-Synopsis:...
.
Millhollin's first television role was as "Weiner" of the 1955 episode "The $1,000 Window" of The Elgin Hour. His last role was as Mr. Rudi in the 1979 episode of ABC's Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
entitled "Potsi Quits School." In between, Millhollin appeared as Gerold Manners in the 1960 episode "Shadow Catcher" of Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster in the Warner Brothers Western television series Sugarfoot on ABC from 1957-1961.-Biography:...
's ABC western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot is the title of a TV western that aired from 1957 to 1961. The series featured Will Hutchins as fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster and Jack Elam as sidekick Toothy Thompson...
. He then played Doc Cameron in the episode "Starfall: Part 1" of NBC's Outlaws. In 1961, he played Leroy Finch in "The Diamond Dude" of Dale Robertson
Dale Robertson
Dayle Lymoine "Dale" Robertson is an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the role of Jim Hardie in the TV series, Tales of Wells Fargo, and the owner of an incomplete railroad line in ABC's The Iron Horse, often appearing as the deceptively thoughtful but...
's Tales of Wells Fargo
Tales of Wells Fargo
Tales of Wells Fargo is an American Western television series that ran from March 18, 1957 to June 2, 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season when it expanded to an hour.-Synopsis:...
. That same year, he was Dean Peterson in "Pinky Goes to College" on ABC's The Roaring 20s, starring Dorothy Provine
Dorothy Provine
Dorothy Michelle Provine was an American singer, dancer, actress, and comedienne.-Career:Provine was born in Deadwood, South Dakota, to Virgil and Kathleen Provine. She attended the University of Washington, where she majored in drama. In Washington she handed out prizes for a local television...
.
In 1960 and 1962, Millhollin appeared in two segments of ABC's 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
as Jon Keith in "The Wide-Screen Caper" and as Bayard Parmentor in "The Odds on Odette". Three times in 1960, 1961, and 1963, he appeared on Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
's CBS fantasy adventure series The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
: as Mr. Armbruster in "The After Hours
The After Hours
"The After Hours" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Marsha White, a woman browsing for a gift for her mother in a department store, decides on a gold thimble. She is taken by the elevator man to the 9th floor, a floor beyond that shown by the...
", as Abernathy in "Mr. Dingle, the Strong
Mr. Dingle, the Strong
"Mr. Dingle, the Strong" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:In an experiment, two Martians give vacuum-cleaner salesman and perennial loser Luther Dingle superhuman strength...
", and as Masters in "I Dream of Genie
I Dream of Genie (The Twilight Zone)
"I Dream of Genie" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:George Hanley is offered one wish by a genie summoned from a lamp . Rather than make a rash wish, he carefully considers the three most popular options. He wonders what it would be like to wish...
". Milhollin appeared three times between 1961 and 1963 on CBS's Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
: as Ben Otis in "The Case of the Angry Dead Man", as Professor Grove in "The Case of the Brazen Bequest," and as a floorwalker in "The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe."
In 1961, Millhollin also appeared in two situation comedies: as Osborne in "Pity the Poor Working Girl" on ABC's sitcom Margie
Margie (TV series)
Margie is a television situation comedy starring Cynthia Pepper that was broadcast on ABC from October 12, 1961 to April 12, 1962 in the 9:30 Eastern Thursday time slot, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The series was adapted from a 1946 film of the same name starring Jeanne Crain.- Plot :The show...
and as Harold in two episodes, "Mr. Big Shot" and "The Wedding" of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's The Ann Sothern Show
The Ann Sothern Show
The Ann Sothern Show is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for 93 episodes. The series began on October 6, 1958, and ended on September 25, 1961. The Ann Sothern Show was Sothern's second sitcom for CBS...
. From 1961 to 1962, he guest starred in different roles on four episodes of CBS's The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
, starring Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
. That year, he played a librarian in the film Bon Voyage!
Bon Voyage!
is the official Disney goods specialty shop located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan. The shop is shaped like an oversized bag and is open one hour longer than Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. The shop has original goods as well as popular goods of Tokyo Disney Resort and the two parks. The shop is...
. In 1965, he appeared on the George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
sitcom, Wendy and Me
Wendy and Me
Wendy and Me is an American sitcom that aired on ABC during the 1964–1965 television season, primarily sponsored by Consolidated Cigar's "El Producto"...
in the episode "A Bouquet for Mr. Bundy." In 1966 and 1967, he played a hotel clerk in two episodes of the Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
sitcom, That Girl
That Girl
That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...
. In 1969, he played Horace Burkhart in the episode "The Con Man" of CBS's The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run...
.
From 1970 to 1973, Millhollin appeared five times on ABC's Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
. He also made three appearance on The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple (TV series)
The Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....
. In 1971, he was cast as Mr. Ponsonby in "Lucy and Candid Camera" of CBS's Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...
, starring Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, and as Lorillard Atwood in "Kid Stuff" of ABC's Nanny and the Professor
Nanny and the Professor
Nanny and the Professor is a U.S. fantasy situation comedy created by AJ Carothers and Thomas L. Miller for 20th Century Fox Television. During pre-production, the proposed title was Nanny Will Do. The series first aired as a mid-season replacement on January 21, 1970, on ABC and was last telecast...
. In 1973, he was cast as principal Osgood Peters in the film The Student Teachers.
Millhollin was born in Peoria
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. He was living in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
when he obtained his Social Security
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
number. He retired to Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, where he died of cancer at the age of seventy-seven in Biloxi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
.