James Millhollin

James Millhollin
James Millhollin in trailer for "No Time for Sergeants" (1958)
Born	(1915-08-23)August 23, 1915 Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Died	May 23, 1993(1993-05-23) (aged 77) Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi, U.S.
Cause of death	Cancer
Resting place	Cremation
Occupation	Character actor
Years active	1955-1979

James A. Millhollin (August 23, 1915 - May 23, 1993)^[1] 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 middle-management 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, Millhollin was cast in two episodes as Anson Foster, the employer of the Imogene Coca lead character in the NBC sitcom, Grindl.^[2]

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 "Potsie Quits School." In between, Millhollin appeared as Gerold Manners in the 1960 episode "Shadow Catcher" of Will Hutchins's ABC/Warner Brothers western series, 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.^[2]

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 murderer 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."^[2]

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. Millhollin was cast as Dr. Heydon in the 1961 episode "Dennis Is a Genius" and as a burglar in "The Uninvited Guest" (1963) on the CBS sitcom Dennis the Menace, starring Jay North in the title role.^[2]

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 1962, he was cast as Lt. Bronner in the episode "The Handmade Private" of the CBS anthology serieds, GE True, hosted by Jack Webb. In 1964 he was a marvelous sourpuss in the campy move Get Yourself A College Girl In 1965, he appeared on the George Burns sitcom, Wendy and Me in the episode "A Bouquet for Mr. Bundy." In 1966, he portrayed a bank official in the film The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. 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.^[2]

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.^[2]

Millhollin was born in Peoria, Illinois.^[1] He retired to Mississippi, where he died of cancer at the age of 77 in Biloxi.^[1]

References