James Millhollin

Arthur James Millhollin[1] (August 23, 1915 – May 23, 1993) 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]

James Millhollin
Millhollin in the trailer for No Time for Sergeants, 1958
Born	Arthur James Millhollin August 23, 1915 Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Died	May 23, 1993 (aged 77) Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
Occupation	Character actor
Years active	1955–1979

Early years

Millhollin was born in Peoria, Illinois.[3]

He grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa and became active with the Omaha Community Playhouse.

Stage

On Broadway, Millhollin appeared in Saratoga (1959), The Girls in 509 (1958), and No Time for Sergeants (1955).[4]

Television

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 titled "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 sitcoms: 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] Near the end of 1961, he guest-starred as Mr. Pinkham in "The Dead End Man," in the series finale of The Investigators.[5]

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 series GE True, hosted by Jack Webb. In 1964 he portrayed a sourpuss in the campy movie 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 and a department store manager in the Christmas episode of The Beverly Hillbillies. In 1966 and 1967, he played a hotel clerk in two episodes of the Marlo Thomas sitcom That Girl. In 1968, Millhollin performed as Willoughby the Llama in the Lost In Space episode "The Great Vegetable Rebellion"; and the next year he played Horace Burkhart in "The Con Man", an episode of the CBS series The Doris Day Show.[2]

From 1970 to 1973, Millhollin appeared five times on ABC's Love, American Style. He also made three appearances 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] He also appeared in the TV series Batman as Alfred Slye, a criminal lawyer for Harry, the evil twin brother to Chandell, portrayed by Liberace.

Death

Millhollin retired to Mississippi, where he died of cancer on May 23, 1993,[6] at the age of 77 in Biloxi.[7]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	No Time for Sergeants	Maj. Royal B. Demming
1961	Everything's Ducky	George Imhoff - Lab Assistant
1962	Bon Voyage!	Ship's librarian
1962	Zotz!	Dr. Kroner
1962	Gypsy	Mr. Beckman	Uncredited
1963	Under the Yum Yum Tree	Thin Man	Uncredited
1964	Get Yourself a College Girl	Gordon
1966	The Ghost and Mr. Chicken	Mr. Milo Maxwell
1966	Frankie and Johnny	Proprietor of Costume Shop	Uncredited
1966	A Fine Madness	Rollie Butter
1967	The Cool Ones	Manager
1967	The Perils of Pauline	Stafford	Uncredited
1968	Never a Dull Moment	Museum Director
1971	How to Frame a Figg	Funeral Director
1972	Night Call Nurses	Dr. Rolland
1973	The Student Teachers	Principal Peters
1974	Truck Turner	Judge Advocate

References

1. Rubin, Steven (2017). Twilight Zone Encyclopedia. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9781613738917. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
2. James Millhollin at IMDb
3. Leszczak, Bob (2014). The Odd Couple on Stage and Screen. McFarland & Company. p. 89. ISBN 978-0786477906.
4. "James Millhollin". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
5. "CTVA US Drama - "The Investigators" (1961)". ctva.biz. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
6. Willis, John (1995). Theatre World 1992-1993. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 225. ISBN 9781557832030. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
7. "James Millhollin Obituary". Sun Herald. 25 May 1993. p. A-2.

External links

• James Millhollin at IMDb
• James Millhollin at the Internet Broadway Database
• James Millhollin at Find a Grave