Milton Sills

Dari Wikipedia Milton George Gustavus Sills (12 Januari 1882 – 15 September 1930) adalah seorang aktor panggung dan film Amerika pada awal abad kedua puluh. Sills lahir di Chicago, Illinois dalam keluarga kaya. Dia adalah putra William Henry Sills, seorang pedagang mineral yang sukses, dan Josephine Antoinette Troost Sills, pewaris dari keluarga bankir yang makmur. Setelah menyelesaikan sekolah menengah atas, Sills ditawari beasiswa satu tahun ke Universitas Chicago, tempat dia belajar psikologi dan filsafat. Setelah lulus, ia ditawari posisi di universitas sebagai peneliti dan dalam beberapa tahun ia berhasil menjadi profesor di sekolah tersebut. Pada tahun 1905, aktor panggung Donald Robertson mengunjungi sekolah tersebut untuk memberi kuliah tentang penulis dan penulis drama Henrik Ibsen dan menyarankan kepada Sills agar dia mencoba aktingnya. Tiba-tiba, Sills setuju dan meninggalkan karir mengajarnya yang bergengsi untuk memulai tugas di dunia akting. Sills bergabung dengan perusahaan teater saham Robertson dan mulai melakukan tur keliling negara. Pada tahun 1914, Sills memutuskan untuk menaklukkan media baru film. Dia membuat debut filmnya pada tahun yang sama dalam drama beranggaran besar The Pit for the World Film Company dan menandatangani kontrak dengan produser film William A. Brady. Film ini sangat sukses, dan Sills membuat tiga film lagi untuk perusahaan tersebut, termasuk film box-office besar lainnya The Deep Purple yang dibintangi oleh bintang layar bisu Clara Kimball Young. Pada akhir tahun 1910-an, Sills telah mencapai status pemeran utama dan berpisah dengan Film Dunia, mengambil jalur lepas yang tidak biasa sebagai aktor. Pada awal 1920-an, Sills menikmati karier akting yang sangat sukses dan bekerja di studio film terkemuka seperti MGM, Paramount Pictures, dan Pathé Exchange. Ia sering dipasangkan dengan wanita-wanita terkemuka terpopuler pada masanya, antara lain: Geraldine Farrar, Gloria Swanson dan Viola Dana. Kesuksesan publik dan komersial terbesarnya datang melalui Flaming Youth (1923) yang kini hilang bersama Colleen Moore, dan kesuksesan box-office besar The Sea Hawk (1924). Sills membuat dua gambar suara, menunjukkan bahwa dia memiliki suara yang bagus. Banyak yang mungkin lupa bahwa Sills menjalani pelatihan panggung ekstensif sebelum memulai karirnya di depan kamera. Sills meninggal secara tak terduga karena serangan jantung pada tahun 1930 saat bermain tenis bersama istrinya di rumahnya di Santa Barbara, California pada usia 48 tahun. Ia dimakamkan di Pemakaman dan Mausoleum Rosehill di Chicago, Illinois.

From Wikipedia Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century. Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henry Sills, a successful mineral dealer, and Josephine Antoinette Troost Sills, an heiress from a prosperous banking family. Upon completing high school, Sills was offered a one-year scholarship to the University of Chicago, where he studied psychology and philosophy. After graduating, he was offered a position at the university as a researcher and within several years worked his way up to become a professor at the school. In 1905, stage actor Donald Robertson visited the school to lecture on author and playwright Henrik Ibsen and suggested to Sills that he try his hand at acting. On a whim, Sills agreed and left his prestigious teaching career to embark on a stint in acting. Sills joined Robertson's stock theater company and began touring the country. In 1914, Sills decided to conquer the new medium of motion pictures. He made his film debut the same year in the big-budget drama The Pit for the World Film Company and was signed to a contract with film producer William A. Brady. The film was enormously successful, and Sills made three more films for the company, including another huge box-office draw The Deep Purple opposite silent screen star Clara Kimball Young. By the late 1910s, Sills had reached leading man status and parted ways with World Film, taking the then unusual path of freelancing as an actor. By the early 1920s, Sills was enjoying a highly successful acting career and working for such prominent film studios as MGM, Paramount Pictures, and Pathé Exchange. He was often paired with the most popular leading ladies of the era, including: Geraldine Farrar, Gloria Swanson and Viola Dana. His greatest public and commercial successes came with the now lost Flaming Youth (1923) opposite Colleen Moore, and the enormous box-office hit The Sea Hawk (1924). Sills made two sound pictures, showing that he had an excellent voice. Many may have forgotten that Sills had extensive stage training before embarking on his career before the cameras. Sills died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1930 while playing tennis with his wife at his Santa Barbara, California home at the age of 48. He was interred at the Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Chicago, Illinois.