Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 â 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend (1945) and also for such roles as a sophisticated leading man opposite John Wayne’s corrupt character in Reap the Wild Wind (1942), the murder-plotting husband in Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (1954), and Oliver Barrett III in Love Story (1970).
At age 18, Milland joined the Household Cavalry of the British Army, becoming a proficient marksman, horseman, and airplane pilot. He won trophies, including the Bisley Match, with his unit’s crack rifle team. However, after four years, he suddenly lost his means of financial support (independent income being a requirement as a Guardsman) when his stepfather discontinued his allowance. He left the army to pursue a career in acting and appeared as an extra in several British productions before getting his first major role in The Flying Scotsman (1929).
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