Medford mail tribune., March 12, 1961, Image 47

Mud "homo" to the traveling Millses is a Susstix farm near London.
A Family That
Won't
Be Separated
The John Mills clan travels
all over the world to make theatrical
headlines but always together
S5W
When John Mills ( Left) was in Tobago, West Indies, or role in film, "Swiss Family
Robinson," wife Mury and clu'Idren onnlhan, Hayley, and fuliet joined him.
By PEER J. OPPENHEIMER
When it comes to theatrical families, the John
Mills elan easily ranks as one of the most tal
ented on either side of the Atlantic.
John himself has won acting honors in a score
of films, including "Great Expectations," "Hob
son's Choice," and Walt Disney's current "Swiss
family Robinson."
His 14-ycar-old daughter Hayley all but stole
the show from her famous father in "Tiger Bay,"
charmed audiences as "Pollyanna," and recently
finished another Disney film, "Parent Trap."
Hayley's 18-year-old sister Juliet electrified
theatergoers in London and New York with her
performance in the play, "Five Finger Exercise."
Their mother, Mary Hayley Bell, is a former
actress and now a successful author.
Not to be outdone, the youngest Mills, 10-year-
llorc llie Millses unfold llinir drn
nicilic (clients; from left, Hayley
Mills, vvilh Adolphu Menjou,
cltnmied lis in "Polynnnn"; John
Mills slurs with Dorolhy McGiiirc
in "Swiss Family Robinson";
Juliet Mills, wild Jessica Tandy,
played in "Five Finger Exorcise."
S Famlll Wetktu, Mured IJ, 1961
old Jonathan, made a screen test which came out
so well he was offered a contract by Disney, but he
turned it down as "too much work."
With such talent and careers, you'd think a nor
mal existence for the Millscs would be impossible.
Yet exactly the opposite is true. The reason is
the closeness of the family, their ability to laugh
at themselves, and their insistence on keeping to
gether no matter what the sacrifices.
To hold the family intact, Hayley and Jonathan
quit school early to join the rest of the clan in
Tobago, the West Indies, while their father starred
in "Swiss Family Robinson"; Juliet took three
weeks olT from her play to fly to California while
Hayley filmed "Parent Trap"; and John gave up a
lucrative film for J. Arthur Rank to keep his family
company when they settled in Beverly Hills while
Hayley worked.
Not satisfied with hotel living, the Millscs
rent a home wherever they go, be it Tobago or
Beverly Hills, and quickly establish a routine. Mrs.
Hix, their housekeeper, is flown in to cook, Hayley
and Jonathan arc enrolled in local schools, and a
few mementos of home are placed around the house
such as Hayley's stuffed animals, John's pipe
rack, and Mary's dictionary and thesaurus.
Their "real home" is a Sussex farm near London
where they raise horses and cattle. They move to
London only when one of them is working there.
Then they settle down in their fashionable but
crowded West End apartment, where the girls
double up on the living-room couch, and Jonathan
has to sleep on the floor.
The Millses refuse to countenance any egotism
which might be fostered by fame, and insist that
the children do their share around the house, no
matter where they are. This includes making their
own beds and putting away their clothes.
It's a hectic family life but a close, happy one.