Albert Frank Mills (11 August 192711 February 2021) was an English actor. He starred in numerous films and television series such as '' Rumpole of the Bailey''. He was best known for his television work, notably the role of

Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is a former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National League (NL) ...

in '' Coronation Street''.

Career

Mills was born in London, England, in August 1927. He played Commissionaire Peterson in 'The Blue Carbuncle' episode of '' The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' in 1984, and Reginald Crump in Miss Marple:

A Pocketful of Rye ''A Pocketful of Rye'' is a 1969 novel by A. J. Cronin about a young Scottish doctor, Carroll, and his life in Switzerland. It is a sequel to '' A Song of Sixpence''. As with several of his other novels, Cronin drew on his own experiences as a ...

in 1985. Also in 1984 he appeared as Harry Martin, an

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

or book keeper employed by agoraphobic

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

Albert Wendle in the ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' episode '' Get Daley!'' He again appeared in ''

'' in 1991, this time in the episode '' The Greatest Show in Willesden'' in which he played

Arthur Daley ''Minder'' is a British comedy-drama series about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television, and shown on ITV for ten series between 1979 and 1994. The ...

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

, Len. He also appeared in Channel 5's revival of ''

'' starring

Shane Richie Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is a British actor, comedian, television presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the charac ...

and

Lex Shrapnel Alexander Carey Shrapnel (born 6 October 1979) is an English actor and voice actor. Early life Shrapnel was born on 6 October 1979 in London, the second of three boys for actor John Shrapnel and Francesca Ann (née Bartley). He is the brother of ...

. Along with

Linal Haft Linal Haft (born 23 March 1945 in Leeds) is an English actor, best known for playing controlling or manipulative characters in both film and television, most notably his role as businessman Harry Gold in the popular BBC soap opera ''EastEnder ...

and

Paul Brooke Paul Brooke (born 22 November 1944) is a retired English actor of film, television and radio. He made his film debut in 1972 in the Hammer film '' Straight on till Morning'', followed by performances in '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981), ''Return o ...

he is one of only three actors to appear in both the classic series and this reboot, but starring in different roles in each. In 1997 he played Albert Potter in the third episode of the seventh series of Heartbeat; the episode entitled ''"Small Beer."'' Mills appeared in television series such as '' The Brief'', ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels o ...

'', ''

Foyle's War ''Foyle's War'' is a British detective drama television series set during and shortly after the Second World War, created by ''Midsomer Murders'' screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by ITV after the long-running series ...

'', '' Flambards'' and ''

The Palace ''The Palace'' is a British drama television series that aired on ITV in 2008. Produced by Company Pictures for the ITV network, it was created by Tom Grieves and follows a fictional British Royal Family in the aftermath of the death of King ...

'' and as chip shop proprietor Len Holmes, in '' The Sweeney'' episode "''May''.". Other television appearances have included Season Three of ''

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates ''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'' is a British crime drama television series, starring Patricia Routledge as the title character, Henrietta "Hetty" Wainthropp, that aired for four series between 3 January 1996 and 4 September 1998 on BBC One. T ...

'' playing Frank Wainthropp (1997), and as William Caulder, an ill-treated pensioner in a retirement home who commits suicide in the 2004 ''

The Royal ''The Royal'' is a British period medical drama, produced by Yorkshire Television (later part of ITV Studios), and broadcast on ITV1 from 2003 until its cancellation in 2011. The series is set in the 1960s and focuses on the lives of the sta ...

'' episode "For Better For Worse". He starred alongside Ray Brooks in the 1984 hit BBC drama '' Big Deal'' as the grumpy bookmaker Gil. Mills died in February 2021 at the age of 93.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Aveleyman: Frank Mills
1927 births 2021 deaths English male television actors Place of death missing Male actors from London {{england-tv-actor-stub