William (Millar) Boyd (1931 - 1977)

Born 4 Jul 1931 in Glengormley, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Alice Elizabeth Millar (Mills) Boyd — married about 1976 in Kensington district, Greater London, England

Died 2 Jun 1977 at age 45 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Stephen (Millar) Boyd is Notable.

An Irish actor who came to the acting stage as an adult. He appeared in about 60 films, most notably as Messala in Ben-Hur (1959) which earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. He received his 2nd Golden Globe Award nomination for Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962).

Stephen Boyd (born William Millar; 4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977) was a Northern Irish actor. He appeared in some 60 films, most notably as the villainous Messala in Ben-Hur (1959), a role that earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. He received his second Golden Globe Award nomination for Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962). He also appeared, sometimes as a hero and sometimes as a malefactor, in the major big-screen productions Les bijoutiers du clair de lune (1958), The Bravados (1958), Imperial Venus (1962), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Genghis Khan (1965), Fantastic Voyage (1966) and Shalako (1968). Stephen Boyd was born on 4 July 1931 in a house on the Doagh Road, Whitehouse.[2] He was the youngest of nine siblings born to Irish-Canadian parents, James Alexander Millar and his wife Martha Boyd. At a very early age, William, or Billy as he was known, moved with the family to live in Glengormley.^[1][2]

William (Stephen) was born July 4, 1931 in Whitehouse, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He is the son of James Alexander Millar and Martha Boyd.^[2]

He took his mother's maiden name as his stage name. He wanted to be known as Irish and not remembered as English and felt that people remembered his name better as Stephen Boyd rather than Stephen Millar.^[3]

In 1959, Stephen was written about as "An Actor of Golden Promise", yet when he saw himself on screen, he felt "When I see myself on screen it seems nothing I put into it is there; I see nothing but a skeleton."^[4]

His 1st marriage was to Italian-born MCA executive Mariella Di Sarzana in 1958 during the filming of Ben-Hur.^[5] They separated after just three weeks and were divorced in early 1959.^[6][7]

His 2nd marriage was to Alice Elizabeth Mills in 1976. She was a secretary at the British Arts Council, whom he had known since 1953. She had followed him to the USA in the late 1950s and was his personal assistant, friend and confidante for many years before they were married.
William Millar's marriage to Alice E Mills was registered in the Jul-Aug-Sep quarter of 1976 in the KENSINGTON district, Greater London, England.^[8]

Stephen Boyd died at the age of 45 of a massive heart attack while playing golf with his wife at the at the Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge, California. He was cremated and his ashes were interred in Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth, California.^[9][10][11]

He is also remembered on his parents' grave in the Clandeboye Cemetery in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland.

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Boyd
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Blue plaque honour for Ulster-born Hollywood star Stephen Boyd, News Letter. https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/blue-plaque-honour-for-ulster-born-hollywood-star-stephen-boyd-1017468
3. ↑ Stephen Boyd - Hollywood is my Beat, Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, Hollywood, California, 29 Jan 1959, Thu • Page 15, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121093194/stephen-boyd-hollywood-is-my-beat/
4. ↑ Stephen Boyd: An Actor of Golden Promise, The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, 22 Feb 1959, Sun • Page 96, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121093767/stephen-boyd-an-actor-of-golden-promise/
5. ↑ Stephen Boyd to be Married, The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, 29 Aug 1958, Fri • Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121092701/stephen-boyd-to-be-married/
6. ↑ Stephen Boyd's Marital Status Upset, The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, 12 Dec 1958, Fri • Page 4, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121092920/stephen-boyds-marital-status-upset/
7. ↑ Stephen Boyd Divorce Requested 24 days after Wedding, The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, 21 Mar 1959, Sat • Page 21, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121093899/stephen-boyd-divorce-requested-24-days/
8. ↑ Marriage Registration: "England & Wales Marriage Index"
   FreeBMD Entry Information (accessed 20 March 2023)
   Millar, William.
   GRO Reference: 1976 Jul-Aug-Sep in Kensington Volume 13 Page 1769.
9. ↑ "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP2L-QMK : 26 November 2014), Stephen Boyd, 02 Jun 1977; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
10. ↑ "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGT7-1KZ : 26 November 2014), William Millar, 02 Jun 1977; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
11. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #1629

• "California, Southern District Court (Central) Naturalization Index, 1915-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KX31-3WY : 11 March 2018), Stephen Or William Boyd Or Millar, 1963; citing Naturalization, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1525 (United States: National Archives and Records Service, Los Angeles Branch, 2016).
• "The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Passenger & Crew Manifests of Airplanes Arriving At Los Angeles, California; NAI Number: 2788930; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2009; Record Group Number: 85 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/10329705:7949?tid=&pid=&queryId=8b57da9f08facf549d7ba90b3c6114e8&_phsrc=vBr7718&_phstart=successSource

14 March 1958

• "The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Passenger & Crew Manifests of Airplanes Arriving At Los Angeles, California; NAI Number: 2788930; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2009; Record Group Number: 85 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/10473690:7949?tid=&pid=&queryId=8b57da9f08facf549d7ba90b3c6114e8&_phsrc=vBr7720&_phstart=successSource

21 April 1961

SEE ALSO:

• Wikipedia:Stephen_Boyd
• https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10020-stephen-boyd
• IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000963/?ref_=nmls_hd
• Wikipedia:Ben-Hur_(1959_film)
• Wikipedia:Billy_Rose's_Jumbo