Ray Milland (3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh actor and 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 The Lost Weekend (1945), a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind (1942), the murder-plotting husband in Dial M for Murder (1954), and as Oliver Barrett III in Love Story (1970). Before becoming an actor, Milland served in the Household Cavalry of the British Army, becoming a proficient marksman, horse-rider, and aeroplane pilot. He left the army to follow a career in acting and appeared as an extra in several British productions before getting his first major role in The Flying Scotsman (1929). This led to a nine-month contract with MGM and he moved to the United States where he appeared as a stock actor. After being released by MGM, he was picked up by Paramount, who used Milland in a range of lesser speaking parts, normally as an English character. He was loaned out to Universal for a film called Three Smart Girls (1936), and its success saw Milland given a lead role in The Jungle Princess (also 1936) alongside new starlet Dorothy Lamour. The film was a big success and catapulted both to stardom. Milland remained with Paramount for almost 20 years, and as well as his Oscar-winning role in The Lost Weekend, he is remembered for the films The Major and the Minor (1942), The Big Clock (1948), and The Thief (1952), the last of which saw him nominated for his second Golden Globe. After leaving Paramount, he began directing and ended his career moving into television. Ray Milland, who was at one time Paramount Pictures’ highest paid actor, co-starred alongside many of the most popular actresses of the time including Gene Tierney, Grace Kelly, Lana Turner, Marlene Dietrich, Ginger Rogers, Jane Wyman, Loretta Young and Veronica Lake. Ray Milland died of lung cancer in Torrance, California, on 10 March 1986, aged 79. He was survived by his wife, the former Muriel Weber, and his daughter.