American leading man of silent pictures. Born into affluence in Chicago, he attended the University of Chicago on scholarship and remained there as a professor of psychology and philosophy. A chance visit to the school by actor- manager Donald Robertson led to Sills abandoning his career and joining Robertson's stock company as an actor in 1905. Three years later he went to New York and was an immediate Broadway success. After nearly twenty productions, he was wooed into films by producer 'William A. Brady' , and his two children.
Daughter Dorothy Sills.
Son Kenyon Clarence Sills (6 May 1927 - 11 April 1971)
One of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Fluent in Italian, Russian, French, and German
His principal heir was his nephew, Frederick (Fritz) Sills, who went on to become a world-famous body-builder. Fritz was lured to Hollywood in the 1960s where he was offered the starring role in Tarzan. He turned down the role when he learned that the salary was $1,750 a week, less than he was receiving from his uncles Trust Fund. Fritz Sills died in Hollywood in 1968.
Before becoming an actor, he was a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago (IL).
