- Born
- Died
- Birth nameGladys Jordan
- Nickname
- Our Glad
- If one was fortunate enough to know Mrs. Mills (or 'Glad' as she was affectionately known) they were privileged to have had as a friend one of the most lovable people in the world.
So much of show business is show - wearing a mask of comedy or tragedy and hiding one's real self, but Mrs. Mills was exactly the same in private life as the 'happy go lucky' image she presented so naturally to the vast audiences, be it television, radio, or in the theatre. She was a jolly, overweight hunk of humanity, a real person whose only aim in life was to make the world that she inhabited a happier place.
She first came to the notice of the British public when she made her first record in December, 1961; this was an immediate hit, and Mrs. Mills, who was quite happily and securely working as a civil servant ("earning a little extra playing for dances on certain evenings") had to change the routine of her daily life and join show business,
After that, she never looked back, appearing numerous times on television, contributing to hundreds of radio programmes, and playing every major theatre in the United Kingdom. She also appeared with tremendous success in Canada, South Africa, and Germany. Every LP she made was a best seller and her singles popular hits which were the party attractions in many homes.
Her piano playing had the happy sound that was completely synonymous with her wonderful, cheerful personality. She was happily married to Bert Mills, and she and her husband lived with Glad's 'Little Mum' in Penn, Buckinghamshire.
She passed away in February 1978 and the age of 55.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Patrick D. Rees
- SpouseBert Mills(February 24, 1947 - February 24, 1978) (her death)
- In 1975, her distinctive style of performance was satirised in an edition of BBC TV's The Two Ronnies, originally broadcast on BBC Two on 23 January 1975. The sketch, titled "Family Entertainment - John & Mrs Mills", occupied the end-of-the-show musical slot in episode 4 of the fourth series. It featured Ronnie Barker as a silk-laden Mrs Mills at piano and Ronnie Corbett as a uniformed Sir John Mills (who was no relation to Mrs Mills). Barker and Corbett performed a medley of Mills-style classics revolving around John Mills' character in the 1969 film Oh! What a Lovely War.
- Her oeuvre consisted of British and international standards, plus cover versions of contemporary hits. Her covers included "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", "Hello, Dolly!", "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and "Yellow Submarine", all of which were re-released by EMI in their 2003 compilation The Very Best of Mrs Mills.
- Although Mills' musical legacy had been largely forgotten in recent times, June 2012 saw the emergence of London-based tribute band The Mrs Mills Experience with a debut at The Vintage Festival at Boughton House in Northamptonshire. On 13 July, they were filmed playing live at The Prince Albert pub in Brixton, London Borough of Lambeth by the BBC.
- In 1961 she released her first record, "Mrs Mills Medley", a single that entered the Top Twenty of the UK Singles Chart.
- Mills was also a successful recording artist overseas in territories where there were large numbers of expatriates from the UK, including Australia, Canada and Hong Kong.
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