When he first stepped onto the Disney Studio lot, the actor’s career had already spanned more than 60 years, but his enthusiasm kept him young and he continued to light up the screen with his larger-than-life persona.

As critic Leonard Maltin observed in his book The Disney Films, “[In Swiss Family Robinson] John Mills strikes just the right note of adventurism, tempered with humor and a genuine feeling of enjoying the whole escapade.”

During the 1960s, the unpretentious craftsman directed nearly all of Disney’s successful films, including the Academy Award^®-winning Mary Poppins in 1964.

Disney proved a fruitful training ground for the young filmmaker, who later recalled, “Working with Walt was a great experience in learning discipline because when you worked with him, you were making his picture under his conditions. He was very organized; every picture was storyboarded before filming.”

Over the years, Hugh contributed to myriad Disney motion pictures, including Greyfriars Bobby in 1961, In Search of the Castaways in 1962, The Moon-Spinners in 1964, Candleshoe in 1978, and Watcher in the Woods in 1980.

Of the more than 50 motion pictures he appeared in during his career, however, his most popular role was as the rigid and positively clueless father George Banks in Mary Poppins.