# Ronald Millar

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{{Short description|British actor and writer (1919–1998)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = Sir
| name               = Ronald Millar
| image              = <!-- just the filename, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing [brackets](/source/brackets) -->
| alt                =
| caption            =
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1919|11|12|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [Reading, Berkshire](/source/Reading%2C_Berkshire), England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1998|04|16|1919|11|12|df=y}}
| death_place        = London, England
| occupation         = {{hlist|Actor|writer}}
}}
'''Sir Ronald Graeme Millar''' (12 November 1919&nbsp;– 16 April 1998) was an English actor, scriptwriter, and dramatist.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/ronald-millar-8479|title=Ronald Millar – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB }}</ref> He also had a noteworthy career as a political speechwriter in the [Conservative Party](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)), and was particularly known for his collaboration with [Margaret Thatcher](/source/Margaret_Thatcher).

==Background==
Millar was born in [Reading, Berkshire](/source/Reading%2C_Berkshire), on 12 November 1919.<ref name = Kavanagh>{{cite news|url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/720061551/|title = Sir Ronald Millar|last = Kavanagh|first = Dennis|date = 17 April 1998|work = [The Independent](/source/The_Independent)|accessdate = 18 May 2025|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|url-access = subscription|page = 18}}</ref> He was the son of a professional actress, Dorothy Dacre-Hill, and his father died when he was a year old.<ref name = Kavanagh/> After attending [Charterhouse School](/source/Charterhouse_School), Millar studied at [King's College, Cambridge](/source/King's_College%2C_Cambridge), for a year before joining the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) in 1940, during the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War).

Prior to becoming a full-time dramatist and then a [speechwriter](/source/speechwriter), he acted in a number of [West End](/source/West_End_theatre) productions during and after World War II, in the company of luminaries as [Ivor Novello](/source/Ivor_Novello), [Alastair Sim](/source/Alastair_Sim) and [John Gielgud](/source/John_Gielgud).<ref>Millar, Ronald, ''A View From the Wings'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London: 1993.</ref> He also appeared in the 1943 war film ''[We Dive at Dawn](/source/We_Dive_at_Dawn)'' directed by [Anthony Asquith](/source/Anthony_Asquith). One of his most well-received productions was ''Abelard and Heloise'' featuring [Keith Michell](/source/Keith_Michell) and [Diana Rigg](/source/Diana_Rigg).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/abelard-and-heloise-3589/#awards |title=Abelard and Heloise – Broadway Play |publisher=The Broadway League}}</ref>

==Career==
He established himself as a playwright after the war and, between 1948 and 1954, worked in Hollywood, writing scripts for [MGM](/source/MGM).<ref name = Kavanagh/> These included ''[The Miniver Story](/source/The_Miniver_Story)'' and ''[Scaramouche](/source/Scaramouche_(1952_film))'', both with [George Froeschel](/source/George_Froeschel).<ref name=Herald/>

On his return to Britain, he successfully adapted several [C. P. Snow](/source/C._P._Snow) novels, ''The Affair'', ''The New Men'' and ''The Masters''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 April 1998 |title=Sir Ronald Millar |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12300229.sir-ronald-millar/ |access-date=19 June 2025 |website=The Herald |language=en}}</ref> In 1967 he adapted [William Clark](/source/William_D._Clark)'s novel ''Number 10''{{spaced ndash}}for the stage.<ref>Kavanagh, Denis, "Sir Ronald Millar", ''[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)'', Financial Times Ltd., 1996 (ISSN 0951-9467).</ref> He also wrote the book and lyrics for the musical ''[Robert and Elizabeth](/source/Robert_and_Elizabeth)''.<ref name = Kavanagh/> He was deputy chairman of the [Theatre Royal Haymarket](/source/Theatre_Royal_Haymarket) from 1977 until his death.<ref name = Kavanagh/>

===Speechwriting===
Millar began his speechwriting career in 1969, writing for [Edward Heath](/source/Edward_Heath), but Heath reportedly did not appreciate his work.<ref name = Kavanagh/> He had a far longer and more successful collaboration with [Margaret Thatcher](/source/Margaret_Thatcher) when she became Conservative leader in 1975.<ref name = Kavanagh/> He would edit drafts in a process called "Ronnification", condensing long phrases and fitting the speech to the style of the speaker.<ref name = Kavanagh/> The first speech that Millar wrote for Thatcher included an [Abraham Lincoln](/source/Abraham_Lincoln) quote, "you cannot help the poor by destroying the rich". Among his most famous contributions for Thatcher was the line  "[The lady's not for turning](/source/The_lady's_not_for_turning)".<ref name = Kavanagh/><ref>Berlinski, Claire, ''There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters'', Basic Books, First Trade Paper Edition, 2010, p.&nbsp;37.</ref> Millar also suggested that Thatcher, on her entrance to 10 Downing Street, should use the words that were attributed to St Francis of Assisi: "Where there is discord, let us bring harmony".<ref name=Herald>{{cite news |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12300229.sir-ronald-millar/ |title=Sir Ronald Millar |newspaper=Glasgow Herald |access-date=14 March 2021}}</ref> He was knighted after Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979.

He worked with Thatcher throughout her premiership, and continued with [John Major](/source/John_Major).<ref name="Kavanagh" />

==Death==
Millar died at [King Edward VII's Hospital](/source/King_Edward_VII's_Hospital) in London on 16 April 1998, at the age of 78.<ref name = Sylvester>{{cite news|url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/752271496/|title = Thatcher's speech writer dies at 77 [sic]|last = Sylvester|first = Rachel|date = 17 April 1998|accessdate = 18 May 2025|url-access = subscription|work = [The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)|page = 14|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Paying tribute, Thatcher said that he helped her "express what I felt and meant" and that he was a man of remarkable artistic abilities and a "real believer in our whole philosophy'". John Major called him "a source of wise advice and wry comment".<ref name = Sylvester/>

==Selected filmography==
* ''[Frieda](/source/Frieda_(film))'' (1947)
* ''[So Evil My Love](/source/So_Evil_My_Love)'' (1948)
* ''[Train of Events](/source/Train_of_Events)'' (1949)
* ''[The Miniver Story](/source/The_Miniver_Story)'' (1950)
* ''[The Unknown Man](/source/The_Unknown_Man)'' (1951)
* ''[Scaramouche](/source/Scaramouche_(1952_film))'' (1952)
* ''[Never Let Me Go](/source/Never_Let_Me_Go_(1953_film))'' (1953)
* ''[Rose Marie](/source/Rose_Marie_(1954_film))'' (1954)
* ''[Betrayed](/source/Betrayed_(1954_film))'' (1954)

==Selected plays==
* ''[Frieda](/source/Frieda_(play))'' (1946)
* ''[Waiting for Gillian](/source/Waiting_for_Gillian)'' (1954)
* ''[The Bride and the Bachelor](/source/The_Bride_and_the_Bachelor)'' (1956)
* ''[The Big Tickle](/source/The_Big_Tickle)'' (1958)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0587697}}
* {{IBDB name}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, Ronald}}
Category:1919 births
Category:1998 deaths
Category:20th-century English dramatists and playwrights
Category:20th-century English LGBTQ people
Category:20th-century English male actors
Category:20th-century English male writers
Category:20th-century English novelists
Category:20th-century English screenwriters
Category:Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
Category:British LGBTQ screenwriters
Category:British male dramatists and playwrights
Category:British male screenwriters
Category:British speechwriters
Category:English gay actors
Category:English gay writers
Category:English LGBTQ novelists
Category:English male novelists
Category:English male stage actors
Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War II

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ronald Millar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Millar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Millar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.