Milton Rutherford Reid was, according to all available sources, born in Bombay, India on April 29th 1917. He is presumed to have died in India around 1987, however his death remains an unsolved mystery.
While he may have appeared in a film while serving in the army in 1944, his film career proper kicked off with three roles in 1958. Over the next 28 years he worked predominantly in British productions, but also turned up in films from Italy, Yugoslavia, Turkey and India. He is undoubtedly best remembered for his appearances in 2 James Bond movies, but along the way his career took in everything from Walt Disney, via Hammer horror, to hardcore pornography, with his exotic looks tending to get him cast as Orientals or Arabs and he also played more than his fair share of executioners. From the 40's through the 60's he also worked as a professional wrestler under the name "The Mighty Chang" (beware that there was another wrestler who also used this name in the 80's, and it is this one who is seen in clips on You Tube). There is always the slight possibility that undocumented appearances by Milton could still be found, maybe bit parts in 50's British films, small roles in obscure international productions or further Bollywood appearances.
There is a lot of conflicting information about Milton to be found on various blogs and forums with some people, including reportedly his son, Milton Jr., having done extensive research with little results. What we can be fairly sure about, since these things can be easily checked, is that he was the son of an Edgar William Reid, married a woman named Bertha Guyett in 1939, and had a son, the aforementioned Milton Jr.. From his sports career we can be sure of his height (5'11"), his chest size (52") and waist (42"). We can also be certain of his close, presumed to be platonic, friendship with British sex siren Mary Millington in the 70's, since there is plenty of photographic evidence to support it and he has his own entry on the website dedicated to Millington. Additionally we can be certain that he did not die in 1982, as some would have us believe, and did return to live in India, where it is believed he still had family and he was certainly still alive in 1986 when he made his last known film. Aside from that most of the information about him seems to be mostly speculative and so should be treated with caution. I would recommend taking a look at the two links below, plus the mini-bio on IMDb, and put together the jigsaw puzzle of Milton's life as best possible.
The life, career and disappearance of Milton Reid
Milton & Mary - The Odd Couple
FILMOGRAPHY
- The Way Ahead (uncredited) .... Sergeant (uncertain identification)
1958 - Blood of the Vampire (credited as Milton Reed) .... Executioner
- The Camp on Blood Island (uncredited) .... Japanese executioner
- Undercover Girl (credited) .... Mac
1959 - Ferry to Hong Kong (credited) .... Yen
1960 - Swiss Family Robinson (credited) .... Big Pirate
- Visa to Canton (uncredited) .... Ivono Kong's bodyguard
1961 - Le meraviglie di Aladino (credited) .... Omar
- Sir Francis Drake (TV series, appearing in 15 episodes) (credited in 13 episodes) .... Diego
- The Terror of the Tongs (uncredited) .... Chung King's bodyguard
1962 - Captain Clegg (credited) .... Mulatto
- Dr. No (uncredited) .... Dr. No's guard
1963 - 55 Days at Peking (uncredited) .... Boxer
- Il crollo di Roma (uncredited) .... Champion gladiator
- Panic (credited) .... Dan
1964 - Gli invincibili dieci gladiatori (uncredited) .... Chimbro
1965 - Agente Z 55 missione disperata (credited as Milton Reed) .... Togo
1967 - Berserk (credited) .... Strong man
- Casino Royale (uncredited) .... Temple guard
- Deadlier than the Male (credited) .... Chang
- I Spy (TV series, season 3, episode 11 -Oedipus at Colonus) (credited) .... Abdal Rahman
1968 - Great Catherine (uncredited) .... Man in Royal Palace
- Theatre 625 (TV series, season 5, episode 20 -The Fanatics) (uncredited) .... Executioner
- The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (uncredited) .... Strongman (released 1996)
1969 - Target: Harry (credited) .... Kemal
- The Assassination Bureau (uncredited) .... Human cannonball
- The Best House in London (uncredited) .... Henchman
1970 - Adsiz cengaver (uncredited) .... Dev
- Department S (TV series, season 2, episode 15 - Spencer Bodily Is Sixty Years Old) (credited) .... Arab
- Rekvijem (credited) .... Guard collecting bodies
1971 - Carry On Henry (uncredited) .... Executioner
- Get Away with Cliff (TV special) (credited) .... Follower
- Jason King (TV series, season 1, episode 7 - To Russia with... Panache) (credited) .... Janis
- The Blood on Satan's Claw (uncredited) .... Mute dog handler
- The Goodies (TV series, season 2, episode 7 - Kitten Kong) (uncredited) .... Man attracted by Butch tobacco
- The Horseman (uncredited) .... Aqqul
1972 - Au Pair Girls (credited) .... The guard
- Blinky's Spy Spotter (credited) .... East
- Dr. Phibes Rises Again (credited) .... Cheng
1973 - Whoops Baghdad! (TV series, season 1, episode 6 - The Caliph's New Concubine) (credited) .... Randy hairdresser
1975 - The Return of the Pink Panther (credited) .... Japanese restaurant owner
1977 - Adventures of a Private Eye (credited) .... Bodyguard
- Come Play with Me (credited) .... Tough
- No.1 of the Secret Service (credited) .... Eye Patch
- The People That Time Forgot (credited) .... Sabbala
- The Spy Who Loved Me (credited) .... Sandor
1978 - Terror (credited) .... Club bouncer
- What's Up Superdoc? (credited) .... Louie
1979 - Arabian Adventure (credited) .... Jinnee
- Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair (credited) .... Eddie
- Queen of the Blues (credited) .... Ricky
1982 - West Country Tales (TV series, season 1, episode 6 - The Beast) (credited as Milton Gaylord Reid) .... The Beast
1985 - Mard (uncredited) .... Prison camp overseer
1986 - Kala Dhanda Goray Log (credited) .... Sattey Kappu
Additional credits
- A Stitch in Time (1963) feature film, seen in a poster image
- St. Bruno tobacco (late 60's or early 70's) TV commercial
- Arabian Nights (1979) Hardcore stag film
- Schoolgirl Holiday (1979) Hardcore stag film
- Bustman's Holiday (1979) Softcore stag film
- The Spy Who Loved Me: 007 in Egypt (2006) Documentary
- Respectable - The Mary Millington Story (2015) Theatrically-released documentary
More Milton!
There are a number of further appearances listed online, mostly in British television shows. Given that the British, and in particular the BBC, tended to wipe their old shows in the 60's and early 70's, it is probable that many of these shows may no longer exist.
- Glencannon (1959) TV series, season 1, episode 14: The Masked Monster
- Aladdin (1960) TV movie, as Slave of the Lamp
- Zero One (1963) TV series, season 1, episode 13: Deadly Angels, as Chang
- Bootsie and Smudge (1963) TV series, season 3, episode 24: Get Him to the Church
- Z Cars (1963) TV series, season 2, episode 40: Come on the Lads, as Gym instructor
- Espionage (1963) TV series, season 1, episode 7: The Dragon Slayer, as Big pedestrian
- Festival (1964) TV series, season 1, episode 25: Justin Thyme, as Big's chief henchman
- The Mini-Affair (1967) as Fisherman
- Virgin of the Secret Service (1968) TV series, season 1, episode 13: Wings Over Glencraig, as Taro
- Christ Recrucified (1969) TV mini-series, episodes 2 & 3, as Hussein
- Dombey and Son (1969) TV series, season 1, episode 7: The Second Mrs. Dombey, as The Game Chicken
- The World of Beachcomber (1969) TV series, season 2, episode 5
- Hassan (1969) TV movie, as Masrur
- Frost on Sunday (1970) TV series, season 2, episode 7
- Play for Today (1971) TV series, season 2, episode 8: Pal, as Contact man
- Aladdin (1971) TV movie, as The Slave
- Sez Les (1971) TV series, season 5, episode 1
- The Des O'Connor Show (1971) TV series, 04/09/71 episode
- Whodunnit? (1978) TV series, season 6, episode 9: Instant Coffee, as Abdul
- The Losers (1978) TV series, season 1, episode 2: The Naming of Parts, as The Thing from Catford
- Cannon and Ball (1979) TV series, season 1, episode 5
- World of Sport (various years) Milton appeared as a wrestler on this British sports show on a number of occasions
There always has to be one!
- Telephone (1985) - Credited on IMDb with no role given. There is an actor in the film who, from a distance, bears a strong resemblance to Milton, but when seen in close-up is clearly a younger actor