| Hayley Mills in a New Disney Channel Series The Disney Channel Magazine Holly M. Macfee November 21 - January 1, 1989 Edition "When I was growing up, I never had that one special teacher," says Hayley Mills. "Because of my unusual childhood, I went to so many different schools that I never had a normal education." After several decades of stardom, Hayley Mills will get the chance to play the teacher she never had - that one special educator who gave her all to make learning exciting and fun. In Good Morning, Miss Bliss, a new Disney Channel comedy series (premiering November 30 at 8:00 p.m., Eastern/Pacific time), Mills takes on the role of eighth grade teacher Carrie Bliss. "Carrie is a very dedicated teacher," Mills explains. "She has great faith and a huge enthusiasm for her work. She believes, and I agree with her, that teaching is one of the most important things you can do." Carrie Bliss's enthusiasm is reflected in her students - a group of good-hearted, though somewhat rambunctious youths. There's Zach, the 14-year-old dreamboat. He's a charmer and a conman - even in the classroom. His sidekick Mikey emulates Zach and often joins him in his pranks. Nicki is the strongheaded girl who sticks up for what she believes in, despite popular opinion. Her unlikely best friend is Lisa, the bubblehead beauty whose favorite pastime is shopping at the mall. And of course, no classroom would be complete without a misfit. Miss Bliss calls him by his proper name, Samuel; but the students call him Screech. For Screech, life is a never-ending battle to fit in with the "cool" crowd. Teaching kids today can be a formidable challenge. As Hayley Mills points out, "This is an age of video games, MTV and TV in general. Teachers have to compete with that, and it's very difficult." Miss Bliss's students are no exception to the nation-wide phenomenon of media-obsessed teenagers. As a result, she must employ rather unorthodox methods to get her point across. Mills comments on Carrie Bliss's ingenuity, "She has a very unique way of teaching. Carrie tries to bring her subject alive in as many ways as she can." But Miss Bliss's instructional antics often deviate from the traditional standards of Mr. Belding, the principle. For example, she might team up unlikely students for zany projects. In one instance she has them dress up in early American costume to teach them a history lesson. And chaos really breaks out when Miss Bliss teaches them about the stock exchange. "In that episode the students all chip in a couple dollars and invest in some stock," explains Mills. "They learn in a practical way, which is the best way, I think. Of course it all goes rather wrong and it's very funny!" she adds, laughing. The education Hayley Mills received is quite different from that of her students on Good Morning, Miss Bliss. Before beginning her film career, Mills attended a boarding school in her native England. "I think you tend to stay younger longer when you go to boarding school," observes Mills. When she came to Hollywood to make her first Disney film at age 14 (Pollyanna, in 1960), Mills's interests differed from those of other girls. "When I went to somebody's house I wanted to swim and climb trees and they were going out on dates," she recalls. "They were very much more mature and aware of themselves as little women." Hayley soon caught up, and went on her first date at age 14. "Mum finally agreed to let me go out to Pacific Palisades with my first boyfriend - provided I had a chaperone. But she couldn't come, so she sent the cook! That woman sat at the bottom of every ride just watching us! "Of course when Frank Sinatra, Jr. took me out, Mum came along." And Michael Douglas was the envy of many a teenage American boy when he took Hayley out on his 16th birthday - an event she doesn't even remember. Her schooling at the Disney Studio was interspersed between takes and make-up checks. Mills fondly recalls, "They'd do a twenty-minute light check and send us off to the little red schoolhouse. I was there with all the other child actors. Annette Funicello was one of my classmates, but we never became good friends because we never worked together." Hayley's work time was supervised strictly by welfare agents who were always on the set. "I remember one evening vividly during the filming of Pollyanna," she recalls. "There was a scene with hundreds of extras. The directors wanted to do one extra shot, but it was past my working time. The welfare workers refused permission, and all those poor people had to come back the next day!" Hayley's enormous popularity after Pollyanna landed her the lead roles in a series of Disney films, including The Parent Trap, The Moon-Spinners, and That Darn Cat! "I'm not really certain what my appeal was - I guess it was partially DNA!" laughs Mills. (Her father is Oscar-winning actor John Mills, her sister is actress Juliet Mills.) "I was very lucky to start at the time that I did because I began when acting was the most natural thing in the world to do. It was an extension of the games that I played in my imaginary life that we all have when we are children. It didn't seem difficult at all." Her five-year association with the Disney studios garnered Hayley Mills a special Oscar, international acclaim - and a squeaky-clean image that was hard to break when she later auditioned for more mature roles. Though she once felt ambivalent towards that identity, Mills feels it has been a benefit in the long run. "After a good many years I'm rather glad that that image stayed," she comments. "It was a very positive identity - although I once fought against it because there were roles I wanted to play that were considered unsuitable - Lolita, for example. "I'm very proud of my image now and I wouldn't change any of it. One of the things that makes me really happy is that if one of my old movies comes on while my boys are watching television, I don't have to rush to turn it off!" Being a mother has certainly helped Mills with her role as Carrie Bliss. "Working with children is wonderful because I'm in touch with my childhood again," she smiles, then adds, "but it comes mostly from instinct." Peter Engel, the series' executive producer observes, "When you come right down to it, it's instinct that makes a great athlete, director, or actor. Instinct is what makes the difference between great and very good. Hayley has that instinct. "Miss Bliss is the kind of teacher who feels that education doesn't end at 3:00 p.m., it starts at 3:00 p.m.," Engel continues. "It's a 24-hour job." And as Mills points out, Carrie Bliss is involved in every facet of her students' lives. "Teaching is her life," she says, "and there are thousands of teachers out there like her." Miss Bliss has the magical ability to treat each student as an individual. And the students on Good Morning, Miss Bliss are a diverse and interesting group. They're more than just stereo-typical teens. For example, they've known each other since the first grade. They played in Little League together. They laugh and they cry. They strive to fit in, to stand out, and sometimes, just to get by. Carrie Bliss doesn't dismiss their problems as simple adolescent angst. She touches them. And they touch her. "Carrie Bliss loves her job as a teacher and that's how I feel about being an actress," says Mills. She adds thoughtfully, "There's a wonderful line that Christa McAuliffe [the teacher killed in the Challenger accident] used to say: 'I touch the future; I teach.' It's a rather inspiring thought. That's what I base Carrie Bliss on." |
| Last Updated: July 26, 2004 |
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