Ted Sandyman

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Ted Sandyman
Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - Ted Sandyman.png
Ted Sandyman from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Biographical Information
PositionMiller
LocationOld Mill, Hobbiton
Birthlate Third Age
Family
FamilySandyman
ParentageSandyman
Physical Description
GenderMale
GalleryImages of Ted Sandyman

Ted Sandyman was the miller of Hobbiton.

History[edit | edit source]

Ted was a miller after his father. Sam did not like him, and even less when they were arguing in The Green Dragon about the strange news reaching the Shire from afar. Ted claimed he didn't believe in dragons (except the green one) derided Sam's story that his cousin Hal had seen an elm-like Tree-man walking in the North Downs, and the bystanding hobbits laughed and clapped at his remarks. He also laughed with Sam's sadness for the Elves leaving Middle-earth, saying that nobody saw them doing so, and considered Bilbo and Frodo Baggins "cracked" who told Sam about those topics. With that, he drained his mug and went out noisily.[1]

Ted collaborated with Lotho and Sharkey, in exchange for a new and much improved mill.[2]

Inspiration[edit | edit source]

It is possible J.R.R. Tolkien was inspired by the miller's son, George Andrew junior, at Sarehole Mill, Warwickshire, England.

"There were two millers [at Sarehole Mill], father and son. The old man had a black beard, but it was the son who frightened the boys with his white dusty clothes and sharp-eyed face. Ronald named him 'the White Ogre'. When he yelled at them to clear off they would scamper away from the yard..."
J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, pp. 124-5
"I never liked the looks of the Young miller, but his father, the Old miller, had a black beard, and he was not named Sandyman."
J.R.R. Tolkien[3]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

1981: The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series):

Ted Sandyman is voiced by Gordon Reid. He is present in the Ivy Bush before Bilbo's Birthday Party and in the final episode when he sneers at Sam's return just before the scouring of the Shire.[4]

1992: Der Herr der Ringe (1992 German radio series):

Ted Sandyman is played by Jochen Stern.

2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition)

Brian Sergent plays Ted. He is present during Gaffer Gamgee's talk in the Green Dragon.

2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game):

Sandyman is standing in front of his mill, looking for an iron pin (that Sancho Proudfoot later admits to have stolen). Retrieving the pin, which is stuck in the Old Grange's weather vane. He is ill-tempered, but expresses gratitude to Frodo after he is assisted, before moaning the fact that he sent Mugwort to Bree to fetch a new pin.


References