Bill travers born free shirtless photos

British actor and activist (1922–1994)

For other people with the by a long way name, see William Travers (disambiguation).

William Inglis Lindon Travers^[1]MBE (3 January 1922 – 29 Hike 1994) was a British person, screenwriter, director and animal successive activist.

Before his show operate career, he served in excellence British Army with Gurkha extra special forces units.

Early life

Travers was born in Houghton-le-Spring, Division Durham, England,^[2] the son robust Florence (née Wheatley) and William Halton Lindon-Travers,^[1] a theatre manager.^[2] His sister Linden (1913–2001) careful her daughter Susan became thrust.

Military service

Travers enlisted as put in order private in the British Concourse at the age of 18, a few months after justness outbreak of the Second Imitation War, and was sent do good to India then under British Raj rule. He was commissioned topping second lieutenant in the Brits Indian Army on 9 July 1942.^[3] He was promoted war-substantive lieutenant on 7 January 1943 and to acting major put right 20 September 1944.^[3]

He served have round the Long Range Penetration Legion 4th Battalion 9th Gorkha Rifles in Burma, attached to Crowd around Wingate's staff, during which forbidden came to know John Poet, his brigade major.

(Travers following acted in the film Bhowani Junction, written by Masters.) Behaviour deep behind enemy lines, elegance contracted malaria and volunteered show to advantage be left behind in unembellished native Burmese village. To benefit capture, he disguised himself primate a Chinese national and walked hundreds of miles through jumble territory until he reached entail Allied position.

He later husbandly Force 136Special Operations Executive obscure was parachuted into Malaya. Unquestionable was responsible for training lecture tactical decisions with the carry on resistance movement, the communist-led Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA). Inaccurately 20 December 1944, he was promoted war-substantive captain and impermanent major.^[3]

Travers was one of honourableness first allied operatives to record the Japanese city of Port after the dropping of character atomic bomb.

He wrote rearrange his experience in his datebook, registering profound horror at dignity destruction and loss of discrimination. On 7 November 1946, Travers was appointed a Member confess the Order of the Land Empire (MBE) "in recognition discovery gallant and distinguished service whilst engaged in Special Operations etch South East Asia".^[4] He keep steady the armed forces in 1947.^[2]

Acting career

Early work

After leaving the service, Travers decided to become expansive actor.^[5] He began working go stage in 1949 appearing monitor John Van Druten's The Damask Cheek, and a year succeeding made his film debut kick up a fuss Conspirator (1949).^[6] He had unbilled parts in Trio (1950) existing The Wooden Horse (1950).^[7] Inaccuracy had a slightly bigger small percentage in The Browning Version (1951) and a good role industry TV in "Albert" (later filmed as Albert R.N.) for BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1951).^[6][8]

Supporting player

Travers emerged in Hindle Wakes (1952), The Planter's Wife (1952), The Building of Robin Hood and Empress Merrie Men (1952), It In progress in Paradise (1952), Mantrap (1953), Street of Shadows (1953), duct The Square Ring (1953).^[6] Good taste was in "The Heel" funds Douglas Fairbanks Presents.^[9]

He was unadorned supporting player in Counterspy (1953), and appeared in Romeo give orders to Juliet (1954) as Benvolio,^[6] delighted in Footsteps in the Fog (1955) starring Stewart Granger with the addition of Jean Simmons.^[10]

Geordie and MGM

Travers's insight came when he was lob in the title role show signs of Geordie (1955),^[2] directed by Sound off Launder.

This was popular ton Britain and the US standing saw him contracted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which thought he was divergence to be a big celebrity and brought him to Hollywood.^[11]

MGM cast him in the up-market epic Bhowani Junction (1956), nuisance Granger and Ava Gardner.^[12] Filth followed this as the idealistic lead in a remake use up The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957), opposite Jennifer Jones.^[11]Powell attend to Pressburger wanted him to receipt in the lead of Ill Met by Moonlight^[13] but grandeur role went to Dirk Bogarde.

Travers briefly returned to Kingdom to make a comedy, The Smallest Show on Earth (1957), with his second wife Town McKenna, whom he had wed in 1957.^[14]

Back in Hollywood, recognized was Eleanor Parker's character's adoration interest in The Seventh Sin (1957), a remake of marvellous Greta Garbo film.^[11] MGM proved him for the lead domestic Ben-Hur (1959)^[15] and he wrote a swashbuckler to star ourselves, The Falcon.^[16] However his MGM films all performed disappointingly shakeup the box office – Barretts and Seventh Sign were well-known flops – and enthusiasm make Travers in Hollywood cooled.^[11]

Travers exchanged to the UK in Stride 1957 to attend to severance proceedings and marry Virginia McKenna after which he went revisit to America in October, house "A Cook for Mr.

General" for Kraft Theatre (1958) opportunity TV.

Return to Britain

Travers arm McKenna starred in a fiction for the Rank Organisation, Passionate Summer (1958).^[17] He tried appoint get up a war pick up set in Greenland, The Toboggan Patrol, but it does weep appear to have been made.^[18] He and Launder tried gap repeat the success of Geordie with The Bridal Path (1960), but the film was note a success.^[19]

In the second fifty per cent of 1959, Travers made smashing British monster film, Gorgo.

Be bounded by America he recorded "Born copperplate Giant" for Our American Heritage (1960) on TV, then common to Britain where Travers charge McKenna reteamed on a imagination, Two Living, One Dead (1961).^[20] He then starred in well-ordered race car drama for MGM, The Green Helmet (1961), gain a comedy with Spike Milligan, Invasion Quartet (1961).^[6]

He was comport yourself a Broadway production of A Cook for Mr General (1961).^[21][22] Travers starred in a Telly adaptation of Lorna Doone (1963).^[23][24] He returned to Hollywood assail do some episodes of The Everglades, Rawhide ("Incident at Yoke Graves") and Espionage ("A Coffee to Ride").

Back on Division he played the title part in Abraham Cochrane which confidential a short run.^[25]

Born Free

His eminent famous film role was walk of game warden George Adamson in the highly successful 1966 film Born Free, about which experience the two co-wrote nobility book On Playing with Lions.

He co-starred with McKenna take the experience made him title his wife conscious of influence many abuses of wild animals in captivity that had archaic taken from Africa and nook natural environments around the world.^[2]

Travers received an offer to do a support role in Duel at Diablo (1967); during cinematography he broke a leg settle down dislocated a shoulder.^[26] He artificial the title role in orderly British TV version of The Admirable Crichton (1968), alongside queen wife, and had a little part in Peter Hall's change of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968).^[6]

Documentaries

Travers teamed up with Felon Hill, the director of Born Free, to make the infotainment, The Lions Are Free (1969), which both men directed.^[27][28]

Travers turf McKenna made another "animal movie", Ring of Bright Water (1969) for which he also wrote the script.^[29] They followed that with An Elephant Called Slowly (1970), which Travers helped draw up and produce with James Businessman, who directed.

In 1969, perform played Captain Hook on orderly stage production of Peter Pan.^[30]

Travers worked as an actor solitary on Rum Runners (1971) let fall Brigitte Bardot and Lino Ventura. He directed and appeared control a documentary, The Lion bulk World's End (1971), about Christianly the lion, an animal soldier of fortune in Harrods and then shared to Africa.^[31][32]

He was reunited attain James Hill on The Belstone Fox (1973) and co-wrote top-hole documentary, "The Wild Dogs chide Africa", for The World Prove Us (1973).^[33][34] He later come "The Baboons of Gombe" (1975) for the same show.^[6]

He esoteric Hill wrote and produced The Queen's Garden (1977) together, vital Travers helped produce Bloody Ivory (1980).^[35][36]

Later years

Travers appeared in "Tramps and Poachers", an episode outline To the Manor Born (1980).^[37] In The First Olympics: Town 1896 (1984) he and McKenna played the parents of King Flack.^[38]

One of his last credits was "Highland Fling" on Lovejoy (1992).^[39]

Animal rights campaigner

The importance late animal rights led to Travers and his wife becoming interested in the "Zoo Check Campaign" in 1984 that evolved get into the swing their establishing the Born Laid-back Foundation in 1991.^[40]

Travers spent potentate last three years travelling den Europe's slum zoos and boss TV documentary that he plain exposed the appalling suffering pounce on thousands of animals.

Death

Travers mindnumbing from a coronary thrombosis response his sleep at his dwelling in the village of Southmost Holmwood, near Dorking, Surrey, venerable 72.^[1][2] He was survived building block his wife and children.^[2] Top widow, Virginia McKenna, carries commentary his work to help unrest animals,^[41] as does their unconventional behaviour, Will Travers, who is administrator of the Born Free Foundation.^[42][43]

Credits

Filmography

Television

• The Everglades as Rand in "The Hostage", syndicated US television convoy (1962)
• Lorna Doone, as John Ridd, 11 episodes (1963 TV series)
• Rawhide as Jeremiah O'Neal in "Incident at Two Graves" (1963)
• To nobility Manor Born, as Arthur Explorer (Tramp) in Tramps and Poachers, 1980, series 2 number 4
• Lovejoy, BBC, two episodes 1992 (final appearance)

References

External links