Bill Travers

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Bill Travers (1966)

Bill Travers , actually William Linden-Travers MBE (born January 3, 1922 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne , † March 29, 1994 in Dorking (Surrey) ) was a British theater and film actor , television producer, screenwriter , and director as well as a committed animal rights activist. He was one of the initiators of the well-known animal rights organization " Born Free Foundation ".

Life

Travers was born into a theater family. His father, William Halton Lindon-Travers, was the boss of a theater and his mother was Florence Wheately. He was also the younger brother of the famous actress Linden Travers . As a young man, he joined the Gurkha Army in the Far East, with which he was stationed in India and Burma and was involved in guerrilla activities in Malaysia . When he was discharged from the army in 1947, he was in the rank of major . He served a total of six years.

He had his first small film role in 1949, followed by other smaller film roles in Great Britain, before he played his most famous role as Patrick Taylor in the film Junction Bhowari in 1955 . He has appeared in over 40 films and has also worked as an actor, screenwriter, producer and director for television. Here especially for animal documentaries. His passion for the subject of animal welfare was already evident. He made his Broadway debut in 1960 in the comedy A cook for Mr. General and has since played frequently on Broadway. Most famous actors, with whom he played mostly in British films, included Ava Gardner , Laurence Harvey , Stewart Granger , Sir John Gielgud , Jean Simmons , Margaret Rutherford and Peter Sellers .

As an animal rights activist, he mainly committed himself to fighting for wild animals, his passion was the lions . He criticized zoos, for example, because wild animals could not live there appropriately. For the last three years of his life he traveled through Europe to find illegal and poorly managed small and private zoos and to film them for a documentary that he was planning. With his wife he was also passionately involved in the small animal rights organization “Born Free Foundation”, which he founded in 1984. After the film Born Free , he only appeared occasionally in TV series and individual films.

From 1957 he was married to the actress Virginia McKenna and the father of 4 children. Travers died in 1994 at the age of 72.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1950: That's Life (Trio)
  • 1951: Conflict of Heart (The Browning Version)
  • 1952: Robin Hood and his daring companions (The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men)
  • 1953: Jim, the final winner (The Square Ring)
  • 1954: Romeo and Juliet (Romeo and Juliet)
  • 1955: Between Hate and Love (Footsteps in the Fog)
  • 1956 Bhowani Junction (Bhowani Junction)
  • 1957: Hong Kong Was Her Fate (The Seventh Sin)
  • 1957: The smallest show on earth (The Smallest Show on Earth)
  • 1959: Gorgon (Gorgon)
  • 1959: A Scot looking for a bride (The Bridal Path)
  • 1960: Stage stallions (Invasion Quartet)
  • 1960: The Green Helmet
  • 1965: Duel at Diablo (Duel at Diablo)
  • 1965: Born Free - Queen of the Wild
  • 1969: Onkel Bob's Hut (An Elephant Called Slowly)
  • 1969: My Friend, the Otter (A Ring of Bright Water)
  • 1971: Rum Boulevard (Boulevard du rhum)
  • 1973: The Belstone Fox
  • 1976: Christian the Lion (Christian the Lion)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Travers, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Linden-Travers, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British filmmaker and committed animal rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH January 3, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Newcastle-upon-Tyne , England, UK,
DATE OF DEATH March 29, 1994
Place of death Dorking (Surrey)