Richard Travis

Richard Travis was born William Justice in Carlsbad, New Mexico in 1913. He started off unbilled in daredevil cliffhangers and proceeded to war-era Warner Bros. features. He changed his stage moniker from "William Justice" to "William Travis" before finally settling on "Richard (or Dick) Travis" for the remainder of his career. Somewhat lacking the requisite star-power attraction, the lanky blond didn't move very far forward, making his biggest impression early in the game with the all-star L'homme qui vint dîner (1942). As "Bert Jefferson", he played the love interest to Bette Davis's "Maggie Cutler" character in the screwball comedy classic. While he had a few prime Warner roles in its aftermath, such as third-billing in Le caïd (1942), with Humphrey Bogart, a lead in Escape from Crime (1942) and a featured part in the stalwart war picture Mission à Moscou (1943) starring Walter Huston, Richard was quickly relegated to headlining uninspired Poverty Row programmers that included The Postman Didn't Ring (1942), Busses Roar (1942), Spy Train (1943), Truck Busters (1943) and The Last Ride (1944).He did not fare much better in the post-war years with such dubious titles as Jewels of Brandenburg (1947), Alaska Patrol (1949) and Sky Liner (1949), among his only lead offerings. He did, however, play an unbilled role as Lou Gehrig in the The Babe Ruth Story (1948), starring William Bendix. In the 1950s, Richard appeared in several films and found some steady work in rugged TV westerns. He was the star of the modern western detective TV series, Code 3 (1957), which ran for one season. He also appeared on Cowboy G-Men (1952), Fury (1955), The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955), The Texan (1958) and Jesse James (1965), one of his last TV roles. He retired, reverting to his original name of "William Justice", and found a lucrative career as a real estate entrepreneur in Southern California. Richard died at his Pacific Palisades home in 1989 at age 76. Show less «