Biography for
Richard Travis (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

17 April 1913, Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA

Date of Death

11 July 1989, Pacific Palisades, California, USA

Birth Name

William Justice

Mini Biography

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 The Man Who Came to Dinner (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 The Big Shot (1942), with Humphrey Bogart, a lead in Escape from Crime (1942) and a featured part in the stalwart war picture Mission to Moscow (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 "The Legend of 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.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Trivia

Late in December, 1941, The Capitol Theatre in Paragould, Arkansas hosted the world premiere of The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942). Travis came back to Paragould for the premiere at the Capitol where he had been employed when he lived there as well as the editor of the theater's coming-attractions magazine.