Richard Travis

'Richard Travis' (qv) was born William Benton Justice in Carlsbad, New Mexico on April 17, 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.Lacking somewhat lacking the requisite star-power attraction, the tall (6'2"), lanky blond made his biggest impression early in the game with the all-star _The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)_ (qv). As "Bert Jefferson", he played the love interest to 'Bette Davis' (qv)'s "Maggie Cutler" character in the screwball comedy classic. While he did earn a few prime Warner roles in its aftermath, such as third-billing in _The Big Shot (1942)_ (qv), with 'Humphrey Bogart' (qv), a lead in _Escape from Crime (1942)_ (qv) and a featured part in the stalwart war picture _Mission to Moscow (1943)_ (qv) starring 'Walter Huston' (qv), Richard was eventually relegated to headlining such "Poverty Row" programmers as _The Postman Didn't Ring (1942)_ (qv), _Busses Roar (1942)_ (qv), _Spy Train (1943)_ (qv), _Truck Busters (1943)_ (qv) and _The Last Ride (1944)_ (qv).In the post-war years, he maintained in films with such dubious titles as _Jewels of Brandenburg (1947)_ (qv), _Alaska Patrol (1949)_ (qv) and _Sky Liner (1949)_ (qv), among his lead offerings. He did, however, play an unbilled role as 'Lou Gehrig' (qv) in the _The Babe Ruth Story (1948)_ (qv), starring 'William Bendix' (qv).In the 1950s, Richard appeared in several films but also found steady work in rugged TV westerns. He was the rugged star of the modern western detective TV series, _Code 3 (1957)_ (qv), which ran for one season. He also appeared on _Cowboy G-Men (1952)_ (qv), _Fury (1955)_ (qv), _The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955)_ (qv), _The Texan (1958)_ (qv) and _The Legend of Jesse James (1965)_ (qv), one of his last TV roles.Richard eventually retired and reverted to his original name of "William Justice." Thereafter, he found a lucrative career as a real estate entrepreneur in Southern California. Richard died at his Pacific Palisades home in 1989 at age 76.::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]