Trevor Howard ✝

Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film Brief Encounter (1945), followed by The Third Man (1949). He is also known for his roles in Golden Salamander (1950), The Clouded Yellow (1951), Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), Battle of Britain (1969), Lola (1969), Ryan's Daughter (1970), Superman (1978), Windwalker (1981), and Gandhi (1982). For his performance in Sons and Lovers (1960) he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Howard was born in Cliftonville, Kent, England the son of Mabel Grey (Wallace) and Arthur John Howard-Smith. Although Howard later claimed to have been born in 1916, the year quoted by most reference sources, he was born in 1913 (this is supported by school and other records). His father was an insurance underwriter for Lloyd's of London, serving as representative in Colombo, Sri Lanka and elsewhere; Trevor spent the first eight years of his life travelling around the world. He was educated at Clifton College(to which he left in his will a substantial legacy for a drama scholarship) and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). In 1933, at the end of his first year, he was chosen as best actor in his class for his performance as Benedict in a school production of Much Ado About Nothing. While Howard was still studying, he made his professional debut at the Gate Theatre in Revolt in a Reformatory (1934).