Richard Travis

Richard Travis 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 (1941). As "Bert Jefferson", he played the love interest to Bette Davis'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), 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 eventually relegated to headlining such "Poverty Row" programmers as The Postman Didn't Ring (1942), Busses Roar (1942), Spy Train (1943), Truck Busters (1943) and The Last Ride (1944). In the post-war years, he maintained in films with such dubious titles as Jewels of Brandenburg (1947), Alaska Patrol (1949) and Sky Liner (1949), among his 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 but also found steady work in rugged TV westerns. He was the rugged 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. 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.