Travers John Heagerty (5 March 1874 – 18 October 1965), known professionally as Henry Travers, was an English film and stage character actor who specialised in portraying slightly bumbling but amiable and likeable older men. His best known role to today's audiences was the guardian angel Clarence Odbody in the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. He also received an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in Mrs. Miniver (1942). Other notable films include The Invisible Man (1933), Dark Victory (1939), High Sierra (1941), and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945).
Early life
Travers John Heagerty was born on 5 March 1874 in Prudhoe, Northumberland, the son of Daniel Heagerty,
The Travers family lived in Prudhoe for a couple of years before moving from Woodburn, on the A68 road near Corsenside, Northumberland, in about 1866, to Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, in about 1876. Initially, he trained as an architect He was billed as Travers Heagerty for a December 1895 production. He played character roles almost from the beginning of his acting career in 1894, often figures who were much older than himself. He made his Broadway debut in The Price of Peace (1901) but returned to England. Travers settled in the United States and played frequently from November 1917 until December 1938 on Broadway in over 30 plays, and was described in The New Yorker as 'one of the most consistent performers now in the American theatre, and at the same time one of its least appreciated'. His last play on Broadway You Can't Take It with You was his best known, where he acted in over 380 performances in two years. In the Oscar-winning movie You Can't Take It With You, Lionel Barrymore played the role which Travers had portrayed on Broadway.
His first film was Reunion in Vienna
Filmography
- Reunion in Vienna (1933) as Father Krug
- Another Language (1933) as Pop Hallan
- My Weakness (1933) as Ellery Gregory
- The Invisible Man (1933) as Dr. Cranley
- Death Takes a Holiday (1934) as Baron Cesarea
- Born to Be Bad (1934) as Fuzzy
- The Party's Over (1934) as Theodore
- Ready for Love (1934) as Judge Pickett
- Maybe It's Love (1935) as Mr. Halevy
- After Office Hours (1935) as Cap
- Captain Hurricane (1935) as Capt. Ben
- Four Hours to Kill! (1935) as Mac Mason
- Escapade (1935) as Concierge
- Pursuit (1935) as Thomas 'Tom' Reynolds
- Seven Keys to Baldpate (1935) as Adalbert 'Lem' Peters / The Hermit
- Too Many Parents (1936) as Wilkins
- The Sisters (1938) as Ned Elliott
- You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939) as Pop
- Dodge City (1939) as Dr. Irving
- Dark Victory (1939) as Dr. Parsons
- On Borrowed Time (1939) as Dr. Evans
- Stanley and Livingstone (1939) as John Kingsley
- The Rains Came (1939) as Rev. Homer Smiley
- Remember? (1939) as Judge Milliken
- Primrose Path (1940) as Gramp
- Edison, the Man (1940) as Ben Els
- Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) as Matey
- Wyoming (1940) as Sheriff
- High Sierra (1941) as Pa
- A Girl, a Guy and a Gob (1941) as Abel Martin
- The Bad Man (1941) as Mr. Hardy
- I'll Wait for You (1941) as Mr. Miller
- Ball of Fire (1941) as Prof. Jerome
- Mrs. Miniver (1942) as Mr. Ballard
- Pierre of the Plains (1942) as Percival Wellsby
- Random Harvest (1942) as Dr. Sims
- Shadow of a Doubt (1943) as Joseph Newton
- The Moon Is Down (1943) as Mayor Orden
- Madame Curie (1943) as Eugene Curie
- None Shall Escape (1944) as Father Warecki
- Dragon Seed (1944) as Third Cousin
- The Very Thought of You (1944) as Pop Wheeler
- Thrill of a Romance (1945) as Hobart Glenn
- The Naughty Nineties (1945) as Capt. Sam Jackson
- The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) as Horace P. Bogardus
- Gallant Journey (1946) as Thomas Logan
- The Yearling (1946) as Mr. Boyles
- It's a Wonderful Life (1946) as guardian angel Clarence Odbody
- The Flame (1947) as Dr. Mitchell
- Beyond Glory (1948) as Pop Dewing
- The Accused (1949) as Blakely, Romley's Assistant (uncredited)
- The Girl From Jones Beach (1949) as Judge Bullfinch (final film role)
References
External links
- Henry Travers on television