Trevor Howard

Biography

Howard was born in Cliftonville, Kent, England, the son of Mabel Grey (Wallace) and Arthur John Howard. 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), acting on the London stage for several years before World War II. His first paid work was in the play Revolt in a Reformatory (1934), before he left RADA in 1935 to take small roles. Although stories of his courageous wartime service in the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals earned him much respect among fellow actors and fans alike, files held in the Public Record Office reveal that he had actually been discharged from the British Army in 1943 for mental instability and having a "psychopathic personality". The story, which surfaced in Terence Pettigrew's biography of the actor, published by Peter Owen in 2001, was initially denied by Howard's widow, actress Helen Cherry. Later, confronted with official records, she told the Daily Telegraph (24 June 2001) that his mother had claimed he was a holder of the Military Cross. She added that Howard had an honourable military record and "had nothing to be ashamed of".

Most Known For

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

as Self

Frontline

as Narrator (voice)

Studio One

as Vittorio

The Dick Cavett Show

as Self - Guest

Spécial cinéma

as Self

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

as Self

Superman

as 1st Elder

Sunday Night Theatre

as Kellis

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

as Dr. Derek Lester

The 20th Century Fox Hour

as Doug Elliott

Shaka Zulu

as Lord Charles Somerset

Brief Encounter

as Dr. Alec Harvey

Superman II

as Krypton Elder (archive footage) (uncredited)

The Third Man

as Major Calloway

Gandhi

as Judge Broomfield

Golden Salamander

as David Redfern

Hennessy

as Comdr. Rice

Manuela

as James Prothero

Around the World in 80 Days

as Denis Fallentin

The Unholy

as Father Silva