English actor Trevor Howard had a long entertainment career that took him from the stage to the silver screen to television. He made his film debut in an uncredited role in 1944 and continued to make movies until his death in 1988, making him one of the most prolific performers of his day. Prior to his move into show business, however, Howard served in the British Army in World War II. His military tenure, though, may not have been what Howard made it out to be. Let’s look at Trevor Howard’s time in the army and his transition to leading man of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Trevor Howard was born in 1913 in Kent, England. His father worked for Lloyd’s of London, so the family lived abroad in various locations during Trevor’s childhood. Later, Howard attended Clifton College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts where he was one of the school’s top actors. In 1934, before he completed his education, he was offered his first professional stage acting job. He appeared in The Rivals and French Without Tears.
With the start of World War II, Trevor Howard joined the British Army’s Royal Corps of Signals. Later, after he moved to Hollywood to work in the film industry, rumors circulated that Howard’s military career was filled with courageous and heroic deeds. It earned him respect and admiration, therefore Howard just went with it. He coyly refused to give details of his military service and didn’t correct people who talked about his service record.
The reality of Trevor Howard’s military service was quite different that the rumors, though. According to public records, Howard was actually discharged in 1943 because of his “mental instability”. The report referenced his “psychopathic personality.” Another document noted that Howard relinquished his commission because of his “ill health.”
Later, in 1949, when Trevor Howard had become a film sensation, he starred with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton in The Third Man. A portion of the film was shot in Vienna. One day, filming ran over schedule and Howard, a long-time alcoholic, was eager to get to the nearby tavern for a drink so he didn’t take the time to change out of his movie costume, a uniform of a British Army major. He had a few too many drinks and got into a fight. The police were called … and then the military police. Howard was detained on the charge of impersonating a British officer. When the MPs summoned their commanding officer, the mistake was finally resolved.
In the mid-1940s, Trevor Howard resumed his stage career. His performances caught the attention of Noel Coward, who suggested Howard try his hand at movies. He enjoyed success and praise in such British films as I See a Dark Stranger, Green for Danger, and They Made Me a Fugitive. By 1947, Trevor Howard was one of the top British box office stars. It was time for him to take on Hollywood.
Trevor Howard’s 1956 film, Run for the Sun, was the first movie he made in Hollywood. That same year, he also had a cameo appearance in Around the World in 80 Days. He stepped in to play the lead in The Roots of Heaven in 1958 after William Holden dropped out, and in 1960, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Sons and Lovers. After he appeared in the 1962 The Lion, Howard played Captain Bligh in the 1962 MGM hit Mutiny of the Bounty, opposite Marlon Brando’s Fletcher Christian. Howard’s movie projects throughout the 1960s allowed him to share the screen with such greats as Brando, Robert Mitchum, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Yul Brynner, and Rod Taylor.
Trevor Howard didn’t slow down. He continued to churn out film and film throughout the 1970s and 1980s. His final film, The Dawning, was released in 1988, the same year that he died from liver failure at the age of 74.