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Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?
-- Henry Travers (Clarence Oddbody)
Henry Travers was the youngest of seven children born to Irish immigrants who settled in New Jersey, his father James Mitchell, worked in the newspaper industry and died when Thomas was a young boy; his mother's name was Mary.
Henry Travers
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Travers John Heagerty
5 March 1874, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England
18 October 1965, Hollywood, California
Henry Travers (5 March 1874 – 18 October 1965) was an English actor.
Travers was born Travers John Heagerty supposedly in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, the son of Daniel Heagerty, an Irish doctor from Cork. He grew up in Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is his birthplace according to many biographies, but had actually been born in Prudhoe a few miles away. The family were only in Prudhoe for a couple of years, moving there from Woodburn (Corsenside) in about 1866 and then moving on to Tweedmouth at Berwick-upon-Tweed in about 1876. Initially he trained as an architect at Berwick before taking to the stage under the name Henry Travers.
A stage actor in England, he emigrated to the United States and appeared in Hollywood film productions beginning in 1933. He made his last film in 1949. Travers' most famous role was as the angel Clarence who comes to save James Stewart's character from suicide in Frank Capra's classic It's a Wonderful Life. He was also an Oscar-nominated actor for his role in the film Mrs. Miniver.
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1953: When he claimed the Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for "Hazel Flagg", a musical version of the film Nothing Sacred (1937), he became the first performer to claim the Triple Crown of acting awards: Tony, Emmy (as TV's Best Actor of 1953) and Oscar (for Stagecoach (1939)).
He was cremated and his ashes are stored at a crematorium in California.
Brother of James P. Mitchell, President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Secretary of Labor 1953-1961.
1939: Appeared in three out of the 10 movies nominated for a Best Picture Oscar: Gone with the Wind (1939) (which won), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and Stagecoach (1939) (for which he won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actor).
Was originally cast in the classic film All That Money Can Buy (1941) [aka The Devil and Daniel Webster], but while filming when he lost control of a horse-drawn carriage that he and young actor Lindy Wade were riding and it crashed. He was thrown from the carriage and suffered a fractured skull. Edward Arnold replaced him and all his scenes had to be reshot. Wade recovered enough to continue in his film role.
Was an avid collector of fine art, which included a Rembrandt panel acquired in 1940 from a Polish prince.
He was interred at the Vaultage of the Chapel of the Pines in Los Angeles.
Daughter Anne, born of his first marriage, was his only child.
Attended Elizabeth (New Jersey) High School and had his first job as a newspaper reporter while a student there. Following graduation, he continued working as a reporter and was hired for publications in Newark, Washington, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Great Mausoleum, Holly Terrace entrance, Hall of Inspiration, directly across from W.C. Fields.
Fondly remembered as Clarence, James Stewart's guardian angel ("angel second class"), in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
Active on Broadway from 1901-38 (early in his career credited as Travers Heagerty, his birth name).
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