Trevor Howard

Trevor Howard

LONDON - British actor Trevor Howard, whose athletic figure, craggy face and gravelly voice stamped his personality on dozens of film roles, died Thursday at age 71.
Actress Helen Cherry, his wife since 1944, was by his side when he died in a hospital at Bushey near London, after bouts with influenza, bronchitis and jaundice, said agent James Sharkey.
Howard received an Oscar nomination in 1960 for playing the miner Morel In the screen version of D.H. Lawrence's autobiographical "Sons and Lovers." He won an Emmy for best actor for his portrayal of Benjamin Disraeli in the TV film "The Invincible Mr. Disraeli," in 1963.
Howard's many film roles included the classics "Brief Encounter" with Celia Johnson, the Graham Greene thriller "The Third Man" with Orson Welles, and a remake of Mutiny on the Bounty," in which he played the notorious Capt. William Bligh opposite Marlon Brando's Fletcher Christian.
Howard, born Sept. 29, 1916, ranked with Lord Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Sir Alec Guinness in acting ability and versatility.
The son of an English insurance salesman and a Canadian nurse, Howard spent 10 years on the stage and nearly four years as a paratrooper during World War II before making his first film in 1944 in "The Way Ahead."

About his own life, Howard once said: "Hell-raiser? I don't mind if they call me that. If it means I enjoy life, then that's fine and I hope to continue to do so, but not to the extent of throwing bottles or annoying people."
Howard chose his film roles carefully. He turned down the part of Caesar in "Cleopatra" with Elizabeth Taylor because he was tired from filming the "Bounty" epic with Brando.
The only actor he ever publicly criticized was Brando, dismissing him as "unprofessional and utterly ridiculous."
Howard said in an interview just before his 70th birthday: "Work is my hobby. I'm happiest when I'm working. The films turn out well or they don't, the former preferably, but I take pride in being in the business. It's where my mates are."
Howard's other films included "The Heart of the Matter," "Roots of Heaven," "Von Ryan's Express," "The Charge of the Light Brigade," "Ryan's Daughter," and a small role in "Gandhi" in 1982, his last film.
Howard also appeared on U.S. television late last year in the mini-series "Shaka Zulu." He played the role of a 19th Century British lord in South Africa.