Florence Lindon-Travers (27 May 1913 – 23 October 2001 Ronald Bergan ), known professionally as Linden Travers, was a British actress.

Early life and career

Travers was born in

Houghton-le-Spring Houghton-le-Spring ( ) is a town in the Sunderland district, in Tyne and Wear, England which has its recorded origins in Norman times. Historically in County Durham, it is now administered as part of the Tyne and Wear county. It lies betw ...

City of Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most populous settlement in the Wearsid ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, the daughter of Florence (née Wheatley) and William Halton Lindon-Travers. She was the elder sister of Bill Travers, and attended La Sagesse School. She made her first stage appearance at the Newcastle Playhouse in 1933. She made her West End debut the following year in

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

's ''Murder in Mayfair'' and appeared in her first film, ''Children of the Fog'' in 1935. While she had leading roles in her earlier film career, such as '' The Last Adventurers'' (1937), '' Brief Ecstasy'' (1937) and ''

The Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to ...

'' (1938); she was mainly a supporting actress. One of her most widely seen performances was as "Mrs. Todhunter" in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's ''

The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British Mystery film, mystery Thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel '' ...

'' (1938). She also appeared in

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded th ...

's '' Bank Holiday'' (1938) and ''

The Stars Look Down ''The Stars Look Down'' is a 1935 novel by A. J. Cronin which chronicles various injustices in an English coal mining community. A film version was released in 1940, and television adaptations include both Italian (1971) and British (1975) v ...

'' (1940), as well as '' The Ghost Train'' (1941), ''

Quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

'' (1948) and ''

The Bad Lord Byron ''The Bad Lord Byron'' is a 1949 British historical drama film about the life of Lord Byron. It was directed by David MacDonald (director), David MacDonald and starred Dennis Price as Byron with Mai Zetterling, Linden Travers and Joan Greenwood. ...

'' (1949). In the forties she played Miss Blandish in both the well received 1942 stage adaptation in which she starred with Robert Newton which had 203 performances at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

, London and the widely panned 1948 film version of

James Hadley Chase James Hadley Chase (24 December 1906 – 6 February 1985) was an English writer. While his birth name was René Lodge Brabazon Raymond, he was well known by his various pseudonyms, including James Hadley Chase, James L. Docherty, Raymond ...

's 1939 novel '' No Orchids for Miss Blandish'' (which Travers felt to have been her best film).

Personal life

Travers was married twice: first to Guy Leon (whom she met where she met while acting in ''Murder in Mayfair'', since his sister was also in the cast), and then to James Holman in 1948. She mostly retired from acting in 1948, after her second marriage (although she continued to make occasional TV appearances), and in 1999, she took part in the television programme ''Reputations: Alfred Hitchcock'', paying tribute to the man who had directed her sixty years earlier. A talented artist, Travers and her sisters set up an art gallery in Kensington in 1969. In 1974, after her second husband died, Travers travelled for some time, before moving to St Ives to paint. She was also a qualified hypnotist, and studied psychotherapy. She died in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, aged 88, in 2001. Her daughter Susan Travers and granddaughter Charlotte Lucas also became actresses.

Filmography

* ''Children of the Fog'' (1935) * '' Wednesday's Luck'' (1936) * '' Double Alibi'' (1937) * ''

London Melody ''London Melody'' is a 1937 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Tullio Carminati and Robert Douglas. It was made at British and Dominions Imperial Studios, Elstree and Pinewood Studios by Wilcox's inde ...

'' (1937) * '' Against the Tide'' (1937) * '' The Last Adventurers'' (1937) * '' Brief Ecstasy'' (1937) * '' Bank Holiday'' (1938) * ''

'' (1938) * ''

'' (1938) as "Mrs" Toddhunter * '' Almost a Honeymoon'' (1938) * ''

Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday ''Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday'' is a 1939 British detective film directed by Walter Forde and starring Gordon Harker, Alastair Sim and Linden Travers. It is the sequel to the 1938 film '' Inspector Hornleigh'', and both films are based ...

'' (1939) * ''

'' (1940) * '' The Ghost Train'' (1941) * '' South American George'' (1941) * '' The Missing Million'' (1942) * '' The Seventh Survivor'' (1942) * '' Beware of Pity'' (1946) * '' Jassy'' (1947) * '' Master of Bankdam'' (1947) * ''

'' (1948) * '' No Orchids for Miss Blandish'' (1948) * ''

'' (1949) * ''

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

'' (1949) * '' Don't Ever Leave Me'' (1949) * '' The Vise'' (1955, TV series) * ''

Sea Hunt ''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges ...

'' (1960, TV series)

References

External links

*
Ancestry of Linden Travers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Travers, Linden English film actresses English stage actresses People from Houghton-le-Spring Actresses from County Durham 1913 births 2001 deaths Actors from the City of Sunderland