Henry Travers

Travers John Heagerty, known by the stage name Henry Travers (5 March 1874 – 18 October 1965), was an English film and stage character actor. His most famous role was the guardian angel Clarence Odbody in the 1946 film classic It's a Wonderful Life. He also received an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in Mrs. Miniver (1942). Travers specialized in portraying slightly bumbling but friendly and lovable old men. 2Life and career 3Early life Travers was born in Prudhoe, Northumberland, and was the son of Daniel Heagerty, a doctor originally from Ireland. Travers grew up in Berwick-upon-Tweed, and many biographies wrongly report him as being born there. The Travers family lived in Prudhoe for a couple of years before moving from Woodburn, on the A68 road near Corsenside, Northumberland, in about 1866, to Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, in about 1876. Initially, he trained as an architect at Berwick, before taking to the stage under the name Henry Travers. 3Acting career Travers played character roles almost from the beginning of his acting career in 1894, often figures who were much older than himsel