   trevor howard (born trevor wallace howard-smith; 29 september 1913 â 7 january 1988) was an english actor. after varied stage work, he achieved wide acclaim in the film of noÃ«l cowardâs brief encounter (1945), followed by the third man (1949). this led to many popular appearances on film and tv. his distinguished war record is claimed to have been fabricated. ==early life== howard was born in cliftonville, kent, england. he was educated at clifton college (to which he left in his will a substantial legacy for a drama scholarship) and at the royal academy of dramatic art (rada), acting on the london stage for several years before world war ii. his first paid work was in the play revolt in a reformatory (1934), before he left rada in 1935 to take small roles. although stories of his courageous wartime service in the royal corps of signals earned him much respect among fellow actors and fans alike, files held in the public record office reveal that he had actually been discharged from the army in 1943 for mental instability and having a "psychopathic personality". the story, which surfaced in terence pettigrew's biography of the actor, published by peter owen in 2001, was initially denied by howard's widow, helen cherry. later, confronted with official records, she told the daily telegraph (24 june 2001) that his mother had claimed he was a holder of the military cross. she added that howard had an honourable military record and "had nothing to be ashamed of". ==acting career== after a theatrical role in the recruiting officer (1943) howard began working in films with the way ahead (1944). his role in the way ahead came to the attention of david lean, who was looking for someone to play the role of alec in brief encounter. lean recommended him to noÃ«l coward, who agreed with the suggestion, and the success of the film launched howard's film career. however, the passionate friends, in which howard played a character si
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