James Hill (British director) Donald Houston, Robert Morley, Anthony Quayle, Barry Jones and Judi Dench. 1965 was also the year of "Born Free", an international hit starring Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, based on the autobiographical book by Joy Adamson about Elsa the Lioness. In an interview with Doris Martin, writer Sid Cole reminisced: “On "Born Free" I remember getting a card from Jimmy Hill saying he was in Kenya entirely surrounded by lions. (laughter).” Filmed on location in Kenya over a period of 9 months, with George Adamson as technical advisor, the shoot had a profound effect on the participants. Closely associated with
Born Free (TV series) in 1996, starring Linda Purl and Chris Noth. Joy and George Adamson do not appear as the main characters in the story. Guest stars included Peter Lawford, Barbara Parkins, Alex Cord, Susan Dey. Juliet Mills had a recurring role as Dr. Claire Hanley. "Born Free" was scheduled opposite ABC's Top 20 hit "The Rookies" and CBS's Top 30 hit "Gunsmoke". Rating for the series were low and it was canceled in the middle of the 1974-75 television season after thirteen episodes. The series was set in Kenya and filmed in East Africa. The series "Born Free" was released in DVD