Joy Adamson the tourist's life. In addition to Joy's books about big cats, a book of her artwork was published as an autobiography entitled "The Searching Spirit". George Adamson's second autobiography, "My Pride and Joy", was published in 1986. Joy Adamson Friederike Victoria "Joy" Adamson (née Gessner, 20 January 1910 – 3 January 1980) was a naturalist, artist and author. Her book, "Born Free", describes her experiences raising a lion cub named Elsa. "Born Free" was printed in several languages, and made into an Academy Award-winning movie of the same name. In 1977, she was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for
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