Advertisement
Maurice Evans (born June 3, 1901 in Dorset; died March 12, 1989 in East Sussex) was a British-born actor who became a US citizen in 1941.
He first appeared on the stage in 1926 and joined the Old Vic Company in 1934. His first appearance on Broadway was in Romeo and Juliet in 1936. He was in plays by Shaw, and also Shakespeare's King Richard II (1937), Hamlet (1938), and Macbeth (1941).
In World War II, he was in charge of an Army Entertainment Section in the Central Pacific.
American television audiences of the 1960s will remember Evans as Samantha's father, Maurice, on the sitcom Bewitched.
He made a great impact as the evolved orangutan Dr. Zaius, in the 1968 cinema classic Planet of the Apes.
He died of cancer in England, aged 87.
As of 2006, Evans appeared in more American television productions of Shakespeare than any other actor. For the famous television anthology, Hallmark Hall of Fame , he starred in the first feature-length (i.e., more than an hour) dramatizations of the plays to ever be televised - "Hamlet", "Macbeth" (twice - both times with Judith Anderson as Lady Macbeth), "Richard II", "Twelfth Night", "The Taming of the Shrew", and "The Tempest". This last featured an all-star cast that included Lee Remick, Roddy McDowall, and Richard Burton.
In bringing Shakespeare to television, he was a true pioneer, although Evans's performances in Shakespeare are not as highly regarded today as they once were, especially after Laurence Olivier became the twentieth century's pre-eminent Shakesperean actor. Evans also brought his Shakespeare productions to Broadway many times.
Ironically, he was/is most famous for portraying a warlock in "Bewitched", and for his role as Dr. Zaius in the original "Planet of the Apes". Younger audiences are totally unfamiliar with his appearances in Shakespeare's plays.
In the thriller Rosemary's Baby (1968) he plays a friend of Rosemary (Mia Farrow), Hutch, who warns her against the witches in her apartment building, and is killed by them for his troubles.
Maurice Evans' other film credits include:
WHITE CARGO
RAISE THE ROOF
PATHS OF GLORY
SCROOGE
THE STORY OF GILBERT AND SULLIVAN (As Sullivan)
ANDROCLES AND THE LION
MACBETH (Title Role)
THE WAR LORD
JACK OF DIAMONDS
PLANET OF THE APES
ROSEMARY'S BABY
BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES
THE JERK
Maurice's television credits include:
HAMLET
RICHARD II
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
TWELFTH NIGHT
THE TEMPEST
MACBETH
BEWITCHED (TV Series)
THE CANTERVILLE GHOST (TV Movie)
THE GIRL, THE GOLD WATCH & EVERYTHING (TV Movie)
A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY (TV Movie)
IMDB
www.imdb.com/name/nm0263052/
Maurices page at HarpiesBizarre
www.harpiesbizarre.com/beography-me.htm
footnote
His friend and business manager David "Taffy" Barlow, a former lover himself until he got too old, made Maurice's last days all the more comfortable by hiring teenaged rent boys to strip down and lie in the bed with him. This quite shocked some of his deathbed visitors.
He first appeared on the stage in 1926 and joined the Old Vic Company in 1934. His first appearance on Broadway was in Romeo and Juliet in 1936. He was in plays by Shaw, and also Shakespeare's King Richard II (1937), Hamlet (1938), and Macbeth (1941).
In World War II, he was in charge of an Army Entertainment Section in the Central Pacific.
American television audiences of the 1960s will remember Evans as Samantha's father, Maurice, on the sitcom Bewitched.
He made a great impact as the evolved orangutan Dr. Zaius, in the 1968 cinema classic Planet of the Apes.
He died of cancer in England, aged 87.
As of 2006, Evans appeared in more American television productions of Shakespeare than any other actor. For the famous television anthology, Hallmark Hall of Fame , he starred in the first feature-length (i.e., more than an hour) dramatizations of the plays to ever be televised - "Hamlet", "Macbeth" (twice - both times with Judith Anderson as Lady Macbeth), "Richard II", "Twelfth Night", "The Taming of the Shrew", and "The Tempest". This last featured an all-star cast that included Lee Remick, Roddy McDowall, and Richard Burton.
In bringing Shakespeare to television, he was a true pioneer, although Evans's performances in Shakespeare are not as highly regarded today as they once were, especially after Laurence Olivier became the twentieth century's pre-eminent Shakesperean actor. Evans also brought his Shakespeare productions to Broadway many times.
Ironically, he was/is most famous for portraying a warlock in "Bewitched", and for his role as Dr. Zaius in the original "Planet of the Apes". Younger audiences are totally unfamiliar with his appearances in Shakespeare's plays.
In the thriller Rosemary's Baby (1968) he plays a friend of Rosemary (Mia Farrow), Hutch, who warns her against the witches in her apartment building, and is killed by them for his troubles.
Maurice Evans' other film credits include:
WHITE CARGO
RAISE THE ROOF
PATHS OF GLORY
SCROOGE
THE STORY OF GILBERT AND SULLIVAN (As Sullivan)
ANDROCLES AND THE LION
MACBETH (Title Role)
THE WAR LORD
JACK OF DIAMONDS
PLANET OF THE APES
ROSEMARY'S BABY
BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES
THE JERK
Maurice's television credits include:
HAMLET
RICHARD II
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
TWELFTH NIGHT
THE TEMPEST
MACBETH
BEWITCHED (TV Series)
THE CANTERVILLE GHOST (TV Movie)
THE GIRL, THE GOLD WATCH & EVERYTHING (TV Movie)
A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY (TV Movie)
IMDB
www.imdb.com/name/nm0263052/
Maurices page at HarpiesBizarre
www.harpiesbizarre.com/beography-me.htm
footnote
His friend and business manager David "Taffy" Barlow, a former lover himself until he got too old, made Maurice's last days all the more comfortable by hiring teenaged rent boys to strip down and lie in the bed with him. This quite shocked some of his deathbed visitors.
posted by:
|
Unsubscribed |
Advertisement
Advertisement
