1922-07-11 Holbrook, Arizona, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Gene Evans (July 11, 1922 - April 1, 1998) was an American actor. He was born in Holbrook, Arizona, but reared in Colton, California. His acting career began while he was serving in World War II. He performed with a theatrical troupe of GIs in Europe. Evans made his film debut in 1947 and appeared in dozens of movies and television programs. He specialized in playing tough guys like cowboys, sheriffs, convicts and sergeants. Evans appeared in numerous films produced, directed, and written by Samuel Fuller. In his memoirs A Third Face, Fuller described meeting Evans when casting his Korean War film The Steel Helmet in 1950. Fuller threw an M1 Garand rifle at Evans, who caught it and inspected it as a soldier would have done. Evans had been a U.S. Army engineer in the war. Fuller kept Evans and refused John Wayne for the role. and fighting to keep him despite Robert L. Lippert and his partner wanting Larry Parks for the role. Fuller walked off the film and would not return until Evans was reinstated. Evans also appeared in Fuller's Fixed Bayonets!, Hell and High Water, Shock Corridor and lost thirty pounds to play the lead in Park Row. Evans portrayed the authoritarian but wise father, Rob McLaughlin, on the 1956-1957 television series My Friend Flicka, based on a Western novel and film of the same name set in Wyoming. He appeared with Anita Louise (1915–1970) as his wife, Nell, Johnny Washbrook (born 1944) as his son, Ken, and fellow character actor Frank Ferguson (1899–1978), as the ranch handyman, Gus Broeberg, who addressed Evans as "Captain". In 1958, Evans co-starred as Major Al Arthur in the film Damn Citizen based on the life of crusading Louisiana State Police superintendent Francis Grevemberg. Keith Andes starred as Grevemberg. In the fall of 1976, Evans starred in the eleven-episode CBS adventure series Spencer's Pilots, with Christopher Stone, Todd Susman, and Britt Leach. In January 1979, Evans appeared as Garrison Southworth in one episode of CBS's Dallas in January 1979. He appeared in ten episodes of CBS's Gunsmoke with James Arness, including "The Snow Train" and "Tatum". In 1965, he guest starred as Jake Burnett in the episode "Vendetta" of ABC's western The Legend of Jesse James starring Christopher Jones. Two years later, he appeared as Deedricks in the episode "Breakout" of another ABC western, Custer, starring Wayne Maunder in the title role. In the late 1980s, Evans appeared on stage as the gruesome Papa in the stage production Papa is All, directed by playwright Tommy F. Scott in Jackson, Tennessee. He retired to a farm in Tennessee following his role in the original film version of Walking Tall. Description above from the Wikipedia article Gene Evans, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller | Sgt. Zack / Phineas Mitchell (archive footage) | 2002-07-02 | |
Once Upon a Texas Train | Fargo Parker | 1988-10-12 | |
The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory | McGregor | 1987-11-11 | |
Travis McGee | Meyer | 1983-05-18 | |
The Shadow Riders | Colonel Holiday Hammond, Gunrunner | 1982-09-28 | |
California Gold Rush | Sam Brannon | 1981-07-30 | |
Sourdough | Narrator | 1981-12-01 | |
Casino | Captain K.L. Fitzgerald | 1980-08-01 | |
Concrete Cowboys | Lt. Blocker | 1979-10-17 | |
Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid | Fred Williker | 1978-05-26 | |
The Magic of Lassie | Sheriff Andrews | 1978-08-02 | |
Lassie: The New Beginning | Sheriff Marsh | 1978-09-01 | |
Fire! | Dan Harter | 1977-05-08 | |
Matt Helm | Sgt. Hanrahan | 1975-05-07 | |
The Last Day | Marshal Connelly | 1975-02-15 | |
Sidekicks | Sam | 1974-03-21 | |
Devil Times Five | Papa Doc | 1974-05-31 | |
A Knife for the Ladies | Hooker | 1974-05-02 | |
Shootout in a One-Dog Town | Gabe | 1974-01-09 | |
Camper John | Sheriff McVaney | 1973-04-27 | |
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid | Mr. Horrell | 1973-05-23 | |
Walking Tall | Sheriff Al Thurman | 1973-02-22 | |
The Bounty Man | Tom Brady | 1972-10-31 | |
Support Your Local Gunfighter | Butcher | 1971-05-26 | |
The Intruders | Cole Younger | 1970-11-10 | |
The Ballad of Cable Hogue | Clete | 1970-03-18 | |
There Was a Crooked Man... | Col Wolff | 1970-09-18 | |
Support Your Local Sheriff! | Tom Danby | 1969-03-26 | |
Dragnet | Hugh Brown | 1969-01-27 | |
The War Wagon | Deputy Hoag | 1967-05-26 | |
Waco | Jim O'Neill | 1966-09-01 | |
Nevada Smith | Sam Sand | 1966-06-10 | |
Apache Uprising | Jess Cooney | 1965-12-29 | |
Shock Corridor | Boden | 1963-09-25 | |
Gold of the Seven Saints | McCracken | 1961-02-18 | |
Behemoth, the Sea Monster | Steve Karnes | 1959-03-03 | |
Operation Petticoat | Chief Molumphry | 1959-12-05 | |
The Hangman | "Big Murph" Murphy | 1959-06-17 | |
Young and Wild | Det. Sgt. Fred Janusz | 1958-04-24 | |
Revolt in the Big House | Lou Gannon | 1958-12-21 | |
Damn Citizen | Maj. Al Arthur | 1958-03-01 | |
Money, Women and Guns | Sheriff Abner Crowley | 1958-10-01 | |
The Bravados | John Butler | 1958-06-25 | |
The Sad Sack | Sgt. Major Elmer Pulley | 1957-11-27 | |
The Helen Morgan Story | Whitey Krause | 1957-10-02 | |
Massacre at Sand Creek | Sgt. Maddox | 1956-12-27 | |
Crashout | Maynard 'Monk' Collins | 1955-03-01 | |
Wyoming Renegades | Butch Cassidy / George Leroy Parker | 1954-03-27 | |
Cattle Queen of Montana | Tom McCord | 1954-11-18 | |
Hell and High Water | Chief Holter | 1954-02-06 | |
The Long Wait | Servo | 1954-05-26 | |
The Golden Blade | Captain Hadi | 1953-08-12 | |
Donovan's Brain | Dr. Frank Schratt | 1953-09-30 | |
Thunderbirds | Sgt. Mike Braggart | 1952-11-20 | |
Park Row | Phineas Mitchell | 1952-09-01 | |
Mutiny | Hook | 1952-03-05 | |
The Steel Helmet | Sergeant Zack | 1951-01-24 | |
Force of Arms | Sgt. Smiley 'Mac' McFee | 1951-08-13 | |
Ace in the Hole | Deputy Sheriff | 1951-06-29 | |
I Was an American Spy | Cpl. John Boone | 1951-04-14 | |
Storm Warning | Ku Klux Klansman (uncredited) | 1951-02-10 | |
Sugarfoot | Billings | 1951-02-11 | |
Fixed Bayonets! | Sgt. Rock | 1951-11-21 | |
The Asphalt Jungle | Policeman at Ciavelli's Apartment (uncredited) | 1950-05-12 | |
Armored Car Robbery | William 'Ace' Foster | 1950-06-08 | |
Wyoming Mail | Shep | 1950-10-18 | |
It Happens Every Spring | Batter Mueller (uncredited) | 1949-06-10 | |
Criss Cross | Donlan (uncredited) | 1949-02-04 | |
Assigned to Danger | Joey | 1948-05-19 | |
Berlin Express | Train Sergeant | 1948-05-01 | |
Under Colorado Skies | Henchman Red | 1947-12-15 |