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Robert Evans Biography
Robert Evans is an American film producer and former studio executive, best known for his work on Rosemary’s Baby, Love Story, The Godfather and Chinatown.
Robert EvansEvans began his career in a successful business venture with his brother, selling women’s apparel. In 1956, while on a business trip, he was by chance spotted by actress Norma Shearer, who thought he would be right to play the role of her late husband Irving Thalberg (appropriately, another film mogul) in Man of a Thousand Faces.
In 1980 Evans’ career, and life, took a downturn after he pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking; over the next 12 years, he produced only two films, both financial flops: The Cotton Club and the Chinatown sequel The Two Jakes.In 1993 he began to produce films on a more regular basis, with a mixed track record that included both flops (such as Jade in 1995) and hits (such as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in 2003, his most recent film).
Robert Evans Age
Robert Evans was born in New York City, on June 29, 1930. He is currently 89 years old as of 2019.
Robert Evans Early Life
Evans was born in New York City, New York, the son of Florence, a housewife who came from a wealthy family, and Archie Shapera, a dentist in Harlem.He grew up on New York City’s Upper West Side during the 1930s. In his early years, he did promotional work for Evan-Picone, a fashion company founded by his brother Charles, in addition to doing voice work on radio shows.
He was spotted by actress Norma Shearer next to the pool at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Election Day, 1956. She successfully touted him for the role of her late husband Irving Thalberg in Man of a Thousand Faces. The same year, Evans also caught the eye of Darryl F. Zanuck, who cast him as Pedro Romero in the 1957 film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, against the wishes of co-star Ava Gardner and Hemingway himself.
Robert Evans Spouse
Robert Evans has been married seven times but all of his marriages have lasted three years or less. His first was to Sharon Hugueny (1961–1962). After his first divorce came Camilla Sparv (1964–1967), Ali MacGraw(1969–1973), Phyllis George (1977–1978), Catherine Oxenberg (1998), Leslie Ann Woodward (2002–2004), and Victoria White (2005–2006).
Robert Evans’ marriage to Oxenberg was annulled after nine days. He married his seventh wife, Victoria White O’Gara (widow of Lord White), while in Mexico, on August 2005 shortly after his 75th birthday. She filed for divorce on June 16, 2006, citing irreconcilable differences.
Robert Evans has one son, Josh Evans, also a producer, from his marriage to MacGraw and one grandson, Jackson, born in 2010 to Josh Evans and daughter-in-law Roxy Saint, a singer.
Robert Evans Photo
Robert Evans Career
Dissatisfied with his own acting talent, he was determined to become a producer. He got his start as head of production at Paramount by purchasing the rights to a 1966 novel titled The Detective which Evans made into a movie starring Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Jack Klugman, Robert Duvall and Jacqueline Bisset, in 1968. Peter Bart, a writer for The New York Times, wrote an article about Evans’ aggressive production style.
Dissatisfied with his financial compensation and desiring to produce films under his own banner, Evans struck a deal with Paramount that enabled him to stay on as studio head while also working as an independent producer. Other producers at Paramount felt this gave Evans an unfair advantage.
After the huge critical and commercial success of the Evans-produced Chinatown, he stepped down as production chief, which enabled him to produce films on his own. From 1976 to 1980, working as an independent producer, he continued his streak of successful films with Marathon Man, Black Sunday, Popeye and Urban Cowboy. After 1980, his film output became both more infrequent and less critically acclaimed. He produced only two films over the next twelve years: The Cotton Club and The Two Jakes. From 1993 to 2003 he produced the films Sliver, Jade, The Phantom, The Saint, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
Evans continues to produce, although the last film that he produced was released in 2003. He produced and provided the voice for his eponymous character in the 2003 animated series Kid Notorious. In 2004 Evans hosted a Sirius Satellite Radio show, In Bed with Robert Evans.
In 2009, Evans was in talks to produce a film about auto executive John DeLorean, as well as an HBO miniseries titled The Devil and Sidney Korshak. Neither project has yet come to fruition.
Robert Evans Movies
- The Kid Stays in the Picture
- Chinatown
- The Cotton Club
- Marathon Man
- The Sun Also Rises
- Popeye
- Urban Cowboy
- Sliver
- Black Sunday
- How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
- The Two Jakes
- The Saint
- The Godfather
- The Phantom
- The Out-of-Towners
- The Best of Everything
- The Fiend Who Walked the West
- The Girl from Nagasaki
- National Lampoon’s Mr. Wong
- To Ride A White Horse
- Man of a Thousand Faces
Robert Evans Cocaine Trafficking
Robert Evans was convicted of cocaine trafficking in 1980. He entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor in federal court after being arrested after engineering a large cocaine buy with his brother Charles. As part of his plea bargain, he filmed an anti-drug TV commercial.
The alleged drug dealing, which Evans continues to deny, came out of his own involvement with the drug. He told the Philadelphia Inquirer in a 1994 interview, “Bob ‘Cocaine’ Evans is how I’ll be known to my grave”. He argues that he never should have been convicted of federal selling and distribution charges, as he was only a user.
Robert Evans Health
On May 6, 1998, during a dinner party in honor of director Wes Craven, Evans suffered a stroke while giving a toast, and was rushed to nearby Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Evans flatlined in the ambulance, but was resuscitated. Suffering a series of three strokes in quick succession, Robert Evans was left paralyzed on his right side and completely unable to speak.
During his hospital stay, he was encouraged by media mogul and friend Sumner Redstone, who stayed at his bedside, to work on his speech and recovery. A few days after Evans’ stroke, Frank Sinatra died from a heart attack in one of the adjoining rooms at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Witnessing his body being taken away, Evans said it was an event that furthered his desire to recover.
Robert Evans eventually regained his ability to talk and returned to producing. As of 2013,he relies on a cane for shorter walks and has limited mobility.