Gene Evans

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Birthday:

11 July 1922, Holbrook, Arizona, USA

Birth Name:

Eugene Barton Evans

Height:

187 cm

Gene Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona, on July 11, 1922, and was raised in Colton, California. He served in the Army during World War II as a combat engineer, and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for bravery in action. He began his acting career there, performing in a theatrical troupe of GIs in Europe. After the war, he went to Hollywood, where he made his film debut in 1947's Under Colorado Skies (1947). The rugged, red-headed character actor was a familiar face in such westerns as Cattle Queen of Montana (1954), The War Wagon (1967), Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969), The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973). He also starred in the war films The Steel Helmet (1951) and Fixed Bayonets! (1951) and co-starred with future first lady Nancy Reagan (before she became Nancy Reagan) in Donovan's Brain (1953). His other major films include Park Row (1952), Behemoth the Sea Monster (1959), Operation Petticoat (1959) and Walking Tall (1973). He became well known in the 1950s on television, playing the father in My Friend Flicka (1955). He remained active in films and television through the 1980s. Evans subsequently retired to a farm near Jackson, Tennessee. He was a popular guest at the Memphis Film Festival for the past decade. Show less «

[on Samuel Fuller] Sammy was a funny guy to go around with. He could be in his own world; you know, in a fog about things other people found...Show more »

[on Samuel Fuller] Sammy was a funny guy to go around with. He could be in his own world; you know, in a fog about things other people found very normal. Show less «

[on Ace in the Hole (1951)] It was beautifully done, but did not do well because it turned people off.

I was never a movie star. A star's like the world champion, who fights once or twice a year because that's all he has to do. I was more like...Show more »

I was never a movie star. A star's like the world champion, who fights once or twice a year because that's all he has to do. I was more like a club fighter, who had to fight at least once a month or he will starve to death. Show less «

When Steel Helmet came out with me in the leading role, Wilder bumped into me at the studio and said, 'You did it, you son of a gun - I knew...Show more »

When Steel Helmet came out with me in the leading role, Wilder bumped into me at the studio and said, 'You did it, you son of a gun - I knew you could or I never would have recommended you'. Show less «

There weren't a lot of redheaded people working in pictures. The cinematographers had a hell of a lot to say about things, and they liked gu...Show more »

There weren't a lot of redheaded people working in pictures. The cinematographers had a hell of a lot to say about things, and they liked guys with dark hair, eyes and skin because they photographed better in black-and-white ... But one night a guy came to the theatre and said, 'I like your work and think I can get you work in pictures'. I had a red beard and red hair, and Republic had just gone to Trucolor ... they needed a guy for the part of Red in Under Colorado Skies. It was a small part but I was paid $40 a day and I thought, 'Where has this been all my life?' Show less «

I never turned much down. At first I was serious about my work, then it came to me that unless you were working for one of the big studios y...Show more »

I never turned much down. At first I was serious about my work, then it came to me that unless you were working for one of the big studios you weren't going to win awards or be taken too seriously. Show less «