Maurice Evans (actor)

For other persons named Maurice Evans, see Maurice Evans (disambiguation). Maurice Evans
Evans as Falstaff Born Maurice Herbert Evans
3 June 1901(1901-06-03)
Dorchester, Dorset, EnglandDied 12 March 1989(aged 87)
Rottingdean, East Sussex, EnglandOccupation actor, producer Years active 1926- 1983Awards won Emmy AwardsOutstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
1961 Macbeth

Maurice Herbert Evans (June 3, 1901 - March 12, 1989) was an English actor who became a US citizen in 1941.

Evans was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England, the son of Laura (née Turner) and Alfred Herbert Evans, who was an analytical chemist.[1] He first appeared on the stage in 1926 and joined the Old Vic Company in 1934, playing Hamlet, Richard II and Iago. His first appearance on Broadway was in Romeo and Juliet opposite Katharine Cornell in 1936, but he made his biggest impact in Shakespeare's Richard II, a production whose unexpected success was the surprise of the 1937 theatre season and allowed Evans to play Hamlet (1938) (the first time that the play was performed uncut on the New York stage), Falstaff in Henry IV, Part I (1939), Macbeth (1941), and Malvolio in Twelfth Night (1942) opposite the Viola of Helen Hayes, all under the direction of Margaret Webster. When World War II arrived, he was in charge of an Army Entertainment Section in the Central Pacific and played his famous "G.I. version" of Hamlet that cut the text of the play to make Prince Hamlet more decisive and appealing to the troops, an interpretation so popular that he took it to Broadway in 1945. He then shifted his attention to the works of Shaw, notably as John Tanner in Man and Superman and as King Magnus in The Apple Cart. He was also a successful Broadway producer of productions in which he did not appear, notably Teahouse of the August Moon.

American television audiences of the 1960s will remember Evans as Samantha's father, Maurice (the character was originally named Victor when he was introduced), on the sitcom Bewitched. He also played "The Puzzler" on Batman. Many younger viewers discovering these programmes in syndication are unaware of Evans' Shakespearean pedigree. His real-life insistence that his first name was pronounced the same as the name "Morris" was ironically at odds with his Bewitched character's contrasting stance that it be pronounced "Maw-REESE".

Evans had great impact onscreen as well, memorably in two 1968 films: as the evolved orangutan, Dr. Zaius in Planet of the Apes and as Rosemary's friend Hutch in the thriller Rosemary's Baby.

Evans died of cancer in East Sussex, England, aged 87.

Shakespearean legacy

As of 2006, Evans had 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., longer than an hour) dramatizations of the plays to ever be presented on American television - Hamlet, Macbeth (twice - both times with Judith Anderson as Lady Macbeth and winning Evans an Emmy Award for the latter), Richard II, Twelfth Night (as Malvolio), The Taming of the Shrew (as Petruchio, opposite Lilli Palmer as Katherine), and The Tempest (as Prospero). This last featured an all-star cast that included Lee Remick as Miranda, Roddy McDowall as Ariel, and Richard Burton as Caliban.

In bringing Shakespeare to television, he was a true pioneer. Evans also brought his Shakespeare productions to Broadway many times, playing Hamlet on the Great White Way in 4 separate productions for a grand total of 283 performances, a Broadway record that is not likely to be broken.