Gene Evans

Background

Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona, but reared in Colton, California. His acting career began while he was serving in the United States Army during 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 films and television programs. He specialized in playing tough guys such as cowboys, sheriffs, convicts, and sergeants.

Acting career

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 (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 United States Army engineer in World War II. Fuller kept Evans and refused John Wayne for the role and fought 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 30 pounds to play the lead in Park Row.

Evans portrayed the authoritarian but wise father, Rob McLaughlin, on the 1956-1957 CBS television series My Friend Flicka. He next co-starred, in 1958, as Major Al Arthur in Damn Citizen, a film based on the life of crusading State Police superintendent Francis Grevemberg of Louisiana, played by Keith Andes. In 1960, Evans was cast as Otis Stockert in "The Frontiersman" on the NBC Western series Wichita Town, with Joel McCrea. That same year, he was cast as Boone Hackett in the episode "Die Twice" of the CBS Western series Johnny Ringo, with Don Durant. He was also cast in 1960 as United States Army Sergeant Dan Phillips, with James Griffith as Corporal Sam Giler, Ron Hagerthy as Phelan, and Stuart Randall as the historical General Winfield Scott, in the episode "The Quota" of another NBC western series, Riverboat. In the storyline, Phillips shanghais Grey Holden (Darren McGavin) and a crew member of the river vessel Enterprise to meet the army's "quota" for new recruits.

In 1961, Evans guest-starred as Sheriff Tom Wilson in "Incident on the Road Back" in the Rawhide series on CBS. He then was cast as Walter Kopek, an undercover agent of the United States Treasury Department, in the 1963 episode "The Moonshiners" on the CBS anthology series GE True, hosted by Jack Webb. In this episode's plot, Kopek moves against a bootlegging operation in Florida run by the mobster Bill Munger (Robert Emhardt). James Griffith, with whom Evans had appeared on Riverboat, is also a cast member in this same episode, playing the character Stan Woolman.

In 1966, Evans appeared on the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason as Sheriff "Moose" Dalton in "The Case of the Scarlet Scandal". He starred as well in Peopletoys in 1974 with Leif Garrett; and in the fall of 1976, Evans starred on the 11-episode CBS adventure series Spencer's Pilots, along with Christopher Stone, Todd Susman and Britt Leach.

In January 1979, Evans appeared as Garrison Southworth in one episode of CBS's Dallas. He guest-starred in 10 episodes of CBS's Gunsmoke with James Arness, including several of the best-remembered segments, including "The Snow Train", "Tatum", and "Thirty a Month and Found". In 1965, Evans guest-starred as Jake Burnett in the episode "Vendetta" of ABC's western series 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 January 1982, Evans performed in the role of war reporter Clayton Kibbee in an episode of CBS's M*A*S*M*A*S*H titled "Blood and Guts". He also appeared on stage in the late 1980s as the gruesome Papa in the stage production Papa is All, directed by playwright Tommy F. Scott in Jackson, Tennessee and including William Morgan and Jamie Boyd in the cast. Evans retired to a farm in Tennessee following his role in the original film version of Walking Tall.

Evans died at age 75 of heart failure at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, on April 1, 1998. He was interred at Highland Memorial Gardens, also located in Jackson.