Maurice Evans
Biography
Maurice Evans was an English actor known for his Shakespearean interpretations, born in Dorchester. He began his stage career in 1926 at the Cambridge Festival Theatre and later joined the Old Vic Company, where he played Hamlet, Richard II, and Iago. His performance as Richard II drew praise and led to an invitation to work with Katharine Cornell in the United States, and he made his Broadway debut opposite her in Romeo and Juliet in 1936. On television he played Maurice on Bewitched and won an Emmy Award for a 1960 production of Macbeth. His film work included Emperor Antoninus in Androcles and the Lion (1952), Sir Arthur Sullivan in the 1953 film The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan, Dr. Zaius in Planet of the Apes, Hutch in Rosemary's Baby (1968), and Hobart the butler in The Jerk (1979). He appeared in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) and produced Broadway shows, including The Teahouse of the August Moon.
87years old at death
- Born Dorchester
- Died Rottingdean
- Star sign: GeminiThe sign runs May 21 to June 20
- Maurice Herbert Evans (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 10
- Career span
- 63 years1935 to 1998
Share
Did you know?!
A first
Evans played Hamlet on Broadway four times, in consecutive revivals. Between his first appearance as Hamlet there in 1938 and his last in 1946, no other actor took the role on Broadway.
Big break
In 1928 Evans was picked, along with Laurence Olivier and other jobless actors, to take part in a tryout of R. C. Sherriff's Journey's End. The play ran two years and made Evans's name.
Behind the camera
Evans produced a "G.I. version" of Hamlet that trimmed the play's text so the title character would appeal more to the troops. That interpretation proved popular enough that he brought it to Broadway in 1945.
A first
Evans acted in more Shakespeare productions on American television than any other actor. Starting in 1953, he starred for the Hallmark Hall of Fame anthology in the first feature-length dramatizations of the plays shown on American television.
First role
Evans was selected by Terence Gray for the opening production of the Cambridge Festival Theatre in November 1926, playing Orestes in two parts of the Oresteia.
A change of course
Evans arranged for Carl Reiner to move out of the Signal Corps into the entertainment unit in Hawaii, where Evans served as his commanding officer. Reiner later hired Evans to play Hobart the butler in The Jerk.
Maurice Evans movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Charlton Heston appears in three of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Charlton Heston's page
Kim Hunter's page
Linda Harrison's page
Natalie Trundy's page
Awards
Two awards and honors, two of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards | |||
| 1961 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Won |
| Emmy Award | Won | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.