Robert Evans Biography And Net Worth

Publish date: 2024-07-20

Who is Robert Evans?

Robert Evans was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Love Story (1970), The Godfather (1972), and Chinatown (1974).

Bio Data

Name	Robert Evans
Date of birth	June 29, 1930
Place of birth	New York City
Gender	Male
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 8 (1. 75m)
Profession	Actor, Film Producer, Studio Executive
Date of death	October 26, 2019
Resting place	Ferncliff Cemetery
Net Worth	$120 Million

Biography

Robert Evans was born on June 29, 1930, in New York City. He grew up on New York City’s Upper West Side during the 1930s, where he was better off than most people living during the Great Depression. In his early years, he did promotional work for Evan-Picone, a fashion company founded by his brother Charles. After high school, he did a variety of voice work on radio. With a clear, deep voice as a teenager and a knack for foreign accents, by his estimation, he performed in more than 300 radio shows before he turned 18. This included a leading role in The Aldrich Family situation comedy.

Career

Evans 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 in Man of a Thousand Faces (1957). Thus he began a brief film acting career. In 1962, Evans went into film production instead, using his accumulated wealth from the clothing business, and began a meteoric rise in the industry. He was made head of Paramount Pictures in 1967. While there, he improved the ailing Paramount’s fortunes through a string of commercially and critically acclaimed films.

Dissatisfied with his own acting talent, he was determined to become a producer. In 1974, he stepped down to produce films on his own. He got his start by purchasing the rights to a 1966 novel titled The Detective which Evans made into a movie starring Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Jack Klugman, and Jacqueline Bisset, in 1968. Peter Bart, a writer for The New York Times, wrote an article about Evans’s aggressive production style. This got Evans noticed by Charles Bluhdorn, who was head of the Gulf+Western conglomerate which owned Paramount and hired Evans as production vice-president in 1966 as part of a shakeup at Paramount Pictures (which included Bart, whom Evans would recruit as a Paramount executive).

When Evans took over as head of production for Paramount, the floundering studio was the ninth largest. Despite his inexperience, Evans was able to turn the studio around. He made Paramount the most successful studio in Hollywood and transformed it into a profitable enterprise for Gulf+Western. During his tenure at Paramount, the studio turned out films such as The Odd Couple, Romeo and Juliet, Rosemary’s Baby, The Italian Job, True Grit, Love Story, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Save the Tiger, The Conversation, Chinatown, The Great Gatsby, and many others.

Net Worth

At the time of his death, Robert Evans allegedly had a net worth of $120 Million. As for who will inherit his fortune? Evans had only one child Josh A. Evans.

Personal Life

Evans was married seven times. He first married Sharon Hugueny in 1961, staying with her until 1962. Subsequently, he married 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). Evans’s marriage to Oxenberg was annulled after nine days. He married his seventh wife, Victoria White O’Gara (widow of Lord White), while in Mexico, in August 2005 shortly after his 75th birthday. She filed for divorce on June 16, 2006, citing irreconcilable differences. Although Evans was married severally, he had one child, Josh Evans, from his marriage to MacGraw. His son, Josh is a film producer.

Illness and death

On May 6, 1998, during a dinner party in honour 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, he 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’s stroke, Frank Sinatra died from a heart attack in one of the adjoining rooms at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Witnessing Frank Sinatra’s body being taken away, Evans said it was an event that furthered his desire to recover. Evans eventually regained his ability to talk and returned to producing. From 2013, he relied on a cane for shorter walks and had limited mobility. Evans died in Beverly Hills, California on October 26, 2019, at the age of 89.

FAQs

Who inherits Robert Evan’s money?

Robert Evans had only one heir, his son Josh A. Evans.

How many times was Robert Evans married?

Evans was married 7 times. Sharon Hugueny (1961), 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).

Was Robert Evan a good actor?

Dissatisfied with his own acting talent, he was determined to become a producer.

ZedDash