Maurice Evans (born June 3, 1901 in Dorset; died March 12, 1989 in East Sussex) was a British-born actor who became a US citizen in 1941. June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Dorset (pronounced Dorsit, sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the southwest of England, on the English Channel coast. ... March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in Leap years). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... East Sussex is a county in South East England. ...

He first appeared on the stage in 1926 and joined the Old Vic Company in 1934. His first appearance on Broadway was in Romeo and Juliet in 1936. He was in plays by Shaw, and also Shakespeare's King Richard II (1937), Hamlet (1938), and Macbeth (1941). The Old Vic is a theatre in the Waterloo area of London. ...

In World War II, he was in charge of an Army Entertainment Section in the Central Pacific.

American television audiences of the 1960s will remember Evans as Samantha's father, Maurice, on the sitcom Bewitched. A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Bewitched was an American situation comedy starring actress Elizabeth Montgomery, broadcast on ABC from 1964 to 1972. ...

He made a great impact as the evolved orangutan Dr. Zaius, in the 1968 cinema classic Planet of the Apes. Dr. Zaius was a fictional character in the novel and movies Planet of the Apes. ... Planet of the Apes is a 1968 science fiction film in which an astronaut finds himself more than 2,000 years in the future stranded on an Earth-like planet, in which humans are enslaved by apes. ...

He died of cancer in England, aged 87. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001...

Shakespearean pedigree

As of 2006, Evans 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., more than an hour) dramatizations of the plays to ever be televised - "Hamlet", "Macbeth" (twice - both times with Judith Anderson as Lady Macbeth), "Richard II", "Twelfth Night", "The Taming of the Shrew", and "The Tempest". This last featured an all-star cast that included Lee Remick, Roddy McDowall, and Richard Burton. Dame Judith Anderson, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 Dame Judith Anderson, DBE (February 10, 1897 – January 3, 1992) was an Oscar-nominated Australian stage and film actress. ... Lee Remick Lee Remick (December 14, 1935 - July 2, 1991), was an American actress admired for her versality and her great beauty. ... Roddy McDowall as a child actor. ... Richard Burton in the movie Cleopatra (1963) Richard Burton CBE (November 10, 1925 – August 5, 1984) was a Welsh actor from the late 1940s through the 1980s. ...

In bringing Shakespeare to television, he was a true pioneer, although Evans's performances in Shakespeare are not as highly regarded today as they once were, especially after Laurence Olivier became the twentieth century's pre-eminent Shakesperean actor. Evans also brought his Shakespeare productions to Broadway many times. Laurence Olivier, as photographed in 1939 by Carl Van Vechten Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907–11 July 1989) was an Oscar winning English actor and director, regarded by many critics as the greatest actor of the 20th century. ...

Trivia:

Ironically, he was/is most famous for portraying a warlock in "Bewitched", and for his role as Dr. Zaius in the original "Planet of the Apes". Younger audiences are totally unfamiliar with his appearances in Shakespeare's plays.

In the thriller Rosemary's Baby (1968) he plays a friend of Rosemary (Mia Farrow), Hutch, who warns her against the witches in her apartment building, and is killed by them for his troubles. Spoiler warning: Rosemarys Baby is the title of a 1967 horror novel by Ira Levin, in which a young woman and her husband move into a New York City apartment next door to enthusiastic, oversolicitous neighbors. ... Farrow on the cover of Glamour, 1968 Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow, better known as Mia Farrow (February 9, 1945 – April 5, 2006) is an American actress. ...

External links

• Maurice Evans at The Internet Movie Database