Andrew Stevens
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Andrew Stevens (born Herman Andrew Stephens; June 10, 1955) is an American executive, film producer, director and actor.


Early life

Stevens was born in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, the only child of actress
Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born Estelle Caro Eggleston; October 1, 1938 – February 17, 2023) was an American actress. She was the mother of actor Andrew Stevens. Stevens began her acting career in 1959 in the film ''Say One for Me'', winning the Golden ...
and her former husband Noble Herman Stephens. His mother was 16 when he was born. His parents divorced in 1957.


Career

Prior to his producing career, Stevens was a writer, director, and actor. He made his uncredited film debut in
Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (; born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American Theatre director, stage director and film director. From a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovat ...
's '' The Courtship of Eddie's Father'' (1963), had a bit role in ''
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'' (1975), and went on to appear in cult thrillers such as '' Massacre at Central High'' (1976), '' Vigilante Force'' (1976) and '' Day of the Animals'' (1977), as well as the cult horror film '' The Fury'' (1978) starring
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...
. He was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
for his performance in '' The Boys in Company C'' (1978), and later starred with Charles Bronson in two films, '' Death Hunt'' (1981) and '' 10 to Midnight'' (1983). In 1975, he auditioned for the role of
Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original film trilogy as the main protagonist and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a poor moisture farmer on the desert planet Tat ...
in ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' (1977), which eventually went to
Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, and the Joker (character), Joker in various animated DC Comics projects, starting with ''Batm ...
. He appeared in the miniseries '' Once an Eagle'' (1976) and played 17-year-old Andrew Thorpe on the NBC
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
series '' The Oregon Trail''. The program filmed only thirteen episodes, seven of which never aired. He also acted in the Canadian television series ''The New Liars Club''. Stevens starred in '' The Bastard'' (1978) and '' The Rebels'' (1979), based on the
John Jakes John William Jakes (March 31, 1932 – March 11, 2023) was an American writer, best known for historical and speculative fiction. His American Civil War trilogy, '' North and South'', has sold millions of copies worldwide. He was also the author ...
novels. He appeared opposite
Dennis Weaver Billy Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most ...
and Susan Dey in the short-lived drama '' Emerald Point N.A.S.'', as a playboy/tennis bum in '' Columbo: Murder in Malibu'', and as one of J.R. Ewing's stooges Casey Denault, on ''
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
'', for two seasons, beginning in 1987. He also played Ted Rorchek in the 1981-82 television series ''Code Red''. He appeared in the miniseries '' Hollywood Wives'' (1985). During this time, he also wrote and starred in the erotic thriller '' Night Eyes'' (1990) and its sequels.


Producing

In early 1990, Stevens left the public eye to become an independent entrepreneur writing, producing, directing and financing films for his own companies. He was President/CEO of Franchise Pictures, which produced films for
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
from 1999 through 2005, including '' The Whole Nine Yards'' and its sequel, '' The Whole Ten Yards'', as well as '' The In-Laws''. Franchise and its subsidiaries filed for
Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
bankruptcy on August 19, 2004, after losing a multimillion-dollar fraud case in Los Angeles, and is now defunct. Prior to Franchise, Stevens was an owner and president of Royal Oaks Entertainment, which produced and/or distributed seventy pictures over a three-year period including many
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
, Showtime and Sci-Fi Channel world premieres. Prior to Royal Oaks, Stevens' entrée into foreign sales and production company ownership was with Sunset Films International, which amassed a library of 19 titles (including seven in-house productions) during his first year as president of the company. He currently operates Andrew Stevens Entertainment and Stevens Entertainment Group. In 2017, he published a screenwriting manual, ''Screenwriting for Profit: Writing for the Global Marketplace.''


Personal life

Stevens was married to actress Kate Jackson from 1978 to 1982. He has three children by his second marriage to Robyn Suzanne Scott, which ended in divorce in 2010. Stevens married Diana Phillips Hoogland in 2016; they divorced two years later.


Acting, directing, and producing credits


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Andrew 1955 births American expatriate male actors American expatriates in the United Kingdom American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors American male voice actors Film directors from Tennessee Film producers from Tennessee Living people Male actors from Memphis, Tennessee Screenwriting instructors