Colleen Townsend Evans (born December 21, 1928) is an American actress, author and

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

Early years

Townsend was born in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

. Her parents separated "when she was a tot," after which she lived with her mother. She attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, leaving during her sophomore year to pursue a film career.

Life and career

When Townsend was 15 year old she began performing on television as a member of the dramatic company at station W6XAO in Los Angeles. A talent scout saw her work there, which led to her signing a contract with

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 ...

Townsend began a film career in 1944, appearing in minor roles in several films. By 1946, she was appearing on the cover of magazines, and in 1947, she was signed to a contract by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

. She was the subject of a cover story for ''Life'' in 1948, which discussed the way in which major studios groomed and manufactured their stars, using Townsend's story as an example. The studio created a photographic calendar for her to "put erface in every home, office and barracks in America all year around".

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

was quoted as saying that Townsend was "going places." She played a featured role in the film '' The Walls of Jericho'' (1948), and she was billed third behind

Dan Dailey Daniel James Dailey Jr. (December 14, 1915 – October 16, 1978) was an American actor and dancer. He is best remembered for a series of popular musicals he made at 20th Century Fox such as '' Mother Wore Tights'' (1947). Biography Early life D ...

and

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in '' Come to the Stable'' (1949) and ''A ...

in ''

Chicken Every Sunday ''Chicken Every Sunday'' is a 1949 American comedy film directed by George Seaton. The screenplay by Seaton and Valentine Davies is based on the 1944 play of the same title by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, which was based on the me ...

'' (1949). Her biggest success was in the 1950 film ''

When Willie Comes Marching Home ''When Willie Comes Marching Home'' is a 1950 World War II comedy film directed by John Ford and starring Dan Dailey and Corinne Calvet. It is based on the 1945 short story "When Leo Comes Marching Home" by Sy Gomberg. The film won the Golde ...

'', in which she was paired with Dan Dailey. ''

Again Pioneers ''Again Pioneers'' (sometimes referred to as ''Again... Pioneers!'') is a 1950 American black-and-white short film, short Drama (film and television), drama film produced by Paul F. Heard for the Protestant Film Commission. Directed by William Be ...

'' (1950), which she wrote, provided her with her first lead role. She grew up attending

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, and in 1948, she became active in the Hollywood Presbyterian Church. In 1950, Townsend left her acting career and married long-time friend Louis H. Evans Jr. who was a seminary student at the time at San Francisco Theologic Seminary. Evans was the founding pastor of

Bel Air Presbyterian Church Bel Air Church (also known as Bel Air Presbyterian Church) is a Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian church located in Los Angeles, California. Its campus is located on Mulholland Drive in the Encino, Los Angeles, California, Encino neighborh ...

, which began in the Evans home. Bel Air Presbyterian Church exists today as the largest Presbyterian congregation in the Los Angeles area. Later, the couple met and became friends with Billy and Ruth Graham. Townsend, now billed as Colleen Evans, returned to films briefly, starring in two films produced by the

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is a non-profit Christian outreach organization that promotes multimedia evangelism, conducts evangelistic crusades, and engages in disaster response. The BGEA operates the Billy Graham Train ...

: ''Oiltown, U.S.A.'' (1950) and ''Souls in Conflict'' (1955).

Post-acting

Colleen and Louis Evans moved to Washington, D.C. where he served at National Presbyterian Church. Thereafter she dedicated herself to humanitarian work, specifically in relation to racial or religious discrimination, human rights, and the role of women in society. She partnered with her husband in ministry and served on the board of

World Vision The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

. She served as the first female chair of the Billy Graham Crusade in 1986.

Filmography

References

External links