Herbert Evans (16 April 1882 – 10 February 1952) was an English film actor. He appeared in over 180 films between
1916 and
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, ...
.
Biography
A native of
Devonshire, Evans started his screen acting career in 1914 at the
World Film Company in
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades.
As of the 2020 Uni ...
.
His performances include the Earl of Glenheather Castle in
The Three Stooges comedy ''
The Hot Scots'' and its remake ''
Scotched in Scotland'', the well-meaning but clueless butler Wilkes in ''
Vagabond Loafers'' and in the ''
Our Gang
''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...
'' short ''
Shrimps for a Day''.
In addition to his work in
short subjects, Evans appeared—often uncredited—in such films as ''
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
'', ''
Strangers on a Train'', ''
Annie Get Your Gun'' and ''
Song of the Thin Man''. He also had bit roles in the
Shirley Temple vehicles ''Curly Top'' and ''
Wee Willie Winkie''.
One notable departure from his professional pursuit of acting consisted of time spent as "amusement manager" of
Coney Island's
Luna Park—specifically, 1920 through at least 1924, and again in 1928 and 1929.
["Herb Evans Dies in L.A."](_blank)
''Billboard''. 23 February 1952. Retrieved 23 October 2023. See also:
*
*
* It was during the latter stint that Evans engaged fellow British ex-pat
Cary Grant—two years prior to acquiring that soon-to-be iconic stage name–to become, in the words of the former Mr. Leach, circa fall 1969, "a barker for an incubator sideshow." Even before his hiring had been announced, Evans made headlines in March 1920 with a $50,000 payment to the United States government in exchange for the newly decommissioned
USS Recruit, which was promptly moved from Manhattan's
Union Square to Luna Park, where it served as an ad hoc ballroom/bandstand for opening-day patrons and the U.S. Naval Recruiting Band.
Evans died on 10 February 1952 in the San Gabriel Sanitarium.
He was survived by his wife Etta and two children.
Selected filmography
* ''
Where Love Leads'' (1916)
* ''
The Heart of a Hero'' (1916)
* ''
The Wild Girl'' (1917)
* ''
Who Loved Him Best?'' (1918)
* ''
The Third Degree'' (1919)
* ''
The Place of Honeymoons'' (1920)
* ''
The Devil Dancer'' (1927)
* ''
Beyond London Lights'' (1928)
* ''
The Naughty Duchess'' (1928)
* ''
The Woman Who Dared'' (1933)
* ''
Ship of Wanted Men'' (1933)
* ''
Service with a Smile'' (1934)
* ''
The Widow from Monte Carlo'' (1935)
* ''
And Sudden Death'' (1936)
* ''
High Flyers'' (1937)
* ''
Saleslady'' (1938)
* ''
Everybody's Doing It'' (1938)
* ''
The Dawn Patrol'' (1938)
* ''
The Rains Came'' (1939)
* ''
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror'' (1942)
* ''
Appointment in Berlin'' (1943)
* ''
The Gang's All Here'' (1943)
* ''
Ladies of Washington'' (1944)
* ''
A Fig Leaf for Eve'' (1944)
* ''
The Fabulous Suzanne'' (1946)
* ''
Jiggs and Maggie in Society'' (1947)
References
External links
*
1882 births
1952 deaths
Male actors from Devon
English male film actors
English male silent film actors
20th-century English male actors
English expatriate male actors in the United States
{{UK-film-actor-stub