'Godfather' Producer and Former Paramount Pictures Chief Robert Evans Dead at Age 89
Robert Evans, the Hollywood producer who backed such seminal 1970s films as “Chinatown,” ”The Godfather” and “Harold and Maude,” has died. He was 89 years old.
A representative for Evans confirmed that Evans died on Saturday. No other details were immediately available.
His career was a story of comebacks and reinventions. Evans had launched a successful women’s clothing line with his brother, Charles, and was visiting Los Angeles on business when actress Norma Shearer saw him sunbathing by the pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
She persuaded her husband, movie mogul Irving Thalberg, to hire the handsome, dark-haired 26-year-old to play Thalberg himself in “Man of a Thousand Faces,” a film about horror movie star Lon Chaney.
After acting roles faded, Evans re-emerged as head of production at Paramount Pictures and quickly converted the studio from a maker of mediocre films to the biggest hit machine in Hollywood, home to “The Godfather” and “Love Story” among others.
Evans was the youngest head of production Paramount had ever had. He was 36 years old. He stepped down from his executive role in 1974.
Years later, and with many flops in between, he produced the 2003 Kate Hudson-Matthew McConaughey film “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”
Legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans has died. The mogul helped bring classics such as “Chinatown” and “The Godfather” to the big screen. https://t.co/Q6GKqd6naf
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) October 28, 2019
In 1997, he was widely believed to be the model for Dustin Hoffman’s petty-minded Hollywood producer in the satire “Wag the Dog.”
Evans continued the drama off-screen by marrying some of the industry’s most glamorous women. He was married seven times.
His wives included actresses Ali MacGraw, Catherine Oxenberg and former Miss America Phyllis George.
Evans penned the 1994 memoir “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” which was turned into a documentary in 2002.
Comedy Central aired an animated version called “Kid Notorious” which starred Evans as himself the following year.
This past July, Paramount declined to renew the long-time producer’s contract severing their 52-year relationship.
According to Town & Country, a friend of Evans’ said, “That’s what killed him. He couldn’t believe Paramount let him go.”
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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