Mark Stevens (actor) : biography
Mark Stevens (December 13, 1916 – September 15, 1994) was an American actor.
Career
Born Richard William Stevens in Cleveland, Ohio, he first studied to become a painter before becoming active in theater work. He then launched a radio career as an announcer in Akron, Ohio.
Moving to Hollywood, he became a Warner Brothers contract actor at $100 a week in 1943. The studio darkened and straightened his curly ginger-colored hair and covered his freckles. At first he was billed as Stephen Richards, but it was changed to Mark Stevens at the suggestion of Darryl Zanuck when he moved to 20th Century Fox.
Stevens emerged as a film noir leading man in such films as Within These Walls (1945) and The Dark Corner (1946), the latter pairing him with Lucille Ball. In 1946 exhibitors voted him the fifth-most promising "star of tomorrow".
He played an FBI man going undercover to arrest a gangster played by Richard Widmark in The Street With No Name (1948), and appeared as Olivia de Havilland’s loyal husband in The Snake Pit (1948). Stevens also performed in musicals including I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now? (1947) and Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949).
In 1951, he starred in the DuMont series News Gal which was later syndicated on ABC in 1957. From 1954-1956 he played a newspaper managing editor in the CBS Television series Big Town, having replaced Patrick McVey, who starred in the role from 1950-1954. Reruns of Big Town began airing on DuMont under the title City Assignment while new episodes of the series were still appearing on CBS.
In the 1950s Stevens was also a television actor, producer and writer. He worked in semi-retirement in the 1960s in Europe. In the 80’s he appeared in television shows Magnum, P.I. and Murder, She Wrote.
Death
On September 15, 1994, Stevens died of cancer in Majores, Spain, at the age of 77.
For his contribution to the television industry, Mark Stevens has a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, located at 6637 Hollywood Blvd.
Notes
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1943 | Destination Tokyo | Admiral’s aide | Uncredited |
1944 | Passage to Marseille | Lieutenant Hastings | Uncredited |
Roaring Guns | Lance Ferris | as Stephen Richards | |
The Doughgirls | Lt. Harry Kerry | Uncredited | |
Hollywood Canteen | Soldier on deck | Uncredited | |
1945 | Objective, Burma! | Lt. Barker | as Stephen Richards |
God Is My Co-Pilot | Sgt. Baldridge | as Stephen Richards | |
The Horn Blows at Midnight | Angel | Uncredited | |
Rhapsody in Blue | Steve | Uncredited | |
Within These Walls | Steve Purcell | ||
Pride of the Marines | Ainslee | as Stephen Richards | |
1946 | From This Day Forward | Bill Cummings | |
The Dark Corner | Bradford Galt | ||
1947 | I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now | Joe Howard | |
1948 | The Street with No Name | Gene Cordell/George Manly | |
The Snake Pit | Robert Cunningham | ||
1949 | Sand | Jeff Keane | |
Oh, You Beautiful Doll | Larry Kelly | ||
Dancing in the Dark | Bill Davis | ||
1950 | Please Believe Me | Matthew Kinston | |
Between Midnight and Dawn | Officer Rocky Barnes | ||
1951 | Target Unknown | Capt. Jerome ‘Steve’ Stevens | |
Katie Did It | Peter Van Arden | ||
Little Egypt | Wayne Cravat | ||
Reunion in Reno | Norman Drake | ||
1952 | Mutiny | Capt. James Marshall | |
The Lost Hours | Paul Smith | ||
Torpedo Alley | Lt. Bob Bingham | ||
1953 | Jack Slade | Joseph A. ‘Jack’ Slade | |
1954 | Cry Vengeance | Vic Barron | Also director |
1956 | Time Table | Charlie Norman | Also director |
1957 | Gunsight Ridge | Velvet Clark | |
1958 | Gun Fever | Luke Ram | Also director |
Gunsmoke in Tucson | Jedediah (Chip) Coburn | ||
1960 | September Storm | Joe Balfour | |
1963 | Escape from Hell Island | Capt. James | Also director |
1964 | Fate Is the Hunter | Mickey Doolan | |
Frozen Alive | Dr. Frank Overton | Original title: Der Fall X701 | |
1965 | Jessy Does Not Forgive… He Kills! | Sheriff Jeff Kinsley | Original title: Tierra de fuego |
1966 | Go with God, Gringo | Smith | Original title: Vaya con dios gringo |
1969 | Cry for Poor Wally | Gaylord Blue – Radio DJ | |
Spain Again | Dr. David Foster | Original title: España otra vez | |
1972 | The Fury of the Wolfman | Bill Williams | UncreditedOriginal title: La furia del Hombre Lobo |