Mark Stevens (Actor)

Mark Stevens (born Richard Stevens December 13, 1916 - September 15, 1994) was a movie actor of the 1940s and 1950s.

Related Topics:
December 13 - 1916 - September 15 - 1994

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After studying to become a painter, Cleveland, Ohio-born Mark Stevens became 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. They changed his looks and his stage name. They darkened and straightened his curly ginger-colored hair and covered his freckles. At first he was billed as Stephen Richards, later changed it to "Mark Stevens" at the suggestion of Darryl Zanuck when he moved to 20th Century Fox.

Related Topics:
Cleveland, Ohio - Akron, Ohio - Warner Brothers - 1943 - Darryl Zanuck - 20th Century Fox

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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 up with Lucille Ball. He received one of what many critics consider his best role, as an FBI man going undercover to arrest a gangster played by Richard Widmark in The Street with No Name (1948). Stevens also appeared in musicals including I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now? (1947) and Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949).

Related Topics:
Film noir - Within These Walls - The Dark Corner - Lucille Ball - FBI - Richard Widmark - The Street with No Name

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In the 1950s Stevens was also a television star, 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". He died in Majores, Spain.

Related Topics:
Magnum, P.I. - Murder, She Wrote - Majores, Spain

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Stevens has a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, located at 6637 Hollywood Blvd.

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