Craig Stevens (actor)
Encyclopedia
Craig Stevens was an American
motion picture and television
actor
.
, Missouri
, his father was a high school teacher.
Stevens studied dentistry
at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, from which he received a bachelor's degree
in 1936. Acting with the university's drama club prompted him to halt his studies and instead to audition in the Hollywood film industry. Adopting the stage name
Craig Stevens, he debuted in a small role in 1939 and thereafter played mainly secondary parts.
On June 18, 1944, at the Church of the Recessional, Forest Lawn, he married Canadian actress Alexis Smith
, to whom he was wed for almost fifty years until her death in 1993. Stevens died from cancer
at the age of eighty-one in Los Angeles
, California
. The Stevenses were childless.
sitcom with a variety show
theme, The Ray Bolger Show
. Ray Bolger
portrayed Raymond Wallace, a song-and-dance man who was repeatedly barely on time for his performances. Stevens portrayed a novelist interest in Ray's girlfriend, Susan, played by Marjie Millar
.
After nearly twenty years in film, in 1958, Stevens gained national prominence for his starring role as private detective Peter Gunn
, a television series which aired on NBC
(and later ABC.) The series was produced by Blake Edwards
, who also wrote and directed many of the episodes. The theme music for the series
was composed by Henry Mancini
and helped establish his early fame.
During the late 1950s, Stevens appeared three times on Rod Cameron
's syndicated
western
-themed crime drama, State Trooper
, and once on the CBS sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve
, with Howard Duff
and Ida Lupino
, and on the syndicated military drama The Silent Service
. On May 7, 1959, Stevens was a guest star on the NBC
variety
series, The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
. He and Tennessee Ernie Ford
did a comedy skit based on Peter Gunn. He also sang on the The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
with Dinah Shore
and did multiple appearances on such popular series as Hotel
, The Love Boat
, Fantasy Island
and Murder, She Wrote
.
After Peter Gunn ended, Stevens was called on by Sir Lew Grade
of ITV
to move to London, England, to play the lead role in a made for TV series called Man of the World in the early 1960s
. In 1964, Stevens followed this series where he starred as Mike Bell, a New York City
public relations
specialist in the 13-week CBS drama
, Mr. Broadway
. Horace McMahon
(1906–1971) played his assistant and police contact, Hank McClure. The series was produced by David Susskind
. Stevens and Blake Edwards brought Peter Gunn to the big screen with a feature film
called Gunn
(1967) without his supporting characters of Lola Albright
and Herschel Bernardi
and with Helen Traubel
replacing the late Hope Emerson
as the nightclub owner known as "Mother". Though advertised as Gunn-Number One no sequels followed. Other TV roles included the 1974 TV movie Killer Bees
with Gloria Swanson
. He worked with Blake Edwards
again in the comedy hit S.O.B.
and was featured with his wife two more times in Joseph Losey
's drama La Truite and the 1988 Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair starring Robert Young
.
Stevens did a considerable amount of stage work, including lengthy national tours in the musical Plain and Fancy
and the comedy hit Cactus Flower, both co-starring his wife Alexis Smith
. He made his Broadway
debut in the Meredith Willson
musical Here's Love
opposite Janis Paige
and recorded the cast album for Columbia Records
. He later toured as Professor Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady
with Jane Powell
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
motion picture and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early and personal life
Born Gail Shikles, Jr., in LibertyLiberty, Missouri
Liberty is a city in Clay County, Missouri and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. At the 2007 population estimate, the city population was 29,993...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, his father was a high school teacher.
Stevens studied dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, from which he received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1936. Acting with the university's drama club prompted him to halt his studies and instead to audition in the Hollywood film industry. Adopting the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Craig Stevens, he debuted in a small role in 1939 and thereafter played mainly secondary parts.
On June 18, 1944, at the Church of the Recessional, Forest Lawn, he married Canadian actress Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith was a Canadian-born stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in several major Hollywood movies in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Award in 1972.-Life and career:...
, to whom he was wed for almost fifty years until her death in 1993. Stevens died from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at the age of eighty-one in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The Stevenses were childless.
Career
On October 29, 1954, Stevens guest starred on the 1953-1955 ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom with a variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
theme, The Ray Bolger Show
Where's Raymond?
Where's Raymond? is a 1953-1954 ABC situation comedy television series starring Ray Bolger as Raymond Wallace, a song-and-dance man who is consistently barely on time for his performances...
. Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
portrayed Raymond Wallace, a song-and-dance man who was repeatedly barely on time for his performances. Stevens portrayed a novelist interest in Ray's girlfriend, Susan, played by Marjie Millar
Marjie Millar
Marjie Millar , was an American television and film actress.A blonde, she played a small number of second lead roles. She graduated in 1950 from Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington, and then from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri...
.
After nearly twenty years in film, in 1958, Stevens gained national prominence for his starring role as private detective Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards...
, a television series which aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
(and later ABC.) The series was produced by Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
, who also wrote and directed many of the episodes. The theme music for the series
The Music from Peter Gunn
The Music from Peter Gunn is a 1959 album by Henry Mancini . It was the first album ever to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1959. It was followed by More Music from "Peter Gunn" . The main theme is notable for its combination of jazz orchestration with a straightforward, rock 'n roll...
was composed by Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
and helped establish his early fame.
During the late 1950s, Stevens appeared three times on Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron was a Canadian-born movie actor whose career extended from the 1930s to the 1970s. He appeared in horror, war, action and science fiction movies, but is best remembered for his many Westerns....
's syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
-themed crime drama, State Trooper
State Trooper (TV series)
State Trooper is a half-hour television crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, an officer of the Nevada State Troopers. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from September 25, 1956, to June 25, 1959...
, and once on the CBS sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve
Mr. Adams and Eve
Mr. Adams and Eve is a CBS sitcom starring Howard Duff and his then wife, Ida Lupino, as a fictitious acting couple, Howard and Eve Adams, residing in Beverly Hills, California. In the television series, Lupino is known professionally as Eve Drake. The program aired sixty-six episodes from January...
, with Howard Duff
Howard Duff
Howard Green Duff was an American actor of film, television, stage, and radio.Duff was born in Charleston, Washington, now a part of Bremerton. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle in 1932 where he began acting in school plays only after he was cut from the basketball team...
and Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
, and on the syndicated military drama The Silent Service
The Silent Service (TV series)
The Silent Service was a 1957–1958 syndicated anthology television series based on actual events in the submarine section of the United States Navy. The Silent Service was narrated by Rear Admiral Thomas M. Dykers, who retired from the Navy in 1949 after twenty-two years of service...
. On May 7, 1959, Stevens was a guest star on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
series, The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
The Ford Show
The Ford Show is a half-hour comedy/variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired in color on NBC television on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961....
. He and Tennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...
did a comedy skit based on Peter Gunn. He also sang on the The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A...
with Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
and did multiple appearances on such popular series as Hotel
Hotel (TV series)
Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty....
, The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
, Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
and Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
.
After Peter Gunn ended, Stevens was called on by Sir Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
of ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
to move to London, England, to play the lead role in a made for TV series called Man of the World in the early 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
. In 1964, Stevens followed this series where he starred as Mike Bell, a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
specialist in the 13-week CBS drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, Mr. Broadway
Mr. Broadway
Mr. Broadway is a 13-episode CBS adventure and drama television series starring Craig Stevens , formerly of Peter Gunn, as New York City public relations specialist Mike Bell. The program aired at 9 p.m. Eastern time Saturdays from September 26 to December 26, 1964...
. Horace McMahon
Horace McMahon
Horace McMahon was an American actor.- Biography :In his early career he mostly played thugs or jailbirds, but in 1949 he starred in his most acclaimed role, as Lieutenant Monaghan in the drama play Detective Story and in 1951 he reprised his character in Paramount Pictures' film version Detective...
(1906–1971) played his assistant and police contact, Hank McClure. The series was produced by David Susskind
David Susskind
David Susskind was a producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a pioneer TV talk show host.-Personal:...
. Stevens and Blake Edwards brought Peter Gunn to the big screen with a feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
called Gunn
Gunn (film)
Gunn is an American 1967 mystery film directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Craig Stevens. It featured the same lead character from the 1958-1961 television series Peter Gunn, and a Henry Mancini score but the characters of Gunn's singing girlfriend Edie Hart and Police Lieutenant Jacoby were...
(1967) without his supporting characters of Lola Albright
Lola Albright
Lola Jean Albright is an American singer and actress.Albright worked as a model before moving to Hollywood. She began her motion picture career with a bit part in the 1948 film The Pirate, and followed it with an important role in the acclaimed 1949 hit Champion...
and Herschel Bernardi
Herschel Bernardi
Herschel Bernardi was an American film, Broadway, and television actor....
and with Helen Traubel
Helen Traubel
Helen Francesca Traubel was an American opera and concert singer. A dramatic soprano, she was best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, she began her career as a concert singer and went on to sing at the Metropolitan...
replacing the late Hope Emerson
Hope Emerson
-Early life:Emerson was born in Hawarden, Iowa. Following her graduation from West High School in Des Moines in 1916, she moved to New York City where she performed in vaudeville.-Career:...
as the nightclub owner known as "Mother". Though advertised as Gunn-Number One no sequels followed. Other TV roles included the 1974 TV movie Killer Bees
Killer bees
Killer bees, Killa Bees or Killer B's may refer to:* Africanized bee, a hybrid of the African honey bee with various European honey bees* Killer bees , firms or individuals employed by a target company to fend off a takeover bid...
with Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
. He worked with Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
again in the comedy hit S.O.B.
S.O.B.
S.O.B. is a 1981 American film written and directed by Blake Edwards starring Richard Mulligan and Julie Andrews. Also appearing are Robert Preston, Robert Vaughn, Larry Hagman, Shelley Winters, Loretta Swit, Robert Webber and, in his last movie appearance, William Holden.S.O.B. was originally...
and was featured with his wife two more times in Joseph Losey
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
's drama La Truite and the 1988 Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair starring Robert Young
Robert Young
Robert, Rob or Bob Young may refer to:In sports:* Robert Young , American track athlete* Robert Young , British cyclist* Robert Young , American football player...
.
Stevens did a considerable amount of stage work, including lengthy national tours in the musical Plain and Fancy
Plain and Fancy
Plain and Fancy is a musical comedy with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Arnold Horwitt, and music by Albert Hague. One of the first depictions of an Amish community in American pop culture, it includes a traditional barn-raising and an old-fashioned country...
and the comedy hit Cactus Flower, both co-starring his wife Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith was a Canadian-born stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in several major Hollywood movies in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Award in 1972.-Life and career:...
. He made his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in the Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
musical Here's Love
Here's Love
Here's Love is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson.Based on the classic film Miracle on 34th Street, it tells the tale of a skeptical little girl who doubts the existence of Santa Claus. When the real Kris Kringle inadvertently is hired to represent jolly St...
opposite Janis Paige
Janis Paige
Janis Paige is an American film, musical theatre and television actress. Born Donna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington, she began singing in public from the age of five in local amateur shows...
and recorded the cast album for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. He later toured as Professor Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
with Jane Powell
Jane Powell
Jane Powell is an American singer, dancer and actress.After rising to fame as a singer in her home state of Oregon, Powell was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while still in her teens...
.