ROBERT EVANS
In 1999, the Library of Congress of the United States of America selected 75 films of the 20th Century to be vaulted for preservation in perpetuity. In June of that year, a congressional member, in front of a filled Academy Theatre, bestowed an honor to Robert Evans that stands alone. He is the only living producer who has the distinction of having two of his films among the selected 75 films: "Chinatown", as its producer, and "The Godfather" as its creator.
In 1966, Evans was tapped by Charles Bluhdorn, head of Gulf & Western, to become head of Paramount Worldwide Productions. At the time, Paramount was ninth of the nine major studios. Evans accepted Bluhdorn’s challenge to turn the company around and remarkably, it took only four years for Evans to move the Paramount mountain from last to first place, where it remained until 1975. That year the studio captured 43 Academy Awards nominations, a record unbroken to this day.
His first independent production, Chinatown, was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won the Golden Globe award for best picture of the year. In addition, it won more international best picture awards than any picture made in Hollywood that year. His winning streak continued with such hits as "Marathon Man," "Black Sunday," "Urban Cowboy," "Popeye," "The Cotton Club," "The Saint," "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days," "The Kid Stays In The Picture" and many, many more.
Gracing the cover of The Los Angeles Times, the headlines read, “The Last Original – Robert Evans has lived nine lives, not all of them charmed. But today, he is a hero to the junior moguls of the new Hollywood who idolize him.”
Best illustrating his rebirth in success was The Wall Street Journal’s front-page, six column article in a story about his phoenix-like career that appeared in October of 2002.
He is the only person in the industry to have received the gold key to the city of New York, an honor that is strictly reserved for heads of state. He was also unanimously chosen by the members of the PGA to receive their highest honor, the David O. Selznick award, as well as more than two dozen other statues for his filmmaking achievements.
When receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May of 2002, Evans had one request, that his star be placed beside Jack Nicholson’s in front of Grauman’s Chinese theatre. The request was granted and Evans’ star was placed next to that of one of his closest friends.
In May of 2008, Evans was honored by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with an “Academy Salute”, a rare occurrence, in front of a packed house of more than 1100 people.
His memoir, The Kid Stays In The Picture, was selected by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the six greatest books ever written. Variety’s Michael Fleming headlined The Kid as “The best Hollywood memoir I’ve ever read.” Evans’ next book, The Fat Lady Sang, will be coming out next winter.
In a rare half-hour interview with a Hollywood personality, Nightline’s Ted Koppel simply stated, “More often than not, Evans far out-shadows the stars in his films. Even if you’re not privy to anything connected with Hollywood, chances are you have heard of Robert Evans.”