Maurice Herbert Evans

 Maurice Herbert Evans (June 3, 1901 – March 12, 1989)

Evans was noted for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters. His best-known screen roles are probably Dr. Zaius in Planet of the Apes and as Samantha Stephens's father Maurice in Bewitched. He began his career on the Broadway stage in the 1930s and was noted for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters. He made his feature film debut in "Path to Glory" (1934), followed by "Scrooge" (1935). His other film credits include "Kind Lady" (1951), "Jack of Diamonds" (1967), "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), plus his role as Dr. Zaius in the sci-fi classics "Planet of the Apes" (1968) and "Beneath The Planet of The Apes" (1970). For television, he appeared on "Hallmark Hall of Fame" winning an Emmy Award for his performance in "Lady Macbeth" (1960). He also appeared as the Puzzler on the "Batman" series and as Maurice, Samantha's father on the sitcom show, "Bewitched". Evans brought his Shakespeare productions to Broadway many times, playing Hamlet on the Great White Way in four separate productions for a record grand total of 283 performances. He and Judith Anderson starred on Broadway several times in Macbeth. Their performances were once regarded as the definitive portrayals of these characters, although one dissenter was Orson Welles, who in Peter Bogdanovich's book This Is Orson Welles, stated that Evans, as an actor was "worse than bad – he was poor".

Not only did Evans appear on Broadway as Hamlet four times, but the productions of the play that he appeared in were consecutive revivals of it – no other actor played Hamlet on Broadway between 1938, when Evans first played him there, and 1946, which marked Evans's last Broadway Hamlet. Evans died of heart failure as a result of a bronchial infection, aged 87 in Rottingdean, East Sussex, England.