Mark Stevens (actor)

Mark Stevens (born Richard William Stevens; December 13, 1916 – September 15, 1994) was an American actor who appeared in films and on television. He was one of four men who played the lead role in the television series Martin Kane, Private Eye, appearing in 1953–54.

Early life
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Stevens first studied to become a painter before becoming active in theater work. He then launched a radio career as an announcer in Akron.

Warner Bros.
Moving to Hollywood, Stevens became a Warner Bros. contract actor at $100 a week in 1943. The studio darkened and straightened his curly red hair and covered his freckles. At first he was billed as Stephen Richards, assigned to small, often uncredited parts in which he played servicemen in films such as Destination Tokyo (1943), Passage to Marseille (1944), The Doughgirls (1944), Hollywood Canteen (1944), Objective, Burma! (1945), God Is My Co-Pilot (1945), The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945), Rhapsody in Blue (1945) and Pride of the Marines (1945).

Career at 20th Century-Fox
Stevens was signed to 20th Century-Fox and changed his stage name to Mark Stevens at the suggestion of Darryl Zanuck.

His first film for the studio was Within These Walls (1945), playing the romantic male lead. Stevens was borrowed by RKO to play the lead role in From This Day Forward (1946) with Joan Fontaine.

At Fox, Stevens appeared in The Dark Corner (1946) with Lucille Ball and Clifton Webb, a film noir that attempted to repeat the success of Laura (1944). In 1946, exhibitors voted him the fifth-most promising "star of tomorrow."

Fox cast Stevens in the hit musical I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947), playing Joseph E. Howard. Also successful was The Street With No Name (1948), in which Stevens played an FBI man on an undercover assignment, and The Snake Pit (1948), in which he played Olivia de Havilland's loyal husband.

Stevens appeared in the Western Sand (1949) and another musical biopic with Haver, Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949), playing Fred Fisher. He supported William Powell in Dancing in the Dark (1949). He was borrowed by MGM to play Matthew Kinston, one of Deborah Kerr's three suitors in Please Believe Me (1950). For Columbia, he starred in the film noir Between Midnight and Dawn (1950).

Career after 20th Century-Fox
Stevens next signed a contract at Universal and appeared in Target Unknown (1951), Katie Did It (1951), Little Egypt (1951) and Reunion in Reno (1951).

In 1951, he starred in the DuMont series News Gal, which was later syndicated on ABC in 1957.

Stevens appeared in Mutiny (1952) for the King Brothers and traveled to England to appear in The Lost Hours (1952). He appeared in Torpedo Alley (1953) and took the lead role in the Martin Kane, Private Eye television series from 1953 to 1954.

From 1954 to 1956, Stevens played a newspaper managing editor in the series Big Town, having replaced Patrick McVey, who starred in the role from 1950 to 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.

As director
In the 1950s and 1960s, Stevens directed and starred in several features: Cry Vengeance (1954), Time Table (1956), Gun Fever (1958), Man on a Raft (1958), The Man in the Water (1963) and Sunscorched (film) (1965). In a contemporary review for Time Table, New York Times critic Milton Esterow called Stevens "the latest Hollywood triple-threat" for his versatility as a director, film actor and television star.

As an actor, he appeared in Gunsight Ridge (1956), September Storm (1960) and Fate Is the Hunter (1964).

Later career
Beginning in the 1960s, Stevens lived in semi-retirement in Spain. His occasional film credits included Spain Again (1969) and The Fury of the Wolfman (1972). In the 1980s, he made guest appearances on television shows including Magnum, P.I. and Murder, She Wrote.

Death
On September 15, 1994, Stevens died of cancer in Mallorca, Spain at the age of 77.

For his contribution to the television industry, Mark Stevens has a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame at 6637 Hollywood Boulevard.