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| ===Early life=== | ===Early life=== | ||
| Born in ], Surrey,<ref name=":0" /> and abandoned as a baby, Evans was educated at the orphanage boarding schools run by the Shaftesbury Homes, first at Fortescue House School in ] and then at Bisley Boys' School in ]. His acting ability was recognised at an early age and he often played the leading roles in school plays. He briefly lived in ] before moving to London. Evans attended the ] and later won a ] Scholarship to study at the ].<ref name=":0" /> | Born in ], Surrey,<ref name=":0" /> and abandoned as a baby, Evans was educated at the orphanage boarding schools run by the Shaftesbury Homes, first at Fortescue House School in ] and then at Bisley Boys' School in ]. His acting ability was recognised at an early age and he often played the leading roles in school plays. He briefly lived in ] before moving to London. Evans attended the ] and later won a ] Scholarship to study at the ].<ref name=":0" /> | ||
| ===Career=== | |||
| One of his first film credits was the lead role in ]'s film '']'' (1968) where he was cast as Jamie McGregor, a teenager who finds it difficult to lose his virginity. '']'' magazine called Evans a "bright and exciting new actor", and the '']'' described his screen debut as "brilliant". | |||
| ''Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush'' represented a breakthrough in a number of technical features: the script, the photography and the filming techniques. Jamie McGregor speaks his thoughts out loud. The soundtrack was also famous, containing mainly songs performed by ] and ]. The film was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the Festival was cancelled that year. The film saw the beginning of a long-lasting friendship between Barry Evans and the director, ], whom Evans regarded as one of his best friends. He worked with Donner again in 1969 in the historical epic '']''. | |||
| In 1969 Evans appeared alongside ] in an episode of the series '']'' entitled "The Killing Bottle", as a man planning to murder his brother for the inheritance. | |||
| His first major television role was in the sitcom '']'' (1969–70), based on ]'s series of novels, which had already been turned into a ]. Evans starred as the young student doctor Michael Upton, to whom Evans felt he bore no similarities. Following the show's success he starred in the sequel to the series, '']'' (1971). Evans enjoyed working with his fellow actors ], ], ] and ], and he later described these as the best years of his life.{{cn|date=September 2018}} Work on the "Doctor" series was extremely intense and left him no time to take on other roles; he therefore declined to appear in the sequels. However, in a later interview he stated that he had been "incredibly stupid" to turn the series down.<ref>"Back To Stardom via the Dole Queue by Barry Evans", TV Times 1977</ref> | |||
| In 1971 Evans played the character of Eli Frome in ]'s low-budget thriller '']'', alongside ]. In 1976 he had the lead role in ]'s sex comedy '']''. Unlike in ''Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush'', in which the viewer partakes in Jamie's thoughts, here Evans's character breaks the fourth wall throughout the film. Although the film was successful, Evans decided not to appear in the sequels, but he starred in the similarly themed '']'' the same year. | |||
| Evans also did some theatre work, but this did not prove financially worthwhile, and he spent several spells claiming benefits. He wrote to London Weekend Television, "and told them ... I was still alive".<ref>TV Times interview</ref> This led to what became his best-known comedy role, as Jeremy Brown in the ] sitcom '']'' (1977–79),<ref name=":0" /> which was a humorous look at an evening class tutor teaching English to foreign students. The series was immensely popular, both in the UK and internationally and more so in the countries the actors portrayed. The series was written by TV scriptwriter ], and was adapted for American TV as '']'' in 1986. In the same year it was briefly revived in Britain for a further 13 episodes.<ref name="independent">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-barry-evans-1278359.html|title=Obituary: Barry Evans|last=Hayward|first=Anthony|date=13 February 1997|work=The Independent|accessdate=8 July 2015}}</ref> | |||
| === Later career === | === Later career === | ||
Revision as of 11:34, 3 May 2020
For the soap opera character, see Barry Evans (EastEnders).
| Barry Evans | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Barry Evans as Jamie McGregor in Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968) | |
| Born | Barry Joseph Evans (1943-06-18)18 June 1943 Guildford, Surrey, England |
| Died | 9 February 1997(1997-02-09) (aged 53) Claybrooke Magna, Leicestershire, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1964–1993 |
Barry Joseph Evans (18 June 1943 – 9 February 1997) was an English actor best known for his appearances in British sitcoms such as Doctor in the House and Mind Your Language.
Biography
Early life
Born in Guildford, Surrey, and abandoned as a baby, Evans was educated at the orphanage boarding schools run by the Shaftesbury Homes, first at Fortescue House School in Twickenham and then at Bisley Boys' School in Bisley, Surrey. His acting ability was recognised at an early age and he often played the leading roles in school plays. He briefly lived in Yalding before moving to London. Evans attended the Italia Conti Academy and later won a John Gielgud Scholarship to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Later career
In 1982–83 Evans played Dick Emery's trusted assistant Robin Bright in the comedy thriller series Legacy of Murder, the first of Emery's shows to be shot entirely on film.
By the latter half of the 1980s Evans's youthful appearance was working against him and he found it difficult to obtain mature acting roles in keeping with his age. His last role was as Bazzard in the 1993 film adaptation of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. By the mid–1990s Evans was working as a minicab driver in Leicestershire.
TV credits
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Camera Three "Chips with Everything" |
First Airman | |
| 1964 | Redcap "The Boys of B Company" |
Tug Wilson | |
| 1965 | Undermind "Flowers of Havoc" |
Ted | |
| 1967 | Much Ado About Nothing | Coffee boy | |
| 1967 | The Baron "The Edge of Fear" |
Hotel porter | Uncredited |
| 1968 | Love Story "The Proposal" |
||
| 1969 | Journey to the Unknown "The Killing Bottle" |
Jimmy Rintoul | |
| 1969–1971 | Doctor in the House Doctor at Large |
Dr Michael Upton | |
| 1971 | ITV Playhouse "Like Puppies in a Basket" |
Tony | |
| 1971 | Thirty Minute Theatre "Blues in the Morning" |
Tommo | |
| 1972 | Late Night Theatre "Torquil" |
Joe | |
| 1975 | Crossroads | Trevor Woods | |
| 1977-1979 1986 |
Mind Your Language | Mr Jeremy Brown | |
| 1978 | Crown Court "Still Waters" |
Barry Sellars | |
| 1982 | Legacy of Murder | Robin Bright |
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | The White Bus | Boy | |
| 1967 | Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush | Jamie McGregor | |
| 1969 | Alfred the Great | Ingild | |
| 1971 | Journey to Murder | Jimmy Rintoul | (The Killing Bottle) |
| 1971 | Die Screaming, Marianne | Eli Frome | |
| 1976 | Adventures of a Taxi Driver | Joe North | |
| 1976 | Under the Doctor | Doctor Boyd, Psychiatrist/ Mr Johnson / Lt Cranshaw / Colin Foster |
|
| 1993 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Bazzard | (final film role) |
References
- ^ Hayward, Anthony (13 February 1997). "Obituary: Barry Evans". The Independent. London, UK. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
External links
- Barry Evans at IMDb
- "Coroner's Report". Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - Sheridan, Simon (2011). Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema (fourth ed.). Titan Books.
- Sheridan, Simon (2008). X-Rated – Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker. Reynolds & Hearn Books.