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Warren Stevens (1919–2012)
Warren Stevens | "Star Trek: By Any Other Name" (1968)
Warren Stevens was born, November 2, 1919 in Clark's Summit, Pennsylvania, and died on March 27, 2012 (age 92) in Sherman Oaks, California. He became an actor by way of Annapolis. Stevens, followed the family's wishes and joined the Navy when he turned seventeen. During four years as an enlisted man he studied for an appointment to Annapolis and was accepted.
While attending the Naval Academy, however, he met Bob Porterfield, who owned the Barter Theatre. Stevens, who had always wanted to pursue an acting career since he had his own band as a teenager, decided now to take his desire seriously.
Stevens did twelve weeks of summer stock in the Virginia Straw-hatter where he became friends with Gregory Peck and Ken Toby. They arranged interviews for him at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City where he studied with Sanford Meisner, Martha Graham and Lehman Engel.
Stevens, who later became one of the regular players on NBC-TV's "Richard Boone Show", interrupted his career following Pearl Harbor to join the Air Force as a pilot. He spent two and a half years as a special. instructor. When he was discharged as a first Leutenant he found that he had to start all over again on his acting career.
"I starved for a while, picking up radio assignments to help out," he said, "It was the much maligned soap operas, however, which saved my neck".
He did summer stock around the Eastern Seaboard and became a charter member of the newly formed Actor's Studio in 1947, There he appeared opposite Phyllis Thaxter in "Sundown Beach," a play by Elia Kazan. The cast included Julle Harris, Cloris Leachman and Alex Nicol. The role brought Stevens his first recognition.
He followed this with "Smile at the World" by Garson Kanin, In which he co-starred with Ruth Gordon and Otto Kruger. Finally, the big chance came when he was offered the key role in "Detective Story" on Broadway, a role he played for almost two years.
Occasional TV work gave his career a steady uplift. In 1950 he signed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox, During his two years there he appeared in nine features, including "Frogmen," "Phone Call from a Stranger," "Deadline USA", "I Don't Care Girl" and "Wait Till the Sun Shines Nellie".
He decided to freelance after that, commuting from coast to coast while working in films, on the stage and in television.
In 1954 he landed the most challenging film assignment to date in his career the role of Kirk Edwards "the heavy" in "The Barefoot Contessa" along side Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, and Edmond O'Brien
Other screen credits since then include "Shark River", "Black Tuesday", "Duel on the Mississippi", "Forbidden Planet", "Threshold of Space", "Cry innocent", "Forty Pounds of Trouble", "Gunpoint", "Madame X", "An American Dream", "Cyborg", "Madigan", "The Student Body", "The Amazing Captain Nemo", "Stoker Ace", and "Chill Factor" among others
Stevens guest-starred in virtually all major shows on TV in the 60's through the 90's including "Playhouse 90", "Climax," "The Defenders", "Wagon Train", "Have Gun, Will Travel", "Twilight Zone", "Gunsmoke", "Have Gun Will Travel", "Combat!", "The Outer Limits", "Bonanza", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E", "The Big Valley", "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", "Star Trek", "Ironside", "Mission: Impossible", "Cannon", "Marcus Welby, M.D.", "M*A*S*H", and "Wonder Woman", to name but a few. He also had his own series, co-starring regularly as Lt. William Storm in NBC's "The 77th Bengal Lancers".
After reviewing Warren Steven's credits, we determined that we had to drop the following partial list of players with whom he has shared the screen: Dana Andrews, Anne Bancroft, Ralph Bellamy, Betty Davis, Jacqueline Bisset, Richard Boone, Humphrey Bogart, Lee J. Cobb, Tony Curtis, Howard Duff, Ann Francis, Ava Gardener, Lee Grant, Charles Laughton, Janet Lee, Ida Lupino, Shirley MacLaine, Harry Morgan, Edmond O'Brien, Merle Oberon, Walter Pidgeon, Edward G. Robinson, Inger Stevens, Lana Turner, Richard Widmark, Shelly Winters, now who's left?
Stevens was a voracious reader, preferring non-fiction books on virtually all subjects and was at one point writing his memoirs. This undertaking had taken him some time, and if completed, would truly have qualified as a 'Who's-Who' of Hollywood's Golden Era. Unfortunately they never made it to publication.
First of all, pursue your dream... Don't let anything deter you from that!
And as far as the actual performing aspect is concerned, for me, economy has been the key. Less is best!ACTING IS AN ANCIENT AND NOBLE PROFESSION...
Let's keep it that way!
Major Whitmore (segment "A Day in Beaumont")
Senator Bundy Silverlake / Senator Silverlake
Internal Affairs Lieutenant
Neil Armitage
Elliott Gaynor / Lt. Col Orville Hazlitt / District Attorney Clayton / ...
Lieutenant Baker
Chief of Obstetrics
Clifford Judd / LAPD Lt. Wharton
Karl de Groot / Thor Coffin / Frank Layton
Paul Carson / Richard Pierce / Ray Harding
Owen Driscoll / Sam Bragan / Count Alexis / ...
John Bracken
Olds / Capt. Ashim
Commander Van Wyck / Sam Garrity / Forester
Capt. Thomas Dabney
Capt. Robert George / Mathew Eliot / Edward Eliot
Sgt. Frank Griffin
Maj. 'Doc' Harlow, M.D.
Sgt. Hagen / Sgt. Walter
Sheriff Boyd Stevens
Mark Claridge / Brad Marshall
Lt. Bob Doran / Drake / Jesse
Capt. Dennis Jenks
Arthur Strickland
Mark Wilton / Alden Ritter / Detective Sgt. Phil Hadley
Arnold Layton
Lt. Gov. Edward Clark
Prof. Eric Plummer
James O'Brien / Maj. Tegu Laund / Carl Macklin / ...
Smits / Mel Dixon
Colonel Draco / Costigan / Major J. Wilson
Lucas / Frank Cassidy / Jim Rackmil
Leslie Stone / Richard Crown
Allen Forrest / Dr. Terence Bilson / Ed Leggett / ...
Jack Thorne / Jonas Parker
Sebastian / Arnie Helmen
Eric Williams / Dr. Thomas Elliot
Nathan 'Nate' Bledsoe
Lt. Governor Owens
John William Carpenter
Henry Oliver / Phil
Lieutenant William Storm
Jeff Simmons / Perry Stanger
Alex Trevellyn
Prof. Richard Sheldon / Ted Heller
Larry / Joe / Roy Lomax / ...
Sgt. John Hammond
BROADWAY / N.Y.
- Galileo (1947)
- Sundown Beach (1948)
- Smile of the World (1949)
- Dectitive Story (1949)
* © 1954 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
