Robert Evans (born June 29, 1930) is an American film producer best known for his work on Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, The Godfather and Chinatown as well as his seven marriages.

Early life and acting career

Evans was born Robert J. Shapera in New York City, New York, the son of Florence (née Evans), a housewife who came from a wealthy family, and Archie Shapera, a dentist in Harlem.www.filmreference.com/film/94/Robert-Evans.html He grew up on New York City's Upper West Side during the 1930s, where he was better off than most people living during the Great Depression. In his early years, he did promotional work for Evan Picone, a fashion company founded by his brother, in addition to doing voice work on radio shows.

He was spotted by actress Norma Shearer next to the pool at The Beverly Hills Hotel on election day 1956; she successfully touted him for the role of her late husband Irving Thalberg in Man of a Thousand Faces. The same year, Evans also caught the eye of Darryl F. Zanuck, who cast him as Pedro Romero in a film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, against the wishes of Hemingway himself. In 1959, he appeared in Twentieth Century Fox's production of The Best of Everything with Hope Lange, Diane Baker, and Joan Crawford.