Hollywood mogul Robert Evans, iconic producer of ‘Chinatown’ and ‘The Godfather’, dies at 89
- The ever-tanned, large glasses-wearing Robert Evans was one of Hollywood’s most flamboyant personalities
Robert Evans, the protean, fast-living Hollywood producer and former Paramount Pictures production chief who backed such seminal 1970s films as Chinatown and The Godfather has died. He was 89.
A larger-than-life figure, Evans was known in Tinseltown both for saving Paramount Pictures by greenlighting a string of hits, and for his tabloid lifestyle including cocaine addiction and seven marriages.
Evans’ death was confirmed Monday by his publicist, and by a second person close to the producer. No details were immediately available.
Evans took over as Paramount’s head of production in 1966 aged just 36, ushering in a highly successful era for the studio including Rosemary’s Baby (1968) with director Roman Polanski, followed by Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972).
Coppola paid tribute Monday to Evans’ “charm, good looks, enthusiasm, style, and sense of humour”.