Robert Evans ‘Chinatown’ and ‘Godfather’ producer dies at 89

Robert Evans, the former Paramount studio chief, died at the age of 89. The Hollywood mogul oversaw the production of classics such as “Chinatown”, “The Godfather” and “Love Story”.

Evan’s death was announced by his publicist on Monday.

He helped rebuild the faltering Paramount with films such as “The Odd Couple,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Goodbye, Columbus,” “The Italian Job” and “Lady Sings the Blues.”

Bob Evans married seven times and his colourful life was documented in his 1994 memoir “The Kid Stays in the Picture” which was also developed into a documentary film in 2002.

“There are three sides to every story: my side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying,” Evans once famously said. “Memories shared serve each one differently.”

His life was often a troubled one. In 1980, he pleaded guilty to a cocaine charge. He produced only two films for the next few years. These were “The Cotton Club” and Chinatown’s sequel “The Two Jakes”.

Hollywood paid Tribute to Robert Evans

Actress Ali McGraw released a statement saying, “Our son, Joshua, and I will miss Bob tremendously, and we are so very proud of his enormous contribution to the Film Industry. He will be remembered as a giant.”

Director Francis Ford Coppola said in a statement that he would remember Evans’ “charm, good looks, enthusiasm, style and sense of humor.”

“He had strong instincts as evidenced by the long list of great films in his career,” the filmmaker said. “When I worked with Bob, some of his helpful ideas included suggesting John Marley as Woltz and Sterling Hayden as the Police Captain, and his ultimate realization that `The Godfather’ could be 2 hours and 45 minutes in length; also, making a movie out of `The Cotton Club’ — casting Richard Gere and Gregory Hines, and bringing Milena Canonero, George Faison, Richard Sylbert, and many other talented people to work on the film. May the kid always stay in the picture.”

“Chinatown” writer Robert Towne said of working with Evans: “When push came to shove, he didn’t care about the publicity or the deadline or anything. `Fuck it. I just want it to be good.’ It was said with such feeling. And it coincided with what I wanted too. He was wonderful and infuriating and I loved him very much.”

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