Craig Stevens(1918-2000)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born in Liberty, Missouri, as Gail Shikles Jr., tall, suave Craig
Stevens will forever be remembered for his role as the cool, laid-back
private eye Peter Gunn (1958), a ground-breaking show that ushered in the era of
tough but smooth private eyes who were handy with their fists and with
the ladies, and which also pioneered the use of jazz as not only
background music but its main theme song. Stevens was attending Kansas
University and planning a career in dentistry when he began performing
in student plays at the university. Bitten by the acting bug, he moved
to California, and in 1941 was signed by Warner Bros., where he met his
future wife, Alexis Smith. Although never a front-rank star, Stevens played
many second-leads through the 1940s and 1950s. Sci-fi fans will know
him best as the lead in the somewhat cult-classic The Deadly Mantis (1957). With his
film career in a rut, he moved over to television, and it was there he
made his mark in the landmark "Peter Gunn" series. He made many
guest-starring appearances in TV series over the years, had
recurring roles in such series as Dallas (1978) and starred in ITC's Man of the World (1962). He retired after
a role in his old friend Blake Edwards' 1981 film S.O.B. (1981).
