Craig Stevens (actor)

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Craig Stevens
Born	Gail Shikles, Jr. July 8, 1918 Liberty, Missouri
Died	May 10, 2000 Los Angeles, California
Spouse(s)	Alexis Smith (1944-1993)

Craig Stevens (July 8, 1918 – May 10, 2000) was an American motion picture and television actor.

[edit] Biography

Born Gail Shikles, Jr. in Liberty, Missouri, he studied dentistry at the University of Kansas. Acting with the university's drama club prompted him to give up on his studies and try to make it in the Hollywood film industry. Adopting the stage name Craig Stevens, he debuted in a small role in 1939 and thereafter played mainly secondary parts. In 1944, he married Canadian actress Alexis Smith to whom he was married for almost fifty years until her death in 1993.

After nearly twenty years in film, in 1958 Craig Stevens gained national prominence for his starring role as the "super-cool" private detective in the trend-setting television series Peter Gunn. The series was produced by Blake Edwards, who also wrote and directed many of the episodes. The theme music for the series was composed by Henry Mancini and helped establish his early fame.

Stevens was called on by Sir Lew Grade of ITV to move to London to play the lead role in a made for TV series called Man of the World in the early 1960s.

Stevens died in 2000 in Los Angeles, California from cancer at the age of 81.