Arthur James "Art" Evans (born March 27, 1942) is an American actor who has made multiple film and television program appearances over the span of three decades.
Evans was born in Berkeley, California. His acting career, spanning over 30 years, started with Frank Silvera's Theater of Being in Los Angeles. He took a starring role in The Amen Corner which transferred to Broadway in 1965. His first uncredited acting performance in film was Claudine in 1974. His first credited role was in Chico and the Man as Bubba in the episode "Too Many Crooks" which aired in 1976.
He is probably best known for his role as Leslie Barnes in the action 1990s films Die Hard 2 in which he plays an air traffic control tower employee at Dulles International Airport that helps LAPD detective John McClane, played by Bruce Willis, stop terrorists from crashing planes. Evans has also appeared in Fright Night and Fright Night II as well as many appearances in a variety of television shows such as M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues, Monk, and Family Matters on which he played a man claiming to be Santa Claus.
In 1984, Evans co-starred in the all-star African-American drama "A Soldier's Story" as the memorable brown-nosing character Wilkie. His talents for many instruments came in handy when playing Blind Lemon Jefferson in the movie Leadbelly. In 1993, he appeared in the film Bitter Harvest as Earl Yates.
Also starred in the music video for Stevie Wonder's "Go Home".
In 2010, Art Evans was seen in Anderson's Cross playing the grandfather of the lead character Nick Anderson.
Famous quotes containing the words art and/or evans:
“... in the fierce competition of modern society the only class left in the country possessing leisure is that of women supported in easy circumstances by husband or father, and it is to this class we must look for the maintenance of cultivated and refined tastes, for that value and pursuit of knowledge and of art for their own sakes which can alone save society from degenerating into a huge machine for making money, and gratifying the love of sensual luxury.”
—Mrs. H. O. Ward (1824–1899)
“A rose must remain with the sun and the rain or its lovely promise won’t come true.”
—Ray Evans (b. 1915)