Warwick Paul Evans
| Warwick Paul Evans | |
|---|---|
 Warwick Paul Evans.jpg Evans attending a function in Hong Kong in September 2013 | |
| Born | 8 April 1954 Fareham, Hampshire, England |
| 🏡 Residence | Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines |
| 🏳️ Nationality | British |
| 💼 Occupation | Actor, writer, broadcaster |
| 📆 Years active | 1973–present |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Maritess Ignacio (m. 1989) |
| 👶 Children | Amorette Celia Evans (b. 1993) |
| 👪 Relatives | Charles Evans (brother) Barnaby Evans (brother) Ingrid Evans (sister) |
Warwick Paul Evans (aka Warwick Evans, born 1954) is a British actor[1][2], writer and veteran broadcaster[3], known mainly as being the first person to play the role of Dracula in a Hong Kong movie[2], and for his work as a television news anchor for TVB Pearl[2][3][4] in Hong Kong in the 1980s. Warwick was also a founder member of Hong Kong's first professional theatre company Theatreast in 1979 and starred in its first 3 productions at the Shouson Theatre and the Arts Centre's Recital Hall. He was a well-known voice on radio news, as well as TV commercials & documentaries, and was a partner with Vaughan Savidge in a film dubbing company in the late 1970s[2]. In 1993 he again teamed up with Vaughan and Barry Bakker as a writer and actor in the RTHK satirical radio comedy series Double Take[5], which ran for 13 episodes. In 1998 he founded humorlinks.com, a humour-based website. He retired from RTHK in 2014 after working continuously with them for 22½ years[6], and returned to doing freelance voice work.
Early life
Evans, the youngest of four children, was born in Blackbrook House, Fareham, Hants.
In 1958, the family moved to London where he spent the rest of his childhood. At the age of 11 he was awarded a government "direct grant" scholarship to Alleyn's School, Dulwich, where he took a keen interest in music and drama, studying clarinet and taking part in several school plays.
Before moving on to the University of Warwick in 1973, Evans spent eight months in Hong Kong where he worked in various capacities, including film extra,[7] nightclub musician, newspaper reporter and private tutor. At university he studied pure mathematics for a year, but spent a large amount of his time in the studio of Radio Warwick where he gained his first on-air experience acting as head of news and a station manager. He left university in 1974 to pursue a career in broadcasting and acting.
Career
1970s
Warwick Paul Evans's first UK film role was as a Roman soldier in the 1976 TV movie Caesar and Cleopatra[2][8][9]. The stars of the film were Alec Guinness as Caesar, Geneviève Bujold as Cleopatra, Clive Francis, Margaret Courtenay, and Iain Cuthbertson. He then took a job at the theatrical costumiers Charles H Fox at 22, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, before finding a position as a bookkeeper in the General Accounting Unit of Shell UK Oil in Knightsbridge.
In early 1976 he returned to Hong Kong, eager to break into acting and broadcasting, and very soon worked as a continuity announcer and newsreader for Radio Television Hong Kong[9]. He simultaneously found work doing voice-overs for TV commercials and documentaries, and in 1977 became a regular face on Hong Kong TV as the host of TVB Pearl's weekly British Soccer Preview.[9]
"I knew this place had possibilities for someone outgoing who could push themselves. And I was unhappy in England."[9]
The same year saw him move to the big screen when he starred as Dracula in the Cantonese horror Gui Huo (The Gates of Hell)[1][2][9][10][11] alongside Li Tao-hung[12] and Li Ying,[13] directed by Lu Pao-lun[14] and produced by Yi Lung.[15]
"Eight teenage friends decide to go camping in an area known as 'Devil's Peak.' What follows is a dark night of terror, panic, abandonment and ultimate betrayal as the forces of evil are unleashed on the entire group."[11]
He continued his work in film alongside his radio career, appearing in two episodes of the TVB Jade drama series 家變 (Ga Bin)[16] and as a ringside commentator in the Bruce Lee movie Game of Death[17][2] (completed after Lee's death using footage already filmed). Evans was the voice behind the nightclub dwarf in God of Killers aka The Story of Woo Viet,[18] starring Chow Yun-fat and directed by Ann Hui. He also partnered Vaughan Savidge in a Cantonese-to-English film dubbing business, writing the scripts and taking numerous roles in many Kung Fu movies.[2]
In 1979 he became a founding member of Theatreast, Hong Kong's first professional theatre company, taking leading roles in its first three productions - Murderer by Anthony Shaffer, Spitting Image by Colin Spencer, and The Circus Adventure by James Ambrose Brown. All three plays were performed at the Hong Kong Arts Centre.
1980s
In April 1981, Evans received a call from the head of news at TVB inviting him to attend a screen test for the job of TV newsreader on its English channel TVB Pearl. Following the departure of long-time news anchor Richard Bellord[4] the following year, Evans became the station's main English news anchor[4][3], and resigned from his job at RTHK to devote himself fully to TV news presentation.[2]
Over the next 7 years, Evans developed his on-camera and voice-over career at TVB, and also engaged in several business ventures as sidelines. One of these was The Green Room in Minden Avenue in Kowloon. The concept was to provide a private supper club where media people could relax over a drink or two, but the venue was on the 4th floor of a building in a cul-de-sac and few people bothered to use it. On two occasions, however, it went from one extreme to the other when it played host to some American stars who were in Hong Kong filming two episodes of The Love Boat.[19] They included Lee Majors, Noel Harrison, Lauren Tewes and Herb Edelman[20][21]. They were accompanied by the former US vice president Spiro Agnew[20], who is said to have entertained all those present by playing several pieces on the piano.
After leaving TVB in 1988, Evans wrote and co-hosted a consumer programme called The Right Choice for Robert Chua Productions.[22] It was aired once a week. He joined Asia Television in early 1989, where he produced the daily news programme Breakfast Selections, a task which required him to work overnight. He left ATV in October as he was unhappy with the working conditions and felt his on-air talents were being wasted.
1990s
He returned to the microphone in mid-1991 as a sub-editor and newsreader with Commercial Radio Hong Kong, before moving back to his original Hong Kong employer, RTHK, in October of that year. He was employed as one of 4 sub-editors working 12½-hour shifts (two day shifts followed by two night shifts) - four days on, four days off.
In 1993, with the handover of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China fast approaching, Evans collaborated with two of his colleagues at RTHK, Vaughan Savidge and Barry Bakker, to create a weekly satirical radio programme called Double Take[5] playing on the paranoia sweeping through the territory at the time. The show was a runaway success and ran for a total of thirteen 15-minute episodes. Much of the material was later released as a CD, and in 1997 (the year of the handover) a double-CD was released, the Double Take Double CD, with added content.
In 1998 Evans founded the website humorlinks.com, which is still flourishing today. Originally just a series of links to humour sites, it is now described as "a club for comedians" and "a place to link up with others and share humorous material."
2000s
In 2000 Evans accepted an offer from the Hong Kong government to transfer his position with RTHK to become permanent and pensionable. The extra benefits enabled him to afford the mortgage on a small flat and he bought an apartment in South Horizons. However, government regulations meant he was no longer able to accept any outside work without prior written permission (a process that could take about 2 weeks) which effectively stopped him from doing anything except sub-editing and newsreading at RTHK for the following 14½ years.
2010s
Evans retired with a pension from RTHK on his 60th birthday on 8 April 2014[6]. He is now running several websites including Boracay Yellow Pages and HumorLinks plus a Facebook group called HK in the Colonial Era. He spends the rest of his time designing computerised train simulation routes for the Steam Workshop[23] affiliated with Dovetail Games.
Personal Life
Evans has lived and worked in Hong Kong continuously since 1976 and is a permanent resident, but maintains his UK citizenship. He owns an apartment in Hong Kong and a second house in the Philippines.
He has been married to teaching assistant Maritess Ignacio since 29 June 1989. They met at a Valentine's party at Hong Kong's Victoria Hotel. They have a daughter, Amorette Celia, who is an actress and singer in London.
His sister, Ingrid Evans[24], is an award-winning actress working in England.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role Played | Type | Genre | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Adventure in Denmark | Fight Attendee | Feature Film | Kung Fu Comedy | Minor Role |
| 1976 | Caesar & Cleopatra | Roman Soldier | TV Movie | Drama | Minor Role |
| 1977 | 家變 Ga Bin (A House Is Not a Home) | Mr Morris | TV Series | Drama | Minor Role |
| 1978 | Game of Death | Ringside Commentator | Feature Film | Kung Fu | Minor Role |
| 1981 | 鬼域 Gui Huo (The Gate of the Hell) | Dracula | Feature Film | Horror | Starring Role |
| 1981 | 胡越的故事 God of Killers | Nightclub Dwarf (voice) | Feature Film | Drama | Minor Role |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Warwick Paul Evans". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Homenick, Brett (2018-08-25). "FROM DRACULA TO DUBBING! Warwick Paul Evans on His Varied Career in Hong Kong Entertainment!". Vantage Point Interviews. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Pearl News at 7 (TV Series 1967– ) - IMDb, retrieved 2019-05-19
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "News At Seven". Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Evans, Warwick Paul. "Double Take". www.humorlinks.com. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "It was a warm and memorable retirement dinner and marked the end of an era…". plus.google.com. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
- ↑ Chun man Dan Mai (1973) - IMDb, retrieved 2019-05-19
- ↑ Jones, James Cellan (1976-02-01), Caesar and Cleopatra, retrieved 2016-01-23
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 "Hong Kong TV Times August 1977". Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- ↑ "Gui Huo (1981)". www.humorlinks.com. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Gui huo (1981) - IMDb, retrieved 2019-05-19
- ↑ "Tao Hung Li". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ↑ "Ying Li". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ↑ "Pao-Lun Lu". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ↑ "Lung Yi". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ↑ Ga bin, 1977-08-01, retrieved 2016-01-23
- ↑ Clouse, Robert; Lee, Bruce (1979-06-08), Game of Death, retrieved 2016-01-23
- ↑ Hui, Ann (1981-04-24), God of Killers, retrieved 2016-01-23
- ↑ "The Love Boat" Hong Kong Cruise: Polly's Poker Palace/Shop Ahoy/Double Date/The Hong Kong Affair/Two Tails of a City: Part 1 (TV Episode 1984) - IMDb, retrieved 2019-05-19
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Stars at the Green Room". Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- ↑ "The Love Boat" Hong Kong Cruise: Polly's Poker Palace/Shop Ahoy/Double Date/The Hong Kong Affair/Two Tails of a City: Part 2 (TV Episode 1984) - IMDb, retrieved 2019-05-19
- ↑ "Robert Chua". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ↑ "Steam Workshop :: Hampshire Lines - Steam Era". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
- ↑ "Ingrid Evans". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
External links
- Warwick Paul Evans at the Internet Movie Database
- Vantage Point Interviews FROM DRACULA TO DUBBING! Warwick Paul Evans on His Varied Career in Hong Kong Entertainment!
- The Gate of the Hell Full movie on YouTube
- Double Take Official Website of the 1993 radio series
- HumorLinks website founded and run by Warwick Evans
- Boracay Yellow Pages
- Hampshire Lines - Steam Era
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