Charles Evans (businessman)
| Charles Evans | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 13, 1926 Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 2, 2007 (aged 81) Manhattan, New York City, New York U.S. |
| Occupation | Founder, Evan-Picone fashion house; motion picture producer |
| Spouse(s) | Frances (div. 1967); second wife (name and dates of marriage not known); third wife (name and dates of marriage not known); Bonnie Lynn Pfeifer Evans (m. 2005; survived him) |
| Children | Elizabeth (died 1975); Melissa (died 1975); Charles Jr. |
| Parent(s) | Archie and Florence (Krasne) Shapera |
Charles Evans (May 13, 1926 — June 2, 2007) was an American business leader. He co-founded the women's fashion house Evan-Picone in 1949 and sold it to Revlon in 1962. He and his brother-in-law, Michael Shure, then founded Evans Partnership, a real estate investment firm. In 1981, he purchased the screenplay for the comedy Tootsie (1982). His brother is Robert Evans, who produced numerous motion pictures, including Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Godfather (1972), and Chinatown (1974).
Evans was born Charles Shapera on May 13, 1926 in Manhattan, New York, in the United States, to Archie and Florence (Krasne) Shapera. His father was a dentist with a successful practice in Harlem. He had a younger brother, Robert, and sister, Alice. While in his late teens, Charles' father asked his sons to change their last name to their paternal grandmother's maiden name of "Evan". (The name change was seen as a way of honoring her, as she had only a short time to live.) Charles and Robert kept the "s" as an homage to the Shapera family name. Charles was something of a conformist as a teenager. He graduated from the Horace Mann School in New York City, and attended the University of Miami.
He began serving in the United States Army in 1944 during World War II, and left military service in 1946.
After leaving the Army, Evans found work in an aunt's clothing store in New York City as a salesman. In 1949, Evans conceived of adding a fly to women's skirts. He approached Joseph Picone, a 31-year-old tailor and immigrant from Sicily who made clothes for Archie Evans, and asked him to manufacture a sample. With seed money from Evans' father, Evans and Picone formed a company that same year named Evan-Picone to make and sell their product. (To make the company name easier to pronounce, the "s" was dropped from Evans.) Picone set up an assembly line to manufacture the skirts in a storefront located at Fifth Avenue and East 46th Street. The company was the first to use darts in the pockets of women's clothing, to inhibit rips and tears. The skirts were a sudden success, and the company quickly expanded into high-end, hand-stitched women's slacks as well. Evans hired his mother, Florence, to be the chief sales manager. He also hired his brother Robert as a salesman. Charles Evans became one of the first celebrity fashion designers. Within two years, Evans, his brother, and Picone were millionaires. In 1962, Revlon purchased Evan-Picone for $12 million in cash.
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