Wilbur "Wib" Evans (August , - May , ) was an American actor and
singer who performed on the radio, in opera, on Broadway, in films,
and in early live television.Evans was born in Philadelphia, the son
of W. Percy and Emma Whilt Evans, of Welsh descent. He had a brother,
Walter, and a sister, Emma, who died at an early age. As a child, he
sang with the Welsh Singing Society of Philadelphia and as a soloist
in the choir of the First Unitarian Church in the Germantown section
of the city. At Holmes Junior High School, he performed in his first
play, Daddy Long Legs. From - he attended West Philadelphia High
School For Boys. There he starred in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado
as Ko-Ko.After graduating from high school he was awarded a two-year
scholarship at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music. During his
second year at Curtis, in , he entered the first national radio
singing contest, the Atwater Kent Foundation National Radio Singing
Contest. Out of , contestants, Evans and Agnes Davis won the top
prizes for male and female contestants, Evans won $, in cash and a
two-year scholarship for his junior and senior years at Curtis. Some
have asserted that Evans and Davis were the 'first American Idols.' A
baritone, Evans performed in radio early his career. In , he moved to
Los Angeles to perform on the radio, in concerts and to try his hand
has a performer in the movie-talkie fever that was sweeping the land.
Having little financial success, at the age of twenty six he returned
to New York in and his burgeoning radio career. During this time he
signed with Columbia Concert Management Agency and its subsidiary
Cooperative-Community Concerts Bureau. They were known for sending out
salesmen en masse across the US and Canada, selling a roster of
concert series to larger towns- usually a singer, violinist, pianist
etc. These community concerts catered usually to the social leaders in
each city to promote their awareness of bringing musical culture to
their areas.
singer who performed on the radio, in opera, on Broadway, in films,
and in early live television.Evans was born in Philadelphia, the son
of W. Percy and Emma Whilt Evans, of Welsh descent. He had a brother,
Walter, and a sister, Emma, who died at an early age. As a child, he
sang with the Welsh Singing Society of Philadelphia and as a soloist
in the choir of the First Unitarian Church in the Germantown section
of the city. At Holmes Junior High School, he performed in his first
play, Daddy Long Legs. From - he attended West Philadelphia High
School For Boys. There he starred in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado
as Ko-Ko.After graduating from high school he was awarded a two-year
scholarship at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music. During his
second year at Curtis, in , he entered the first national radio
singing contest, the Atwater Kent Foundation National Radio Singing
Contest. Out of , contestants, Evans and Agnes Davis won the top
prizes for male and female contestants, Evans won $, in cash and a
two-year scholarship for his junior and senior years at Curtis. Some
have asserted that Evans and Davis were the 'first American Idols.' A
baritone, Evans performed in radio early his career. In , he moved to
Los Angeles to perform on the radio, in concerts and to try his hand
has a performer in the movie-talkie fever that was sweeping the land.
Having little financial success, at the age of twenty six he returned
to New York in and his burgeoning radio career. During this time he
signed with Columbia Concert Management Agency and its subsidiary
Cooperative-Community Concerts Bureau. They were known for sending out
salesmen en masse across the US and Canada, selling a roster of
concert series to larger towns- usually a singer, violinist, pianist
etc. These community concerts catered usually to the social leaders in
each city to promote their awareness of bringing musical culture to
their areas.
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