Sam Evans was a painter who lived in Collinsport, Maine. He lived in a small cottage with his daughter Maggie.
Background
In the mid-1930s, Sam struck up a long-lasting friendship with Bill Malloy (40).
Marriage
According to Bill Malloy, Sam's wife was very proud of him (40). She was the one who had proposed marriage to him (35). She died at some point prior to 1967, and he kept a portrait around that he'd once sketched of her (12, 22). They had a daughter Maggie together (5).
Burke Devlin
Sam was good friends with Burke Devlin, who often posed for him as a kid (19). A portrait of Burke in 1957 would remained unfinished as Burke was tried and sent to prison for manslaughter that year (7). Sam was somehow involved in the case, but only he and Roger Collins knew what had really happened (22). In order to keep Sam quiet, Roger paid him $15,000 under the pretense of buying some paintings (19, 39).
After the trial, Sam started drinking heavily, much to the dismay of his daughter. It was a habit he was never able to break (7). Burke wrote several letters to him from prison, but the guilt prevented Sam from ever responding (22).
Burke returned to Collinwood in 1967, causing great panic and fear in both Sam and Roger, a fact which didn't go unnoticed by Maggie (12). Burke visited Sam at home and commisioned him to paint his portrait for $1,000 (22). Sam tried to dissuade Burke, telling him he hadn't done a portrait in years, but Burke upped the price to $1,500 and Sam reluctantly agreed (35). When Roger got wind of the commision, he threatened Sam. Fearing for his life, Sam decided to write a full confession, which he sealed and gave to Maggie with explicit instructions to put in a safe place and open only if something happened to him (37).
Bill Malloy was quick to realize that something was up between Roger and Sam. Finding the two men arguing at Sam's house, Bill later got Sam drunk and extracted the confession that Sam was the only thing standing between Roger Collins and a prison sentence. Rather than watch Burke destroy the Collins family, Bill set out to prove Burke's innoncent to protect Elizabeth (39, 40).
Miscellaneous
Sam spoke to Elizabeth Collins Stoddard a few times in his life before she became a recluse, even visiting Collinwood once (36, 39).
Sam was left-handed (37).
Appearances
5 7 11 12 19 20 22 35 36 37 39 40 222 224 225/226 227 229 230 231
- Sam Evans was played by Mark Allen for his first seven appearances, then by David Ford for the remainder of the character's run.