At the beginning of World War II, a group of Hollywood actors known as “The Culver City Commandos “ were drafted into the United States Army Air Corp’s First Motion Picture Unit based in Culver City, CA. They functioned as a public morale and information cinema repertory company, deployed in dozens of propaganda and training films. Over six feet tall and fresh to Hollywood, Craig Stevens spent the rest of the war making films like the 1941 production of Dive Bomber from which this authenticated publicity still comes. Never quite able to shake his “B” movie reputation after the war, Stevens gravitated to television. His breakout role was as “Peter Gunn” in 1958 in the eponymous series. Directed by Blake Edwards and with its still-famous, cool jazz theme composed by Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn brought Stevens national attention and turned a suave private eye into a cult hero. Our image, stamped "Vitagraph Corp Inc." in the lower left, captures a different time and view of young American masculinity: un-jaded and projecting an absolute belief in the righteousness of his cause. Stevens was married to actress Alexis Smith for 49 years. She predeceased him and when he died in 2000, the actor established Alexis and Craig Stevens Performing Arts Scholarship at the University of Kansas acting school, where he had studied. Condition: Excellent. Dimensions: 7.5" x 9.25".