Jason Evers LOS ANGELES--Handsome leading man Jason Evers, a stage actor who also appeared in dozens of TV programs, as well as movies including "Escape From the Planet of the Apes," "The Illustrated Man" and "The Green Berets," died here March 13 of heart failure. He was 83. MSTies will remember him as determined head transplanter Dr. Bill Cortner in the movie in episode 513- THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE. Born Herbert Evers in New York City's Bronx, the son of a theatrical ticket agent, he became interested in acting as a youngster. He dropped out of De Witt Clinton High School after getting an apprenticeship with a theatrical touring company. In 1942 he got his big break in a popular Broadway comedy called "Janie." He left the role to spend two years in uniform during World War II, then resumed his career, spending the rest of the '40s and '50s in road company productions and occasionally on Broadway. He married and later divorced actress Shirley Ballard. In 1960, Evers changed his named from Herb to Jason and headed to the West Coast in search of movie and TV work. He soon found it, guest starring in a who's who of memorable TV series including "Gunsmoke," "Star Trek," "The Guns of Will Sonnett," "Bonanza," "Perry Mason," "Surfside 6," "The Defenders," "Branded, "Death Valley Days" "The Big Valley," "Combat!" "The Invaders," "The Wild Wild West," "Mannix," "Mission: Impossible," "The Mod Squad," "Hawaii Five-O," "The Streets of San Francisco," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "McMillan and Wife," "The Bionic Woman," "The Rockford Files," "Charlie's Angels," "Happy Days," "The Fall Guy," "Knight Rider," "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Murder, She Wrote," "The A-Team" and "Matlock." His career wound down in the 1980s and he retired. Evers is survived by a sister and a cousin.