Happy Birthday to Rod Taylor
Australian actor Rod Taylor turns 84 today. Taylor was born in Sydney on January 11, 1930.
The handsome, charming Taylor's film career has spanned 1951 to 2009, with the actor most recently appearing as Winston Churchill in Quentin Tarantino's INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009). His credits include providing a leading voice in a classic Disney film and working with everyone from Alfred Hitchcock to George Stevens to George Pal and, briefly, John Ford.
Taylor's TV roles have included an extended run as Frank Agretti on FALCON CREST in the late '80s and playing "Black Jack" Bouvier, the father of JACQUELINE BOUVIER KENNEDY (1981), starring Jaclyn Smith.In 2010 a biography of Taylor was published by Bear Manor Media, ROD TAYLOR: AN AUSSIE IN HOLLYWOOD by Stephen Vagg.
The Complete Rod Taylor Site has gathered considerable information on the actor. An interesting bit of family trivia shared there: Rod's daughter, Felicia Taylor, is a business anchor for CNN.
Mr. Taylor's films have brought me a great deal of enjoyment over the years, with many more still ahead of me to explore for the first time. Best wishes to him for a very happy birthday!
Rod Taylor films previously reviewed here: TOP GUN (1955), ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS (1961), THE BIRDS (1963), SUNDAY IN NEW YORK (1963), FATE IS THE HUNTER (1964), DO NOT DISTURB (1965), THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT (1966), and THE TRAIN ROBBERS (1973).Other roles include THE CATERED AFFAIR (1956), GIANT (1956), SEPARATE TABLES (1958), THE TIME MACHINE (1960), THE V.I.P.s (1963), 36 HOURS (1965), YOUNG CASSIDY (1965), HOTEL (1967), and DARK OF THE SUN (1968).
January 8, 2015 Update: Very sad news today, Rod Taylor has passed away days short of turning 85.
My obituary tribute to Rod Taylor may be found here.
posted by Laura @ 9:56 AM
10 Comments:
He's one of those rare cross-over crushes being adored by my mom, myself and my daughter. Looks like we have a type and it's the Rod Taylor type.
Definitely crush-worthy! :) LOL.
Best wishes,
Laura
Always have loved him. The Time Machine is one of my earliest film memories because my parents both loved it. Happy birthday, Rod!
Glad you gave this tribute to Rod. It seems to me he is an actor everybody likes! It's that smile of his!
Hi Deb! I need to see THE TIME MACHINE! How neat it's one of your earliest film memories. :)
It's funny that ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS is a fairly early film memory for me but I didn't realize it was Rod Taylor's voice until a few years ago!
Hope to see you in 2014! Do you think you might attend any of the Anthony Mann Westerns at UCLA this in the coming months?
Best wishes,
Laura
Thanks, Vienna! In so many of his films he's such a genial guy, and he has some really good comic timing. Doesn't hurt that he's also so handsome. :)
Best wishes,
Laura
He's one of those actors that could fit into most genre's very easily. Ladies liked him for his handsome looks and us guys liked him for his ruggedness and tough guy persona. Amazing how many other solid stars he appeared with over the years as he worked his way up the ladder.
Laura, you've never seen "The Time Machine"? One of the most beloved sci-fi films ever made. A wonderful picture and Taylor is PERFECT as "George"......The WB Archive has announced that this title will be released in Blu-ray sometime this year....HOORAY!
Brad
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mike and Brad! It's great to see how many fans Rod Taylor has.
Brad, I recorded THE TIME MACHINE from TCM, just need to get around to checking it off my "to watch" list! LOL. Looking forward to it. :)
Best wishes,
Laura
Rod was always good even in bad movies.
I felt that "beefcake" actors like Rod,Stuart Whitman
and Clint Walker sort of got sidetracked when the public
taste changed towards leaner meaner stars like McQueen,
Eastwood and Coburn.
If ever a film was MADE for Blu-Ray it's THE TIME MACHINE
if you have never seen it all I can say it's like tasting
key lime pie for the first time.....that is,if you like
key lime pie as much as I do!
Post a Comment
<< Home