Rod Taylor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rod Taylor
|
|
|---|---|
Taylor in The V.I.P.s (1963)
|
|
| Born |
Rodney Sturt Taylor
11 January 1930 Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia
|
| Died | 7 January 2015 (aged 84) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
|
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California, U.S. |
| Education | University of New South Wales |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1950–2009 |
| Spouse(s) |
Peggy Williams
(m. 1951; div. 1954)Mary Hilem
(m. 1963; div. 1969)Carol Kikumura
(m. 1980) |
| Children | Felicia Taylor |
Rodney Sturt Taylor (born January 11, 1930 – died January 7, 2015) was an Australian actor. He starred in over 50 movies. Some of his most famous films include The Time Machine (1960), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Birds (1963), and Inglourious Basterds (2009).
Contents
About Rod Taylor
Rodney Sturt Taylor was born in Lidcombe, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. His father worked with steel and was an artist. His mother was a writer who wrote many children's books. Rod was their only child. His middle name, Sturt, came from his great-great-granduncle, Captain Charles Sturt. Captain Sturt was a famous British explorer in Australia.
Early Life and Becoming an Actor
Rod went to Parramatta High School. He later studied art at the East Sydney Technical and Fine Arts College. His mother really wanted him to be an artist. For a while, he worked as a commercial artist, designing displays for stores.
However, Rod decided to become an actor after seeing a play called Richard III. The famous actor Laurence Olivier was in the play. This experience made Rod want to act instead of paint.
Rod's Acting Journey
Starting in Australia
Rod Taylor began his acting career in Australia. He worked a lot in radio and on stage. He even played the role of Tarzan on the radio! To support himself, he designed window displays for a department store in Sydney.
In 1951, Rod took part in a re-enactment of Charles Sturt's journey down two rivers in Australia. He played Sturt's assistant, George Macleay. This was even made into a short documentary film called Inland with Sturt (1951).
Rod made his first big movie appearance in the Australian film King of the Coral Sea (1954). He played an American character. After this, he was in another film shot in Sydney called Long John Silver (1954). This movie was a follow-up to Treasure Island. Because of these roles, Rod won an award in 1954 for being the best Australian radio actor. The award included a trip to London, but Rod decided to stay in Los Angeles instead.
Moving to Hollywood
Once in Hollywood, Rod quickly found roles in TV shows like Studio 57. He also appeared in movies such as Hell on Frisco Bay (1955) and Giant (1956). In 1955, he was a guest star in an episode of the TV Western series Cheyenne.
Rod tried out for a role in the movie Somebody Up There Likes Me. He didn't get that part, but the studio was very impressed with his acting. They offered him a long-term contract. At the studio, he played supporting roles in films like The Catered Affair (1956) and Raintree County (1957). He also had an important role in Separate Tables (1958).
Rod also made a strong impression in a famous TV show called The Twilight Zone. He appeared in an episode titled "And When the Sky Was Opened" (1959).
Becoming a Movie Star
Rod Taylor's first main role in a movie was in The Time Machine (1960). This was a science-fiction film based on a book by H. G. Wells. Rod played the time traveler, H. George Wells.
Around 1960, Rod was offered the chance to play James Bond in the very first James Bond movie. However, he turned it down because he thought the character wasn't right for him. Later, he said he regretted that decision every time a new Bond movie became a huge hit!
In 1961, Rod voiced the character of Pongo, a Dalmatian dog, in Disney's animated movie One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
One of his most famous roles was in Alfred Hitchcock's scary thriller The Birds (1963). Rod played Mitch Brenner, a man whose town is attacked by birds. After that, he starred with Jane Fonda in the romantic comedy Sunday in New York (1963).
During the mid-1960s, Rod made many movies. These included The V.I.P.s (1963) with Elizabeth Taylor, and comedies with Doris Day like Do Not Disturb (1965) and The Glass Bottom Boat (1966).
Later, he started taking on more "tough-guy" roles. He starred in movies like Chuka (1967), which he also produced, and Dark of the Sun (1968). He also played an Australian police sergeant in Nobody Runs Forever (1968).
Later Career and Final Roles
In 1973, Rod Taylor starred in the Western film The Train Robbers with his friend John Wayne. This movie was very popular. Rod also had several roles in TV series, including Bearcats! (1971) and The Oregon Trail (1976). From 1988 to 1990, he was a regular on the TV drama Falcon Crest.
In the mid-1990s, he appeared in episodes of popular shows like Murder, She Wrote and Walker, Texas Ranger.
Rod also returned to Australia several times to make films. He played a traveling showman in The Picture Show Man (1977). By the late 1990s, Rod began to slow down his acting work.
His very last movie role was in Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds in 2009. In this movie, he played a fictional version of Winston Churchill, a famous British leader. In 2017, a documentary about Rod's life called "Pulling No Punches" was released.
Rod's Family Life
Rod Taylor was married three times. His first wife was Peggy Williams (1951–1954).
His second marriage was to Mary Hilem (1963–1969). They had one daughter together, Felicia Taylor (born 1964), who later became a financial reporter for CNN.
He married his third wife, Carol Kikumura, in 1980. They had met in the early 1960s when she was an extra on his TV series Hong Kong. They got back together in 1971 and were together for nine more years before getting married.
His Passing
Rod Taylor passed away from a heart attack at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on January 7, 2015. He was surrounded by his family. He died just four days before his 85th birthday. He is survived by his wife, Carol, and his daughter, Felicia.
Images for kids
-
Rod Taylor in The V.I.P.s (1963)
See also
In Spanish: Rod Taylor para niños
