Actor Rod Taylor dies in L.A. at 84

LOS ANGELES — Rod Taylor, the suave Australian actor whose brawny good looks made him a leading man for films ranging from Westerns to romantic comedies, has died. He was 84.

Taylor died in Los Angeles on Wednesday, his daughter, Felicia Taylor, told the Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press was not immediately able to contact her.

Taylor’s breakthrough came in 1960 with “The Time Machine,” George Pal’s special effects marvel in which Taylor’s dogged British inventor transports himself into a future where he witnesses world wars, nuclear annihilation and, finally, the rise of a new society.

From there, his career went on to blossom in Westerns (“The Train Robbers” with John Wayne), thrillers (Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”), dramas (John Ford’s “Young Cassidy”) and romantic comedies (“Sunday in New York” with Jane Fonda and “Do Not Disturb” and “The Glass Bottom Boat” with Doris Day).

A curiosity was the 1970 “Zabriskie Point,” Italian Michelangelo Antonioni’s venture into American filming. A murky attack on American mendacity that was filmed largely in Death Valley, it was a failure.

As his film career began to wind down, Taylor turned to television, where such series as “Hong Kong,” “Bobcats,” “The Oregon Trail,” “Masquerade” and “Outlaws” won him a new audience, although most of his shows lasted no more than a season. He also appeared in “Falcon Crest” toward the end of its run in the late `80s and voiced Pongo in Disney’s “101 Dalmatians.”

He began to produce and co-produce his later films and TV series, carefully investing the earnings in safe securities that ensured a comfortable retirement.

Later in life, Quentin Tarantino convinced Taylor to come out of retirement to play Winston Churchill in “Inglorious Basterds.”

Taylor was a pioneer of the Australian-New Zealand invasion of Hollywood that would come to include actors Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Nicole Kidman (born in Hawaii to Australian parents), Geoffrey Rush and Russell Crowe and directors Bruce Berenson, Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford, Baz Luhrman, Rob Marshall and Peter Jackson.

Taylor toiled to lose his Aussie accent, substituting it with a middle-Atlantic one that allowed him to play either American or English roles. In his early roles he was known as Rodney Taylor.

He had made two films in his native Australia. The second, “Long John Silver,” attracted the notice of the giant U.S. talent agency MCA, which summoned him to Hollywood in 1955.

“They thought they were going to get a look at the Australian Marlon Brando,” he commented in 1970. “Well, here was this tough boy in his too-tight English tweeds.”

The agency turned Taylor down, and he hired an independent agent who found him secondary roles in important films.

He played Debbie Reynolds’ fiance in “The Catered Affair,” Elizabeth Taylor’s failed suitor in “Giant,” and Eva Marie Saint’s would-be lover in “Raintree County,” and had brief roles in “Separate Tables” and “Ask Any Girl.”

As his star rose, Taylor earned a reputation as something of a Hollywood hellion, a hard-drinking, womanizing, combative man who enjoyed giving outspoken interviews punctuated with four-letter words.

Born in Sydney, Australia, he first sought a career as an artist before trying his hand at acting in small theatrical productions, which led to movie offers.

“I started out as a beatnik,” he explained in 1977. “I was a painter and a sculptor … I was a commercial illustrator in Australia for a while. I’m serious about my work.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.