Don Taylor (American actor and director)

For the English TV writer and director, see Don Taylor (director born 1936).

For other people named Don Taylor, see Don Taylor (disambiguation).

Don Taylor
File:Don Taylor (Father's Little Dividend).JPG Don Taylor in Father's Little Dividend (1951)
Born	(1920-12-13)December 13, 1920 Freeport, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart failure
Occupation	Actor, film director
Years active	1943-88
Spouse(s)	Phyllis Avery (m. 1944–55) (divorced) 2 daughters Hazel Court (m. 1964–98) (his death) 2 children (1 daughter, 1 son)

Don Taylor (December 13, 1920 – December 29, 1998) was an American actor and film director. He co-starred in 1950s classics, including Stalag 17, Father of the Bride, and the 1948 film noir The Naked City. He later turned to directing films such as Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Tom Sawyer (1973), and Damien: Omen II (1978).

Biography

Early life and work

Born in Freeport, Pennsylvania, on December 13, 1920, Taylor studied speech and drama at Penn State University and hitchhiked to Hollywood in 1942. He was signed as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appeared in small roles. Drafted into the United States Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, he appeared in the Air Forces's Winged Victory Broadway play and movie (1944), credited as "Cpl. Don Taylor."

Acting career

After discharge from the AAF, Taylor was cast in a lead role as the young detective, Jimmy Halloran, working alongside veteran homicide detective Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) in Universal's 1948 screen version of The Naked City, which was notable for being filmed entirely on location in New York. Taylor was later part of the ensemble cast in MGM's classic World War II drama Battleground (1949). He then appeared as the husband of Elizabeth Taylor in the comedies Father of the Bride (1950) and its sequel Father's Little Dividend (1951), starring Spencer Tracy. Another memorable role was Vern "Cowboy" Blithe in Flying Leathernecks (1951). In 1953, Taylor had a key role as the escaping prisoner Lt. Dunbar in Billy Wilder's Stalag 17. His last major film role came in I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955).

Directorial career

From the late 1950s through the 1980s, Taylor turned to directing movies and TV shows, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the short-lived Steve Canyon, starring Dean Fredericks, and Rod Serling's Night Gallery. One of his memorable efforts, in 1973, was the musical film Tom Sawyer, which boasted a Sherman Brothers song score. Other films that Taylor directed are Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Echoes of a Summer (1976), The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (also 1976), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) starring Burt Lancaster, Damien: Omen II (1978) with William Holden, and The Final Countdown (1980) with Kirk Douglas.

Taylor occasionally performed both acting and directing roles simultaneously, as he did for episodes of the TV detective series Burke's Law.

Personal life

Taylor was married twice.

• His first wife was Phyllis Avery, whom he married in 1944; they divorced in 1955, but not before the births of their daughters Anne and Avery.
• His second wife was Hazel Court, whom he married in 1964 and stayed with until his death; they had a son, Jonathan, and a daughter, Courtney.

Death

Taylor died on December 29, 1998 at the University of California Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, of heart failure.

Awards

• Nominee Best Director - Saturn Awards (The Island of Dr. Moreau) (1977)
• Nominee Best Director-Comedy - Emmy Awards (The Farmer's Daughter) (1963)

Selected filmography as director

In addition to his Hollywood credits, Taylor directed 27 television movies and episodes for 53 television series including Cannon, Rod Serling's Night Gallery, Mod Squad, It Takes a Thief, The Big Valley, The Flying Nun, Vacation Playhouse, The Tammy Grimes Show, The Wild Wild West, Burke's Law, The Rogues, The Farmer's Daughter, The Lloyd Bridges Show, The Dick Powell Theatre, Dr. Kildare, Checkmate, 87th Precinct, Zane Grey Theater, The Rifleman, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and others.

• Everything's Ducky (1961)
• Ride the Wild Surf (1964)
• Jack of Diamonds (1967)
• The Five Man Army (1969)
• Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
• Tom Sawyer (1973)
• Echoes of a Summer (1976)
• The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976)
• The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)
• Damien: Omen II (1978)
• The Final Countdown (1980)

Selected filmography as actor

• The Human Comedy - Soldier (uncredited role) (1943)
• Song of the Thin Man - Buddy Hollis (1947)
• The Naked City - Detective Halloran (1948)
• Battleground - Standiferd (1949)
• Ambush - Lieutenant Linus Delaney (1950)
• Father of the Bride - Buckley Dunstan (1950)
• The Flying Leathernecks - Lieutenant Vern Blithe (1951)
• Submarine Command - Lt Peter Morris (1951)
• Father's Little Dividend - Buckley Dunstan (1951)
• Stalag 17 - Lieutenant James Schuyler Dunbar (1953)
• Destination Gobi (1953)
• The Men of Sherwood Forest - Robin Hood (1954)
• I'll Cry Tomorrow - Wallie (1955)
• The Bold and the Brave (1956)

External links

• Don Taylor at the Internet Movie Database
• Find-A-Grave profile for Don Taylor