Editing Rod Taylor (section)

===Australia===
Taylor acquired extensive radio and stage experience in Australia, where his radio work included a period in the historic run of ''[[Blue Hills (radio serial)|Blue Hills]]'', the daytime [[Soap opera|soaps]] and a role as a vocally convincing [[Tarzan]]. Earlier in his career, he had to support himself by working at Sydney's [[Mark Foy's]] department store, designing and painting window and other displays during the day.<ref name=rodtaylorsite>{{cite web| url=http://www.rodtaylorsite.com/radio.shtml| website=The Complete Rod Taylor Site| title=Radio| access-date=28 March 2016}}</ref> But his radio work was soon at the forefront of his life, making a great impact playing [[Douglas Bader]] in a series to dramatize the narrative of [[Paul Brickhill]]'s biography [[Reach for the Sky (radio serial)|Reach for the Sky]]. In 1951, he took part in a re-enactment of Charles Sturt's voyage down the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers, playing Sturt's offsider, George Macleay. A short documentary, ''[[Inland with Sturt]]'' (1951), was based on it. Taylor also appeared in a number of theatre productions for Australia's [[Mercury Theatre (Australia)|Mercury Theatre]].

Taylor made his feature-film debut in the Australian [[Lee Robinson (director)|Lee Robinson]] film ''[[King of the Coral Sea]]'' (1954), playing an American. He later played [[Israel Hands]] in a [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]]-financed film shot in Sydney, ''[[Long John Silver (film)|Long John Silver]]'' (1954), an unofficial sequel to ''[[Treasure Island]]''. Following these two films, Taylor was awarded the 1954 Rola Show Australian Radio Actor of the Year Award,<ref name=rodtaylorsite/> which included a ticket to London via Los Angeles, but Taylor did not continue on to London.