Editing Rod Taylor

{{Short description|Australian actor (1930–2015)}}
{{For|other similarly named people|Rod Taylor (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = Rod Taylor - 1963.jpg
| name               = Rod Taylor
| caption            = Taylor in ''[[The V.I.P.s (film)|The V.I.P.s]]''  (1963)
| birth_name         = Rodney Sturt Taylor
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1930|1|11|df=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Lidcombe]], [[New South Wales]], Australia
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2015|1|7|1930|1|11|df=yes}}
| death_place        = [[Beverly Hills]], [[California]], US
| resting_place      = [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]], [[Hollywood Hills]], [[California]], US
| education          = [[University of New South Wales]]
| occupation         = Actor
| years_active       = 1951–2009
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Peggy Williams|1951|1954|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Mary Hilem|1963|1969|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Carol Kikumura|1980}}
}}
| children           = [[Felicia Taylor]]
| website            = {{URL|rodtaylorblog.com}}
}}
'''Rodney Sturt Taylor''' (11 January 1930&nbsp;– 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''[[Young Cassidy]]'' (1965), ''[[Nobody Runs Forever]]'' (1968), ''[[The Train Robbers]]'' (1973), and ''[[A Matter of Wife... and Death]]'' (1975).

Taylor was born in [[Lidcombe, New South Wales|Lidcombe]], a suburb of [[Sydney]], to a father who was a steel construction contractor and commercial artist and a mother who was a children's author. He began taking art classes in high school, and continued in college. He decided to become an actor after seeing [[Laurence Olivier]] in an [[The Old Vic|Old Vic]] touring production of ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]].''

His first film role was in a re-enactment of [[Charles Sturt]]'s voyage down the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers, playing Sturt's offsider, [[George Macleay]]. At the time, he was also appearing in a number of theatre productions for Australia's [[Mercury Theatre (Australia)|Mercury Theatre]]. He made his feature film debut in the Australian [[Lee Robinson (director)|Lee Robinson]] film ''[[King of the Coral Sea]]'' (1954). He soon started acting in television films, portraying several different characters in the 1950s [[anthology series]] ''[[Studio 57]]''.

He started to gain popularity after starring in ''[[The Time Machine (1960 film)|The Time Machine]]'' (1960), as H. George Wells. He later starred in the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] film ''[[One Hundred and One Dalmatians]]'' (1961), voicing Pongo. In one of his most famous roles, he played Mitch Brenner in ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'' (1963), directed by [[Alfred Hitchcock]]. By the late 1990s, Taylor had moved into semiretirement. His final film role was in [[Quentin Tarantino]]'s ''[[Inglourious Basterds]]'' (2009), portraying [[Winston Churchill]] in a cameo.

==Early life==
Taylor was born on 11 January 1930<ref>Birth Announcements. ''Sydney Morning Herald''. 18 January 1930. page 16.</ref> in [[Lidcombe, New South Wales|Lidcombe]], a suburb of Sydney, the only child of William Sturt Taylor, a steel construction contractor and commercial artist, and Mona Taylor (née Thompson), a writer of more than a hundred short stories and children's books. His middle name comes from his great-great-granduncle, Captain [[Charles Sturt]], a British explorer of the Australian [[outback]] in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite news| date=2015-01-09| title=Rod Taylor obituary| url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/09/rod-taylor| first=Ronald| last=Bergan| access-date=2023-10-29| newspaper=[[The Guardian]]| location=[[London]]| language=en}}</ref>

Taylor attended [[Parramatta High School]] and later studied at the [[UNSW Art & Design|East Sydney Technical and Fine Arts College]] and took art classes. His mother wanted him to be an artist, and pressured him into taking the art classes. While at ''the tech'' he met young potter [[David Boyd (artist)|David Boyd]] and with their respective companions began a pottery concern.<ref>[[The Sun-Herald|The Sunday Herald]], August 14 1949. Four Young Artists have Success with Ceramics.(Official Rod Taylor site)[http://www.rodtaylorsite.com/media/art_ceramics.pdf]</ref> For a time he worked as a commercial artist, but he decided to become an actor after seeing Laurence Olivier in an Old Vic touring production of ''Richard III''.<ref>{{cite book| first=Stephen| last=Vagg| title=Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood| publisher=Bear Manor Media| year=2010| isbn=978-1-5939-3511-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Rod Taylor| url=http://nyx.uky.edu/dips/xt780g3gxz2r/data/0725.pdf| newspaper=[[The Mountain Eagle (newspaper)|The Mountain Eagle]]| location=[[Whitesburg, Kentucky]]| date=9 September 1971| page=5| access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref> He had caught [[Acting|the bug]].

==Career==

===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.

===Hollywood===
[[File:Rod Taylor Lloyd Bochner Hong Kong 1961.JPG|thumb|Taylor (seated) with [[Lloyd Bochner]] in the television series ''[[Hong Kong (TV series)|Hong Kong]]'' (1961)]]
Taylor soon landed roles in television shows such as ''[[Studio 57]]'' and the films ''[[Hell on Frisco Bay]]'' (1955) and ''[[Giant (1956 film)|Giant]]'' (1956). In 1955, he guest-starred as Clancy in the third episode ("The Argonauts") of the first hour-long [[Western (genre)|Western]] television series, ''[[Cheyenne (1955 TV series)|Cheyenne]]'', an [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] program starring [[Clint Walker]].

Toward the end of 1955, Taylor unsuccessfully [[screen test]]ed to play boxer [[Rocky Graziano]] in [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]'s ''[[Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956 film)|Somebody Up There Likes Me]]'' after [[James Dean]]'s death, but his use of a Brooklyn accent and physical prowess in the test impressed the studio enough to give him a long-term contract. At MGM, he played a series of supporting roles in ''[[The Catered Affair]]'' (1956),<ref>Saragossi, Steve. "Taylor-Made". ''[[Cinema Retro]]''. Vol. 7, Issue 19 (2011).</ref> ''[[Raintree County (film)|Raintree County]]'' (1957), and ''[[Ask Any Girl (film)|Ask Any Girl]]'' (1959). He had a significant role in ''[[Separate Tables (film)|Separate Tables]]'' (1958), which won [[Academy Awards|Oscars]] for two of its stars, [[David Niven]] and [[Wendy Hiller]]. He also made a strong impression guest-starring in an episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' titled "[[And When the Sky Was Opened]]" (1959).

===Stardom===
Taylor's first leading role in a feature film was in ''[[The Time Machine (1960 film)|The Time Machine]]'' (1960), [[George Pal]]'s adaptation of the science-fiction classic by [[H. G. Wells]], with Taylor as the time traveller who, thousands of years in the future, falls for a woman played by [[Yvette Mimieux]]. Taylor played a character not unlike that of his ''Twilight Zone'' episode of a year earlier and the film ''[[World Without End (film)|World Without End]]'' in 1956.

In or around 1960, he was approached regarding the role of [[James Bond]] in the [[James Bond in film#Eon Productions|first feature-length Bond film]]. Taylor reportedly declined to become involved because he considered the character of Bond "beneath him".<ref name="smh-obit">Juddery, Mark (13 January 2015). [https://www.smh.com.au/national/rod-taylor-the-hollywood-star-who-never-forgot-he-was--an-aussie-20150113-12n0cc.html "Rod Taylor, the Hollywood star, who never forgot he was an Aussie"]. ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. Retrieved 7 September 2018.</ref> Taylor later commented: "Every time a new Bond picture became a smash hit ... I tore out my hair."

Taylor starred in Alfred Hitchcock's horror thriller ''The Birds'' (1963), along with [[Tippi Hedren]], [[Suzanne Pleshette]], [[Jessica Tandy]], and [[Veronica Cartwright]], playing a man whose town and home come under attack by menacing birds. Taylor then starred with [[Jane Fonda]] in the romantic comedy ''[[Sunday in New York]]'' (also 1963).

During the mid-1960s, Taylor worked mostly for MGM. His credits including ''[[The V.I.P.s (film)|The V.I.P.s]]'' (1963), his first feature-film role as an Australian, with [[Richard Burton]], [[Elizabeth Taylor]], and [[Maggie Smith]]; ''[[Fate Is the Hunter (film)|Fate Is the Hunter]]'' (for [[20th Century Fox]], 1964) with [[Glenn Ford]] and Suzanne Pleshette; ''[[36 Hours (1964 film)|36 Hours]]'' (1964) with [[James Garner]]; ''[[Young Cassidy]]'' (1965) with [[Julie Christie]] and Maggie Smith; ''[[The Liquidator (1965 film)|The Liquidator]]'' (1965) with [[Jill St. John]]; ''[[Do Not Disturb (1965 film)|Do Not Disturb]]'' (1965); and ''[[The Glass Bottom Boat]]'' (1966), both co-starring [[Doris Day]].

He began to change his image toward the end of the decade to more tough-guy roles, such as ''[[Chuka (film)|Chuka]]'' (1967), which he also produced, and he starred in ''[[Hotel (1967 film)|Hotel]]'' (1967) with [[Catherine Spaak]]; ''[[Dark of the Sun]]'' (or ''The Mercenaries'', 1968), again with Yvette Mimieux; ''[[Nobody Runs Forever]]'' (1968) in which he played [[New South Wales Police]] Sergeant [[Scobie Malone]], this being Taylor's first starring feature-film role as an Australian; and ''[[Darker than Amber (film)|Darker than Amber]]'' (1970) as [[Travis McGee]].

He was also reportedly up for the role of martial artist Roper in the [[Bruce Lee]] vehicle ''[[Enter the Dragon]]'' (1973). The film was directed by [[Robert Clouse]], who had also directed Taylor in ''Darker than Amber''. Taylor was supposedly deemed too tall for the part, and the role instead went to [[John Saxon]].<ref>[http://www.cityonfire.com/commentary/etd.mp3 City On Fire (audio commentatary)]</ref>

===Later career===
In 1973, Taylor was cast in ''[[The Train Robbers]]'' alongside long-time friend [[John Wayne]]<ref>{{cite news| date=19 June 1963| title=The Weekly Round| page=2| work=Australian Women's Weekly| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47510335| access-date=2021-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| website=The Complete Rod Taylor Site| title=John Wayne| url=http://www.rodtaylorsite.com/johnwayne.shtml| access-date=2021-04-13}}</ref> and [[Ann-Margret]]. The film was a box-office success. Taylor also had some television roles: he starred in ''[[Bearcats!]]'' (1971) on [[CBS]] and in ''[[The Oregon Trail (TV series)|The Oregon Trail]]'' (1976) on NBC. He had a regular role in the short-lived spy drama series ''[[Masquerade (TV series)|Masquerade]]'' (1983), and played one of the leads in the equally short-lived series, ''[[Outlaws (1986 TV series)|Outlaws]]'' (1986). From 1988 to 1990, Taylor appeared in the CBS drama series ''[[Falcon Crest]]'' as [[Frank Agretti]], playing opposite [[Jane Wyman]]. In the mid-1990s, he appeared in several episodes of ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' and ''[[Walker, Texas Ranger]]''.

In 1993, he hosted the documentary ''[[Time Machine: The Journey Back]]''. The special ended with a minisequel written by [[David Duncan (writer)|David Duncan]], the screenwriter of the [[George Pal]] film. Taylor recreated his role as George, reuniting him with Filby ([[Alan Young]]).

Taylor returned to Australia several times over the years to make films, playing a 1920s traveling showman in ''[[The Picture Show Man]]'' (1977) and a paid killer in ''[[On the Run (1982 film)|On the Run]]'' (1983). In the black comedy ''[[Welcome to Woop Woop]]'' (1997), he played the foul-mouthed redneck Daddy-O.

By the late 1990s, Taylor had moved into semiretirement. In 2007, he appeared in the horror telemovie ''[[Kaw (film)|Kaw]]'', which revisits the idea of marauding birds turning on their human tormentors. In this film, however, the cause of the disturbance was discovered by Taylor, who plays the town doctor. He appeared in Quentin Tarantino's ''Inglourious Basterds'' in 2009, portraying Winston Churchill in a cameo.<ref name=miamih>{{cite news| first=Scott| last=Eyman| title=Tarantino Comes Calling with a Role For Rod Taylor| url=http://www.miamiherald.com/living/story/1196616.html| newspaper=[[The Miami Herald]]| date=23 August 2009| access-date=20 August 2009| archive-url=https://archive.today/20240524123345/https://www.webcitation.org/5kJ4OVKYY?url=http://www.miamiherald.com/living/story/1196616.html| archive-date=24 May 2024| url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2017, a documentary on Taylor's life, ''Pulling No Punches'', was released and entered into the [[Beverly Hills Film Festival]].

==Personal life==
His first wife was model Peggy Williams (1951–1954). They divorced after allegations of [[domestic violence]]. Taylor later claimed that they divorced because they felt they were too young to have a healthy marriage.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168414807 |title=Radio actor free with fists, wife claims |newspaper=[[Truth (Sydney newspaper)|Truth]] |issue=3372 |location=[[Melbourne]], New South Wales |date=12 September 1954 |access-date=7 September 2020 |page=11 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web| title=Rod Taylor| url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/189717%7C133817/Rod-Taylor/| access-date=2021-11-07| website=[[Turner Classic Movies]]| language=en}}</ref> Taylor dated and was briefly engaged to Swedish actress [[Anita Ekberg]] in the early 1960s.<ref>{{cite news| date=19 November 1961| title=Sydney actor Rod Taylor meets the Swedish "ice-berg" and says Cold? Not "sweet Anita"| newspaper=[[The Sun Herald]]| location=Sydney| url=http://www.rodtaylorsite.com/media/ekberg_sydney_11_19_1961_.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| date=April 25, 1962| title=Anita Ekberg, Rod Taylor Announce Marriage Soon| newspaper=[[The Desert Sun]]| location=Palm Springs| url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19620425.2.63&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1| agency=[[United Press International]]}}</ref> He dated model [[Pat Sheehan (model)|Pat Sheehan]] in the late 1960s.<ref>{{cite book| url={{Google books|LongDwAAQBAJ|page=49|plainurl=yes}}| title=Pat: A Biography of Hollywood's Blonde Starlet| first=Samuel| last=Clemens| publisher=Sequoia Press| year=2020| page=102| isbn=978-0-5786-8282-2}}</ref>

His second marriage, to model Mary Hilem, lasted from 1963 until they divorced in 1969. The couple had one daughter, former [[CNN]] financial reporter [[Felicia Taylor]] (1964-2023). Taylor bought a home in [[Palm Springs, California]], in 1967.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Meeks| first1=Eric G.| title=The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes| year=2014| orig-year=2012| publisher=Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe| isbn=978-1-4793-2859-8| page=21}}</ref>

He married his third wife, Carol Kikumura, in 1980. They had originally dated in the early 1960s when she was an extra on his TV series ''[[Hong Kong (TV series)|Hong Kong]]''.<ref name="family">{{cite web| url=http://www.rodtaylorsite.com/family.shtml| website=The Complete Rod Taylor Site| title=Husband and Father| access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref> The couple got back together in 1971 and dated for an additional nine years before marrying.<ref name="family"/>

==Death==
Taylor died of a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] at his home, surrounded by his family, on 7 January 2015, in [[Beverly Hills, California]], four days before his 85th birthday.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.couriermail.com.au/entertainment/confidential/australian-actor-rod-taylor-dead-at-84-legendary-star-suffers-a-heart-attack-at-la-home/news-story/b04ee528e1ef3246dbbe3351444e2422| newspaper=[[The Courier-Mail]]| date=9 January 2015| title=Australian actor Rod Taylor dead at 84, legendary star suffers a heart attack at Beverly Hills home| access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/rod-taylor-dead-the-bird-the-time-machine-1201396390/| title=Rod Taylor, 'The Birds' and 'The Time Machine' Star, Dies at 84| magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]| first=Carmel| last=Dagan| date=8 January 2015| access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Rod Taylor, 'The Birds' Star, Dead at 84| date=8 January 2015| url=https://www.thewrap.com/rod-taylor-the-birds-star-dead-at-84/| first=Travis| last=Reilly| website=[[TheWrap]]| access-date=2023-10-29}}</ref>

==Filmography==

===Feature films===
{{Div col}}
* ''[[King of the Coral Sea]]'' (1954) as Jack Janiero (film debut)
* ''[[Long John Silver (film)|Long John Silver]]'' (1954) as [[Israel Hands]]
* ''[[The Virgin Queen (1955 film)|The Virgin Queen]]'' (1955) as Cpl. Gwilym (uncredited)
* ''[[Top Gun (1955 film)|Top Gun]]'' (1955) as Lem Sutter
* ''[[Hell on Frisco Bay]]'' (1956) as John Brodie Evans
* ''[[World Without End (film)|World Without End]]'' (1956) as Herbert Ellis
* ''[[The Catered Affair]]'' (1956) as Ralph Halloran
* ''[[Giant (1956 film)|Giant]]'' (1956) as Sir David Karfrey
* ''[[The Rack (1956 film)|The Rack]]'' (1956) as Al (uncredited)
* ''[[Raintree County (film)|Raintree County]]'' (1957) as Garwood B. Jones
* ''[[Step Down to Terror]]'' (1958) as Mike Randall
* ''[[Separate Tables (film)|Separate Tables]]'' (1958) as Charles
* ''[[Ask Any Girl (film)|Ask Any Girl]]'' (1959) as Ross Tayford
* ''[[The Time Machine (1960 film)|The Time Machine]]'' (1960) as H. George Wells
* ''[[Colossus and the Amazon Queen]]'' (1960) as Pirro
* ''[[One Hundred and One Dalmatians]]'' (1961) as Pongo (voice)
* ''[[Seven Seas to Calais]]'' (1962) as Sir [[Francis Drake]]
* ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'' (1963) as Mitch Brenner
* ''[[The V.I.P.s (film)|The V.I.P.s]]'' (1963) as Les Mangrum
* ''[[A Gathering of Eagles]]'' (1963) as Col. Hollis Farr
* ''[[Sunday in New York]]'' (1963) as Mike Mitchell
* ''[[Fate Is the Hunter (film)|Fate Is the Hunter]]'' (1964) as Capt. Jack Savage
* ''[[36 Hours (1964 film)|36 Hours]]'' (1965) as Maj. Walter Gerber
* ''[[Young Cassidy]]'' (1965) as John Cassidy
* ''[[The Liquidator (1965 film)|The Liquidator]]'' (1965) as Boysie Oakes
* ''[[Do Not Disturb (1965 film)|Do Not Disturb]]'' (1965) as Mike Harper
* ''[[The Glass Bottom Boat]]'' (1966) as Bruce Templeton
* ''[[Hotel (1967 film)|Hotel]]'' (1967) as Peter McDermott
* ''[[Chuka (film)|Chuka]]'' (1967) as Chuka
* ''[[Dark of the Sun]]'' (1968) as Capt. Bruce Curry
* ''[[Nobody Runs Forever]]'' (1968) (a.k.a. ''The High Commissioner'') as Scobie Malone
* ''[[The Hell with Heroes]]'' (1968) as Brynie MacKay
* ''[[Zabriskie Point (film)|Zabriskie Point]]'' (1970) as Lee Allen
* ''[[Darker than Amber (film)|Darker than Amber]]'' (1970) as Travis McGee
* ''[[The Man Who Had Power Over Women]]'' (1970) as Peter Reaney
* ''[[Bearcats!|Powderkeg]]'' (1971, TV movie/pilot for ''[[Bearcats!]]'') as Hank Brackett
* ''[[Family Flight]]'' (1972, TV movie) as Jason Carlyle
* ''[[The Train Robbers]]''  (1973) as Grady
* ''[[The Heroes (1973 film)|Gli eroi]]'' (1973) (a.k.a. ''The Heroes'') as Lieutenant Bob Robson
* ''[[Trader Horn (1973 film)|Trader Horn]]'' (1973) as [[Trader Horn]]
* ''[[The Deadly Trackers]]'' (1973) as Frank Brand
* ''[[Hell River]]'' (1974) (a.k.a. ''Partizani'') as Marko
* ''[[A Matter of Wife... and Death]]'' (1975, TV movie) as Shamus McCoy
* ''[[Vortex (1976 film)|Blondie]]'' (1976) as Christopher Tauling
* ''[[The Oregon Trail (TV series)|The Oregon Trail]]'' (1976, series) as Evan Thorpe
* ''[[Gulliver's Travels (1977 film)|Gulliver's Travels]]'' (1977) as Reldresal / King of Blefuscu (voice, uncredited)
* ''[[The Picture Show Man]]'' (1977) as Palmer
* ''[[The Treasure Seekers (1979 film)|The Treasure Seekers]]'' (1979) as Marian Casey
* ''[[Cry of the Innocent]]'' (1980, TV movie) as Steve Donegin
* ''[[Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (TV film)|Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy]]'' (1981, TV movie) as 'Black Jack' Bouvier
* ''[[Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story]]'' (1982, TV movie) as [[Edward Adeane]]
* ''[[A Time to Die (1983 film)|A Time to Die]]'' (1982) as Jack Bailey
* ''[[On the Run (1982 film)|On the Run]]'' (1983) as Mr. Payatta
* ''[[Terror in the Aisles]]'' (1984) as Himself (stock footage)
* ''[[Marbella (film)|Marbella, un golpe de cinco estrellas]]'' (1985) as Commander
* ''Half Nelson'' (1985, TV series)
* ''[[Mask of Murder]]'' (1985) as Supt. Bob McLaine
* ''[[Danielle Steel's 'Palomino']]'' (1991, TV movie) as Bill King
* ''[[Grass Roots (film)|Grass Roots]]'' (1992, TV movie) as Gen. Willoughby
* ''Open Season'' (1995) – Billy Patrick
* ''[[Point of Betrayal]]'' (1995) as Ted Kitteridge
* ''[[Welcome to Woop Woop]]''  (1997) as Daddy-O
* ''[[The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy]]'' (1998, TV movie) as General Sorenson
* ''[[Kaw (film)|Kaw]]'' (2007, TV movie) as Doc
* ''[[Inglourious Basterds]]'' (2009) as [[Winston Churchill]] (final film role)
{{div col end}}

===Documentaries===
* ''[[Inland with Sturt]]'' (1951) as George Mcleady
* ''[[The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Time Machine: The Journey Back]]'' (1993)
* ''All About the Birds'' (2000) 
* ''[[Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!|Not Quite Hollywood]]'' (2008)
* ''Pulling No Punches'' (2016)

==Television==

===As a regular===
Taylor had several lead roles in television, from the early 1960s to the early first decade of the 21st century. Among his television shows as a regular are:
* ''[[Hong Kong (TV series)|Hong Kong]]'' with co-star [[Lloyd Bochner]] (1960, ABC)
* ''[[Bearcats!]]'' (1971, CBS)
* ''[[The Oregon Trail (TV series)|The Oregon Trail]]'' as Evan Thorpe, a widower taking his three children from their [[Illinois]] farm to the [[Pacific Northwest]] by way of the [[Oregon Trail]] (1977, NBC)
* ''[[Masquerade (TV series)|Masquerade]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Outlaws (1986 TV series)|Outlaws]]'' (1986)

===Guest appearances===
* ''[[Studio 57]]'' (1955) – "The Last Day on Earth", "The Black Sheep's Daughter"
* ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'' (1955) – "Dark Tribute", "The Browning Version"
* ''[[Cheyenne (1955 TV series)|Cheyenne]]'' (1955) – "The Argonauts"
* ''[[Suspicion (American TV series)|Suspicion]]'' (1957) – "The Story of Marjorie Reardon"
* ''[[Schlitz Playhouse of Stars]]'' (1958) – "A Thing to Fight For"
* ''[[Studio One (CBS series)|Studio One]]'' (1958) – "Image of Fear"
* ''[[Lux Video Theatre|Lux Playhouse]]'' (1958) – "The Best House in the Valley"
* ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' (1958–59) – "[[Verdict of Three (Playhouse 90)|Verdict of Three]]", "[[The Long March (Playhouse 90)|The Long March]]", ''[[The Great Gatsby (Playhouse 90)|The Great Gatsby]]'', "[[The Raider (Playhouse 90)|The Raider]]", "[[Misalliance (Playhouse 90)|Misalliance]]"
* ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' (1959) – "[[And When the Sky Was Opened]]"
* ''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre]]'' (1960) – "Picture of Sal"
* ''[[Goodyear Theatre]]'' (1960) – "Capital Gains"
* ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' (1960) – "Early to Die", "The Young Years"
* ''[[Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse]]'' (1960) – "Thunder in the Night"
* ''[[Bus Stop (TV series)|Bus Stop]]'' (1961) – "Portrait of a Hero"
* ''The DuPont Show of the Week'' (1962) – "[[The Ordeal of Dr. Shannon]]"
* ''[[Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)]]'' (1980) – "The Hitch-Hiker"
* ''[[Falcon Crest]]'' (1988–1990) as [[Frank Agretti]]
* ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' (1995) – "Another Killing in Cork", "Nan's Ghost Parts 1 and 2"
* ''[[Walker, Texas Ranger]]'' (1996-1997, 2000) – "Redemption", "Texas vs. Cahill", "Wedding Bells"

==Theatre credits==
* ''Julius Caesar'' by [[William Shakespeare]] (Independent, 1950)
* ''[[Home of the Brave (play)|Home of the Brave]]'' by [[Arthur Laurents]] (Independent, 1950)
* ''[[Misalliance (play)|Misalliance]]'' by [[George Bernard Shaw]] (John Alden Company, 1951)
* ''Twins'' by [[Plautus]] ([[Mercury Theatre (Australia)|Mercury]], 1952)
* ''[[The Comedy of Errors]]'' by William Shakespeare ([[Mercury Theatre (Australia)|Mercury]], 1952)
* ''The Witch'' by John Masefield (Mercury, 1952)
* ''[[They Knew What They Wanted (play)|They Knew What They Wanted]]'' by [[Sidney Howard]] (Mercury, 1952)
* ''[[The Happy Time]]'' by [[Samuel A. Taylor]] (Mercury, 1953)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.rodtaylorsite.com/ Rod Taylor official site]
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{TCMDb name}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes person}}
* [http://www.ausstage.edu.au/indexdrilldown.jsp?xcid=59&f_contrib_id=228598&f_event_id=12915 Rod Taylor Australian theatre credits] at [[AusStage]]
* {{Emmys person|rod-taylor}}
* [http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/summary/summary.w3p;adv=;group=;groupequals=;page=0;parentid=;query=Person%3A%22%2FPerson%2Fkey%2F23927-1%22;querytype=;resCount=10 Rod Taylor] at [[National Film and Sound Archive]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Rod}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian male actors]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate male actors in the United States]]
[[Category:Australian male film actors]]
[[Category:Australian people of English descent]]
[[Category:Australian male radio actors]]
[[Category:Australian male television actors]]
[[Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners]]
[[Category:Male actors from Sydney]]
[[Category:Male actors from Palm Springs, California]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)]]
[[Category:People educated at Parramatta High School]]