Grant Taylor (actor): Difference between revisions

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==Select theatre credits==
==Select theatre credits==
*''[[Smilin' Through]]'' - performed by Cinesound Talent School, September 1940 - with [[Peter Pagan]]<ref>{{Citation
| author1=Australasian Radio Relay League.
| title=The wireless weekly : the hundred per cent Australian radio journal,
| publication-date=
| publisher=Wireless Press
| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-713656210
| accessdate=24 March 2019
}} </ref>
*''[[A Soldier for Christmas]]'' – Minerva Theatre, Kings Cross, NSW, January 1945<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17940061 |title="A SOLDIER FOR CHRISTMAS". |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=2 January 1945 |accessdate=9 March 2014 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
*''[[A Soldier for Christmas]]'' – Minerva Theatre, Kings Cross, NSW, January 1945<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17940061 |title="A SOLDIER FOR CHRISTMAS". |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=2 January 1945 |accessdate=9 March 2014 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
*''Parade of the Stars'' – special charity performance Minerva Theatre, Kings Cross, Sept 1947
*''Parade of the Stars'' – special charity performance Minerva Theatre, Kings Cross, Sept 1947

Revision as of 04:29, 24 March 2019

This article is about the actor. For the skateboarder, see Grant Taylor (skateboarder).

Grant Taylor (6 December 1917 – 1971), real name Ronald Grant Taylor, was an English-born actor best known as the abrasive General Henderson in the Gerry Anderson science fiction series UFO and for his lead role in Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940).

Early life

Taylor was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in England, but moved to Australia with his parents as a child. For a time he worked as a professional boxer in Melbourne under the name of Lance Matheson. According to a later newspaper report, he had 70 bouts, lost 8 and drew 11.[1]

Acting debut

Cinesound Productions were looking for someone with wrestling skills to play the part of a gorilla in Gone to the Dogs (1939), so Taylor auditioned. He did not get the part but met Alec Kellaway who persuaded him to join Cinesound's Talent School.[2]

Ken G. Hall said that one of the problems of the Australian industry of this time was they "were consistently short of trained juveniles and ingenues".[3] Cinesound in particular had a great deal of trouble finding male romantic leads. They either left to work in radio (Dick Fair), returned overseas (John Longden, Billy Rayes), left for overseas (Frank Leighton), or died (Brian Abbot). Cinesound Talent School was partly founded with an intention to rectify this.[4]

Taylor's physique, good looks and charm saw Ken G. Hall cast him as the juvenile lead in Dad Rudd, MP (1940) opposite Yvonne East. The Sydney Truth later wrote:

Taylor... scored in the scenes of the flood, where, clad in oilskins, he shouted instructions above the torrent of the waters. He was happier in the romantic finale, too, than Australian leading men are wont to be. But lighting did not flatter his appearance, nor microphone his voice, in some of the early scenes.[5]

Forty Thousand Horsemen and Stardom

Taylor was then selected by Charles Chauvel to play the lead role of 'Red' Gallagher in the war film Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940). Chauvel had cast Errol Flynn in his first lead role. His wife Elsa described Taylor as like "a big kid on the set.[6]

This movie was a massive international success and a Hollywood or English career beckoned, but Taylor elected to stay in Australia. Career-wise it proved to be a bad decision, as film production in Australia declined sharply with the advent of World War II and Taylor was unable to follow up his success immediately.

Army service

Taylor enlisted in the Australian army on 7 October 1942. During the war he served as a military policeman, in the Army Amenities Unit based in Sydney[7] and in the Australian Army Entertainment Unit alongside Smoky Dawson.[8] Part of his duties involved visiting the troops and touring the islands.

Taylor was given leave to appear in some propaganda shorts, such as While There is Still Time (1942), 100,000 Cobbers (1942), Another Threshold (1942) and South West Pacific (1943). He was allowed to appear in the feature The Rats of Tobruk (1944), which reunited him with Chauvel and Chips Rafferty.[9]

In 1945, it was announced that he would star in another Chauvel film, Green Mountain, but by the time the movie was actually made in 1949 (as Sons of Matthew), he did not appear in it.[10] His final film made during his army service was Australia Is Like This (1945). He appeared in A Soldier for Christmas at the Minerva Theatre in Kings Cross.

Taylor was discharged on 26 February 1946.[11]

Post War career

After the war Taylor was unable to consolidate his position as a film star, and saw the majority of leading man roles go instead to actors such as Charles Tingwell and Chips Rafferty. However he remained busy as a character actor, and in radio and theatre.

He was a sergeant in Eureka Stockade (1949) – Rafferty had the leading role – and played a thug in The Kangaroo Kid (1950). He took part in the 1951 re-enactment of Sir Charles Sturt's journey down the Murrimbidgee River, playing Sturt – a film of this was made, called Inland with Sturt (1951). He had a role in another short, Far West Story (1952) then returned to lead roles when he played the title part in Captain Thunderbolt (1953).

He was cast in a support role in a Hollywood film shot in Fiji, His Majesty O'Keefe (1954). The director, Byron Haskin liked Taylor's performance and used him again as a pirate in Long John Silver, and its television spin off, The Adventures of Long John Silver. His son Kit played Jim Hawkins. He was in two big stage hits, Dial M for Murder and Teahouse of the August Moon.

In the late 1950s Taylor appeared in several productions for the Elizabethan Theatre Trust, including The Slaughter of St Teresa's Day.

In 1959 Taylor appeared in a brief role in Stanley Kramer's On the Beach.[12] He played a mystery man in Smiley Gets a Gun (1958), and a policeman in The Siege of Pinchgut (1959). He toured with a production of Fire on the Wind.

He had several roles in Whiplash (1960–61). He then focused on theatre, touring the country in The Pleasure of His Company (1960), Bye Bye Birdie (1961), and Woman in a Dressing Gown (1962–63).

Australian Television

Taylor made his live TV debut in Funnel Web (1962) for the ABC, playing a murderer. The Sydney Morning Herald called his performance "easy-limbed, masterful".[13] He had good roles in the TV plays Jenny (1962), Flowering Cherry (1963), The Right Thing (1964), and The One That Got Away (1964).

He was kicked in the head filming a brawl while making Smiley Gets a Gun and had to take off a number of days.[14]

In 1964 he appeared in the ABC-TV children's adventure serial The Stranger, Australia's first locally produced science fiction TV series,[15] which was also sold to the BBC. He was in an episode of Adventure Unlimited.

Return to the UK

Returning to the United Kingdom in early 1963, Taylor worked on the long-running medical drama Emergency Ward 10. This led to plenty of work in character roles, from Anglia TV's soap opera Weavers Green (where Taylor had a regular part[16]) and several Lew Grade-backed projects, including The Avengers, The Champions and The Troubleshooters. He also appeared in a British TV adaptation of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1964).

He appeared in a production of Twelve Angry Men on the West End and had a regular role in the TV series Weaver's Green (1966)[17][18] He was a Scots border chieftain in the BBC's 1968 colour costume drama The Borderers.

A high profile role for him was in the Gerry Anderson science fiction series UFO, where he played sometime-ally, sometime-antagonist General Henderson. His last appearance in the series was in the penultimate episode 'Mindbender', where he also appears as himself, acting the role of Henderson in the studio.

Taylor appeared in the big-screen adaptation of Quatermass and the Pit (1967) and in Calamity the Cow (with Phil Collins).

Personal life

Taylor's wife, Jean, was fatally injured in an accident at their Potts Point home after she fell over on her way back from a party on 23 April 1956. She was taken to hospital and died a few days later of bronchial pneumonia.[19]

He died of cancer in 1971 aged 54.

Filmography

Select TV credits

Select theatre credits

Select radio credits

  • Press Gang (1946) – ABC variety show
  • Invitation to Melody (April 1946) – variety show, Taylor was compere[38]
  • The Atlantic Show (Dec 1946) – with Bob Dyer[39]
  • Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (Sept 1947) – with Muriel Steinbeck[40]
  • The First Gentleman (Sept 1947) – 2UW[41]
  • Shenandoah (Dec 1947) – the story of a Melbourne Cup winner[42]
  • Romona (March 1948)[43]
  • The Egg and I (November 1948)[44]
  • Men in White – (November 1948)[45]
  • Nurse White (December 1948)[46]
  • Fortune's Wheel (March 1949) – a serial[47]
  • Seal Island (May, 1949)[48]
  • Red Anemones (May 1949)[49]
  • The Velvet Touch (November, 1949)[50]
  • Big City
  • Body and Soul (February 1949) – with Ruth Cracknell[51]
  • The Maltese Falcon (July 1949)[52]
  • Doctor Paul (1949)
  • The Saxby Millions (1949)
  • Night Beat (1950)
  • The Battling Bensons (1950)
  • January's Daughter (1950)
  • Vengeance is Mine (1950)
  • The Last of Mrs Cheyney (Aug 1950)[53]
  • Homecoming (October 1950)[54]
  • The Sturt Expedition (Jan-March 1951) – nightly updates from the re-enactment of Charles Sturt's journey
  • Vengeance in Mine (Nov 1951) – with Muriel Steinbeck by Tony Scott Veitch[55]
  • Black Lightning (1952)
  • The Harp in the South (1952)
  • Spies in Melbourne (July 1952) – with Ken Wayne, Ruth Cracknell[56]
  • The Jay Martell Show (August 1952) – compare[57]
  • The Saxby Millions (Sept 1952) – a serial[58]
  • Mobilsong (Sept 1953) – a variety show[59]
  • The Battling Bensons (Oct 1953) – a serial by Tony Scott Veitch[60]
  • They Were Champions (Sept 1954) – he narrated the story of boxer Bob Fitzsimmons who was played by Rod Taylor[61]
  • Strange Stories of the Sea (Sept – December 1954)[62]
  • The Fire of Etna (1955)
  • Harry Dearth's Playhouse (1956)
  • The Hidden Truth
  • Shenandoah
  • The Wally Norman Show
  • Interpol Confidential (1961)

References

  1. ^ "The LIGHTHORSE Rides Again". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 18 July 1940. p. 3. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ 'New Romantic Lead', Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 15 February 1940, p24
  3. ^ Ken G. Hall, Directed by Ken G. Hall, Lansdowne Press, 1977p 157
  4. ^ 'Australians Seek Fame, 200 in Starlet School' Sunday Times (Perth), Sunday 30 June 1940 p6
  5. ^ "the Diary of a Talkie Tourist". The Truth. Sydney. 16 June 1940. p. 34. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Australian Films in the Making". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 June 1940. p. 9 Supplement: Women's Supplement. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Queries answered". The Mail. Adelaide. 26 May 1945. p. 8. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ http://www.australianbiography.gov.au/subjects/dawson/intertext5.html
  9. ^ "VARIETY". The Truth. Sydney. 24 March 1946. p. 32. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ 'Questions', The Mail (Adelaide), Saturday 28 April 1945 p8
  11. ^ War Service Record
  12. ^ Retrieved 1 December 2007.
  13. ^ "Thriller Play on Channel 2" Sydney Morning Herald 26 April 1962 accessed 15 March 2015
  14. ^ "Actor Kicked In Head In Film Brawl Scene". Sydney Morning Herald. 19 December 1957. p. 5.
  15. ^ IMDb – The Stranger
  16. ^ "The Light Horseman rides again". The Australian Women's Weekly. 15 June 1966. p. 9. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Australian Rod Taylor's BBC role". The Canberra Times. Vol. 40, no. 11, 369. 20 January 1966. p. 19. Retrieved 7 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "The Light Horseman rides again". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 34, no. 3. 15 June 1966. p. 9. Retrieved 7 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "Wife Of Actor Dies After Fall". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 May 1956. p. 8.
  20. ^ Funnel Web at National Film and Sound Archive
  21. ^ The Flowering Cherry at National Film and Sound Archive
  22. ^ The One That Got Away at National Film and Sound archive
  23. ^ "Australian Rod Taylor's BBC role". The Canberra Times. 20 January 1966. p. 19. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. ^ Australasian Radio Relay League., The wireless weekly : the hundred per cent Australian radio journal, Wireless Press, retrieved 24 March 2019
  25. ^ ""A SOLDIER FOR CHRISTMAS"". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 January 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  26. ^ "Theatre in Sydney". Le Courrier Australien. Sydney. 8 August 1947. p. 7. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  27. ^ "Behind The Mike". The Truth. Sydney. 29 August 1948. p. 30. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  28. ^ "DRAMA AT MINERVA". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 November 1948. p. 2. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  29. ^ "Barrie At Minerva". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 December 1948. p. 2. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  30. ^ "Melodrama Scores At Minerva". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 December 1948. p. 5. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  31. ^ "Huxley Play Is Sermon With Thrills". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 March 1949. p. 7. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  32. ^ "AUSTRALIAN PLAY 'NEEDS OVERHAUL'". The News. Adelaide. 28 June 1949. p. 15. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  33. ^ "MUSIC AND THE THEATRE". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 27 November 1949. p. 6 Supplement: Features. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  34. ^ "Mosman Pirates In Play For Children". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 December 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  35. ^ "MISS BERGNER-How She Keeps A Boyish-looking Line". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 16 July 1950. p. 9 Supplement: Features. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  36. ^ "Murder play is slow". The Argus. Melbourne. 31 August 1953. p. 4. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  37. ^ "Thriller Opens At Royal". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 October 1953. p. 5. Retrieved 9 March 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  38. ^ "RADIO HIGH SPOTS". Sunday Mail. Brisbane. 7 April 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  39. ^ "BROADCASTING PROGRAMMES". The Argus. Melbourne. 7 December 1946. p. 18. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  40. ^ "Behind The Mike". The Truth. Sydney. 14 September 1947. p. 51. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  41. ^ "Behind The Mike". The Truth. Sydney. 28 September 1947. p. 51. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  42. ^ "Exciting Racing Drama". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 31 December 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  43. ^ "Singing About The Weather On 2CH". The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers' Advocate. Parramatta, NSW. 3 March 1948. p. 9. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  44. ^ "RADIO NEWS". The Argus. Melbourne. 13 November 1948. p. 20. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  45. ^ "Pulitzer Play On 5 AD; A.B.C.'s "Magic Flute"". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 20 November 1948. p. 8. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  46. ^ "Behind The Mike". The Truth. Sydney. 12 December 1948. p. 41. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  47. ^ "RADIOPINION". Sunday Mail. Brisbane. 13 March 1949. p. 7. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  48. ^ "Radio Programmes Orchestral Concert, 2NC". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. 27 May 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  49. ^ "Programmes On Your Radio". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 22 May 1949. p. 9. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  50. ^ "Radio Programmes". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 6 November 1949. p. 11 Supplement: Features. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  51. ^ "On Your Radio To-day". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 13 February 1949. p. 12. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  52. ^ "Radio Programmes "Letters to a Lady" On 2NA To-night". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. 16 July 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  53. ^ "Programmes On Your Radio To-day". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 27 August 1950. p. 11 Supplement: Sunday Herald Features. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  54. ^ "TODAY'S RADIO HIGHLIGHTS". The Truth. Sydney. 22 October 1950. p. 38. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  55. ^ "Radio Notes". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 11 November 1951. p. 12. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  56. ^ "GUY CRITTENDEN'S 2WL RADIO ROUND-UP". South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus. NSW. 7 July 1952. p. 2 Section: South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  57. ^ "TODAY'S RADIO PROGRAMMES". The Argus. Melbourne. 22 August 1952. p. 4. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  58. ^ "RADIO PROGRAMMES Two new serials and a play begin today". The Argus. Melbourne. 22 September 1952. p. 6. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  59. ^ "Mobilsong Radio of Famous Lives". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW. 4 September 1953. p. 11. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  60. ^ "AUST SETTING IN SERIAL DRAMA". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 29 October 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  61. ^ "TO-DAY'S RADIO PROGRAMMES IN DETAIL". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 17 September 1954. p. 11. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  62. ^ "TO-DAY'S FULL GUIDE TO RADIO". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 9 December 1954. p. 18. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia.

External links

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