Don Taylor

Donald Ritchie Taylor (December 13, 1920 – December 29, 1998) was an American actor and film director. He co-starred in 1940s and 1950s classics, including the 1948 film noir The Naked City, Battleground, Father of the Bride, Father's Little Dividend and Stalag 17. He later turned to directing films such as Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Tom Sawyer (1973), Echoes of a Summer (1976), and Damien - Omen II (1978).

Biography Early life and work The son of Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Taylor, Donald Ritchie Taylor was born in Freeport, Pennsylvania on December 13, 1920. (Another source says that he was born "in Pittsburgh and raised in Freeport, Pa.") 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 1952, Taylor played a soldier bringing his Japanese war-bride back to small-town America in Japanese War Bride. In 1953, Taylor had a key role as the escaping prisoner Lt. Dunbar in Billy Wilder's Stalag 17, and starred as Robin Hood in the following year's The Men of Sherwood Forest from future horror pioneers Hammer Films. His last major film role came in I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), although he continued to occasionally act for television into the early 60s.

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.

Writing career Taylor "wrote one-act plays, radio dramas, short stories, and the 1985 TV movie My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn.

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 Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Big Valley, Burke's Law, Cannon, Checkmate, The Dick Powell Theatre, Dr. Kildare, 87th Precinct, The Farmer's Daughter, The Flying Nun, Honky Tonk, It Takes a Thief, The Lloyd Bridges Show, The Mod Squad, Rod Serling's Night Gallery, The Rogues, The Rifleman, The Tammy Grimes Show, Vacation Playhouse, The Wild Wild West, Zane Grey Theater, 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) The Diamond Trap (1988)

Selected filmography as actor