Nathaniel Taylor

Nathaniel Taylor (March 31, 1938 – February 27, 2019) was an American television and film actor best known for portraying Rollo Lawson on the 1970s sitcoms Sanford and Son, Grady and the 1980s sitcom Sanford.

He acted in several movies and TV shows and later created a performing arts studio. Some of the major shows he acted in are The Redd Foxx Show, Police Story and What's Happening!! . Taylor also appeared in the films Trouble Man (1972), Willie Dynamite (1974), and Passing Through (1977).

Early life Taylor was born on March 31, 1938, in St. Louis, Missouri. Growing up, he had two brothers, Richard and Eugene, and three sisters Betty, Mary, and Rose.

Taylor also appeared in Trouble Man as one of Mr. Big's henchmen. In 1973, he acted in Clark's As Above, So Below. Taylor later became the Executive Director of Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles (PASLA). He then starred in the blaxploitation film Willie Dynamite, Clark's drama Passing Through and the thriller The Hunter.

BlueLine Classics, LLC bought the original 1952 Ford F1 used in Sanford and Son. The owners, Jeff Canter and Tim Franko, restored the vehicle in October 2015. They then decided to reunite a cast member with the truck they preserved. Canter then contacted Taylor. Afterwards, Taylor called Canter and agreed to sign autographs with the restored Ford truck in October 2015. In June 2016, Taylor was asked to sign autographs at the Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park with the 1951 Ford F1 'Sanford and Son Salvage' truck.

Personal life and death Taylor was friends with fellow actor Rocco Karega, hip-hop promoter Alonzo Williams, and producer Darius Owens of North Carolina After Taylor stopped acting, he opened a performing arts studio for young actors. About $200,000 in computers and typewriters were seized. The arrest came within hours of the Sports Connection athletic club in West Los Angeles reported the theft of 10 IBM typewriters and a computer.

On February 23, 2019, Taylor was rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering from a heart attack.

Filmography Film Year Title RoleNotes1972 Trouble Man Leroy 1973 As Above, So Below Jita Hadi Drama film directed by Larry Clark 1980 The Hunter Trotter Thriller film directed by Buzz Kulik The Bill Cosby Show Bob Steffen 2016 American Masters Himself Episode: "Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You"