McSTREAMY.COM (01/09/2015) – Rod Taylor, who co-starred in movie legends, The Time Machine, The Birds, and numerous other motion pictures, started his career as a radio actor in his native Australia. In 1954 he won an award for being the best radio actor in his country and, as a result, ended up in Los Angeles where his career on the silver screen took off.
Rod Taylor (pictured above) co-starred with Doris Day (twice), Jane Fonda, Rock Hudson, John Wayne, and many more big name actors and actresses during his best years. He was cast in Ask Any Girl with Shirley McClaine, and The VIPs with Maggie Smith. He also played the Irish playwright Sean O’Casey in Young Cassidy, and had leading roles in films by directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Michelangelo Antonioni, etc.
Rod Taylor Moved to Hollywood in 1954
In the 1980s, he was seen frequently on television, where his roles included, playing Frank Agretti, the third husband of Angela Channing, portrayed by Jane Wyman (Wyman was President Ronald Reagan’s first wife before he became President). Taylor also starred in Hong Kong and Bearcats on television and was seen in other TV productions from time to time, until he retired.
Taylor was coaxed out of retirement to become Winston Churchill in 2009’s Inglourious Basterds, the last known performance by this outstanding actor, who was well liked by fans and industry peers who appreciated him and his body of work.
When Australian Radio Actor Rod Taylor Moved to Hollywood in 1954, perhaps his purpose was to not only further his own career. Could the result also be, paving the way for the very popular Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and other Australian actors, years later?
Learn More about Rod Taylor.
