When Rod Taylor handed away, his obituary described him as “a Hollywood hellion, a tough ingesting, womanizing, combative man who loved giving outspoken interviews punctuated with four-letter phrases.”
The Australian actor’s biographer, Stephen Vagg, mentioned it was all true.
“Rod Taylor was a hard-living, womanizing man,” the Australian author, who penned the e book “Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood,” instructed Fox Information Digital.
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Rod Taylor, seen right here with Tippi Hedren in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” died in 2015. He was 84. (Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions/Album/ALAMY)
“The obituaries have been right,” mentioned Vagg. “He was a typical Australian of his technology. He preferred to drink. He began on the radio and a number of the actors would meet on the native bar whereas they have been in between jobs… He was a really social individual, and alcohol was an enormous a part of that.”
Rod Taylor and Ahna Capri in a scene from the film “Darker Than Amber,” circa 1970. (Stanley Bielecki Film Assortment/Getty Pictures)
“He had a ingesting downside,” Vagg claimed. “A variety of actors of his technology did. It was… socially acceptable on the time.
“He made a movie known as ‘The V.I.P.s’ with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor on the peak of their paparazzi mania. And apparently, everybody was throwing again whiskeys at 9 a.m.… It was a distinct time.”
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton starred alongside Rod Taylor in “The V.I.P.s.” (Silver Display Assortment/Getty Pictures)
Taylor’s brawny beauty made him a number one man for movies starting from Westerns to romantic comedies. Whereas his breakthrough got here in 1960 with “The Time Machine,” he would later star in the 1963 horror classic “The Birds.”
Alfred Hitchcock initially wished English-born actor Cary Grant for “The Birds.” (Silver Display Assortment/Getty Pictures)
“The function was initially written for Cary Grant,” Vagg defined. “I feel every time Alfred Hitchcock wrote a movie, he [went], ‘Let’s simply write it for Cary Grant.’ Nevertheless, Cary Grant was costly to rent, so [the studio] went with the cheaper choice… Rod was well-known, however not an enormous star. They forged him.”
“The lead feminine function was written for Grace Kelly, who by then had retired,” mentioned Vagg. “She was married to Prince Rainier of Monaco, [and] she wouldn’t come out of retirement. So, Hitchcock found Tippi Hedren.”
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Stephen Vagg spoke to a number of sources for his e book, together with Tippi Hedren. Rod Taylor, who was conscious of the e book being written, declined to take part. (Common Studios/Getty Pictures)
For his e book, Vagg interviewed the actress, 94, who’s the mom of Melanie Griffith and grandmother of Dakota Johnson.
“She paid a number of tribute to how Rod helped her as a result of she was such a newcomer,” mentioned Vagg. “He actually helped her out. I feel that they had marvelous chemistry within the movie. It was a tough shoot for her as a result of she was new, but additionally as a result of she had to spend so much of time… being attacked by birds.”
English director Alfred Hitchcock with a stuffed crow in a promotional portrait for his movie, “The Birds.” (Silver Display Assortment/Getty Pictures)
“And I feel Rod suits into the Alfred Hitchcock world very properly… It’s a fantastic disgrace that he and Hitchcock by no means labored collectively once more,” Vagg added.
Tippi Hedren credited Rod Taylor for supporting her on the set of “The Birds.” (John Springer Assortment/Corbis through Getty Pictures)
As Taylor skyrocketed to fame, his robust man persona caught the attention of actresses, conserving him busy as a sought-after Hollywood bachelor.
“He was a really handsome man,” mentioned Vagg. “He took benefit of that in Hollywood. I feel it’s honest to say he had a really, very lively single life for a very long time. It took him just a few marriages to search out the correct one, which generally occurs.”
A lady sits on the again of Rod Taylor in a scene from the movie “The Man Who Had Energy Over Girls,” circa 1970. (AVCO Embassy/Getty Pictures)
“Rod Taylor had plenty of high-profile romances,” Vagg shared. “One of many huge ones on the time was with Anita Ekberg, who was greatest identified for dancing within the Trevi Fountain in ‘La Dolce Vita.’
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At one level, Rod Taylor was engaged to Anita Ekberg. She handed away in 2015 at age 83. (Tom Kelley/Getty Pictures)
“They have been engaged, and they might do a number of preventing in public, and the paparazzi would observe them… They have been a flamable couple… There was a number of pleasure, however a number of turbulence. Finally, they each couldn’t maintain it. However the minute they broke up, each of them obtained engaged to different individuals fairly shortly.”
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“He additionally had a much less publicized affair with Maggie Smith,” mentioned Vagg about the actress, who died in September of this yr at age 89.
“She’s not the form of individual you affiliate with that, however he was in awe of her abilities, as most individuals have been,” mentioned Vagg. “He mentioned he fell in love along with her and was keen to marry her, however she didn’t wish to try this.
“He was a really handsome man. He took benefit of that in Hollywood. I feel it’s honest to say he had a really, very lively single life for a very long time.”
Maggie Smith and Rod Taylor starred in 1965’s “Younger Cassidy.” (FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives through Getty Pictures)
“He additionally had an affair with Frances Nuyen… and a number of his different co-stars… He was a handsome man who was a Hollywood film star. I feel that offers you a number of alternatives, and he took a number of them.”
Stephen Vagg’s e book, “Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood,” is out now. (BearManor Media)
Taylor was romantically linked to Inger Stevens, Merle Oberson, Nikki Schenck, Rhonda Fleming, Tura Satana and Nicola Michaels – simply to call just a few.
Earlier than his third marriage to Carol Kikumura, which lasted from 1980 till he died in 2015, Taylor was described as “commitment-shy” and most popular “informal romances on movie units.”
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Rod Taylor carrying actress Yvette Mimieux in his arms, circa 1960. (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Pictures)
Taylor’s rugged, but suave persona even made him a candidate to play 007 – no less than in response to him.
“Rod Taylor all the time used to say that he was up for the role of James Bond,” mentioned Vagg. “I don’t know the way critically he was thought of. I feel lots of people have been in consideration on the time. He wasn’t one of many frontrunners, that’s for certain.
Scottish actor Sean Connery as James Bond. Rod Taylor as soon as claimed he was up for the function of 007. (Getty Pictures)
“He was in a TV show called ‘Hong Kong’ that… solely ran for one season, but it surely was very, very talked-about… He performed this subtle journalist in Hong Kong. That’s an excellent James Bond trial. You possibly can have a look at that and go, ‘I can see how he would’ve been thought of.’”
Rod Taylor starred within the TV sequence “Hong Kong,” which was widespread in his native Australia. (Hulton Archive/Getty Pictures)
He did voice Pongo in Disney’s 1961 movie, “101 Dalmatians.”
Throughout his reign in Hollywood, Taylor additionally developed a detailed bond with John Wayne, his co-star in 1973’s “The Prepare Robbers.”
“They each preferred to drink, they each preferred to speak they usually each cherished to play poker,” mentioned Vagg. “John Wayne would often beat Rod Taylor at poker, however he would forgive the debt. They obtained alongside rather well. They have been each very boisterous varieties… They preferred to have all-night ingesting classes, taking part in poker and having a superb outdated time… They have been pals up till John Wayne died in 1979.”
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The forged of “The Prepare Robbers,” from left, Ben Johnson, Christopher George, Rod Taylor, Ann-Margret and John Wayne. (Sundown Boulevard/Corbis through Getty Pictures)
“These have been two males [who] cherished life,” Vagg added.
As his movie profession started to wind down, Taylor turned to tv. He additionally started to provide and co-produce his later movies and TV reveals, fastidiously investing the earnings in protected securities that ensured a cushty retirement.
Later in life, Quentin Tarantino satisfied Taylor to come back out of retirement to play Winston Churchill in “Inglorious Basterds.”
Rod Taylor and his spouse attend the Eire Fund Honoring Gene Kelly occasion on Nov. 8, 1990, in Beverly Hills, California. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Assortment through Getty Pictures)
“Rod Taylor’s remaining years have been blissful ones,” mentioned Vagg. “He lastly discovered real love together with his spouse on the time… He’d completed a number of exhausting dwelling… A variety of his contemporaries died fairly younger as a result of they didn’t deal with themselves too properly. Happily, his spouse Carol was a dancer who obtained him into yoga and consuming properly. I feel she extended his life.”
Rod Taylor was a pioneer of the Australian-New Zealand invasion of Hollywood that will come to incorporate actors Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Nicole Kidman (born in Hawaii to Australian mother and father), Geoffrey Rush and Russell Crowe. (John Springer Assortment/Corbis through Getty Pictures)
“He was content material in his previous couple of years,” he shared. “He additionally hung onto a number of his cash… he was good sufficient to try this. A variety of movie stars on the time simply didn’t, and he managed to try this.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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