Grant Taylor (actor)
Encyclopedia
Grant Taylor 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).
with his parents as a child. For a time he worked as a professional boxer in Melbourne under the name of Lance Matheson. 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.
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 ingenue
s". 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..
Taylor's physique, good looks and charm saw Ken G. Hall
cast him in Dad Rudd, MP
(1940). He was then selected by Charles Chauvel to play the lead role of 'Red' Gallagher in the war film
Forty Thousand Horsemen
(1940). 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.
Taylor enlisted in the Australian army on 7 October 1942. During the war he served as a military policeman and in the Australian Army Entertainment Unit alongside Smoky Dawson
. He also appeared in some propaganda shorts as well as the feature The Rats of Tobruk
(1944), which reunited him with Chauvel and Chips Rafferty
. 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. He was discharged on 26 February 1946.
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, and played the title role in Captain Thunderbolt (1953).
In 1954 Taylor co-starred as a pirate with Robert Newton
in Long John Silver
, and it's television spin off, The Adventures of Long John Silver. His son Kit played Jim Hawkins.
In 1959 Taylor appeared in a brief role in Stanley Kramer
's On the Beach
. In 1964 he appeared in the ABC-TV
children's adventure serial The Stranger
, Australia's first locally-produced science fiction TV series, which was also sold to the BBC.
, 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
and several Lew Grade
-backed projects, including The Avengers
, The Champions
and The Troubleshooters. He was a Scots border chieftain in the BBC's 1968 colour costume drama The Borderers.
His most fondly-remembered role was in the Gerry Anderson science fiction
series UFO
, where he played sometime-ally, sometime-antagonist General Henderson, with wild eyebrows! 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.
On the movie side Taylor appeared in the big-screen adaptation of Quatermass and the Pit
(1967) and opposite the kids in Calamity the Cow
(with Phil Collins
).
He died of cancer
in 1971 aged 54.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
-born actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
best known as the abrasive General Henderson in the Gerry Anderson science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
and for his lead role in Forty Thousand Horsemen
Forty Thousand Horsemen
Forty Thousand Horsemen is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse cavalry which operated in the desert at the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I. It follows the adventures of three rowdy heroes in fighting and...
(1940).
Australian work
Taylor was born in Newcastle-On-Tyne in England, but moved to AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with his parents as a child. For a time he worked as a professional boxer in Melbourne under the name of Lance Matheson. Cinesound Productions
Cinesound Productions
Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was one of Australia's first feature film production companies. Established in June 1932, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred around Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from production, to distribution and...
were looking for someone with wrestling skills to play the part of a gorilla in Gone to the Dogs
Gone to the Dogs (1939 film)
Gone to the Dogs is a 1939 comedy vehicle starring George Wallace. It was the second of two films he made for director Ken G. Hall, following Let George Do It .-Synopsis:...
(1939), so Taylor auditioned. He did not get the part but met Alec Kellaway
Alec Kellaway
Alec Kellaway was a South African-born actor best known for his work in Australian theatre and film, notably playing a number of character roles for director Ken G. Hall. He was the brother of Cecil Kellaway...
who persuaded him to join Cinesound's Talent School.
Ken G. Hall
Ken G. Hall
Kenneth George Hall, AO OBE , better known as Ken G. Hall, was an Australian film director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry.-Early years:...
said that one of the problems of the Australian industry of this time was they "were consistently short of trained juveniles and ingenue
Ingenue (stock character)
See also Disingenuous, which is not quite the antonym that it may seem!The ingénue is a stock character in literature, film, and a role type in the theatre; generally a girl or a young woman who is endearingly innocent and wholesome. Ingenue may also refer to a new young actress or one typecast in...
s". Cinesound in particular had a great deal of trouble finding male romantic leads. They either left to work in radio (Dick Fair
Dick Fair
Dick Fair , full name Richard Edward Fair, was an Australian actor and radio compere, best known for hosting the enormously-popular radio shows 'Australia's Amateur Hour' and 'Australia's Hour of Song'...
), returned overseas (John Longden
John Longden
John Longden was a West Indian-born English film actor. He appeared in 84 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.-Biography:...
, Billy Rayes
Billy Rayes
Billy Rayes was an American actor, juggler and mimic. He was touring Australia when signed to appear as the male juvenile in Dad and Dave Come to Town . He appeared alongside his wife, the American model, Leila Steppe....
), left for overseas (Frank Leighton
Frank Leighton
Frank Leighton was an Australian actor best known for two leading roles in films for Ken G. Hall, Thoroughbred and Tall Timbers .-Biography:...
), or died (Brian Abbot
Brian Abbot
Brian Abbot , real name George Rikard Bell, was an Australian actor best known for playing the male lead in Orphan of the Wilderness and the circumstances of his death.-Biography:...
). Cinesound Talent School was partly founded with an intention to rectify this..
Taylor's physique, good looks and charm saw Ken G. Hall
Ken G. Hall
Kenneth George Hall, AO OBE , better known as Ken G. Hall, was an Australian film director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry.-Early years:...
cast him in Dad Rudd, MP
Dad Rudd, MP
Dad Rudd, M.P. is a 1940 comedy that was the last of four films made by Ken G. Hall starring Bert Bailey as Dad Rudd. It was the last feature film directed by Hall prior to the war and the last made by Cinesound Productions, Bert Bailey and Frank Harvey....
(1940). He was then selected by Charles Chauvel to play the lead role of 'Red' Gallagher in the war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
Forty Thousand Horsemen
Forty Thousand Horsemen
Forty Thousand Horsemen is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse cavalry which operated in the desert at the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I. It follows the adventures of three rowdy heroes in fighting and...
(1940). 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
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and Taylor was unable to follow up his success immediately.
Taylor enlisted in the Australian army on 7 October 1942. During the war he served as a military policeman and in the Australian Army Entertainment Unit alongside Smoky Dawson
Smoky Dawson
Smoky Dawson, MBE , born Herbert Henry Dawson, was an Australian country music performer. He was widely touted as Australia's first singing cowboy.-Biography:...
. He also appeared in some propaganda shorts as well as the feature The Rats of Tobruk
The Rats of Tobruk (1944 film)
The Rats of Tobruk is a 1944 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film follows three drover friends who enlist in the Australian Army together during World War II. Their story is based on the siege of the Libyan city of Tobruk in North Africa by Rommel's Afrika Korps...
(1944), which reunited him with Chauvel and Chips Rafferty
Chips Rafferty
Chips Rafferty MBE was an iconic Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the 1940s until his death in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American...
. 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
Sons of Matthew
Sons of Matthew is a 1949 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film was shot in 1947 on location in Queensland, Australia and the studio sequences in Sydney...
), he did not appear in it. He was discharged on 26 February 1946.
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
Charles Tingwell
In 1941, aged 18, he volunteered for war service overseas with the Royal Australian Air Force. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, personnel from Commonwealth air forces were part of a joint training and assignment system. Consequently, Tingwell trained as a pilot in Canada during 1942...
and Chips Rafferty
Chips Rafferty
Chips Rafferty MBE was an iconic Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the 1940s until his death in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American...
. However he remained busy as a character actor, and in radio and theatre, and played the title role in Captain Thunderbolt (1953).
In 1954 Taylor co-starred as a pirate with Robert Newton
Robert Newton
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
in Long John Silver
Long John Silver (film)
Long John Silver is a 1954 Australian film about the eponymous pirate from Treasure Island, starring Robert Newton as Silver and Rod Taylor as Israel Hands....
, and it's television spin off, The Adventures of Long John Silver. His son Kit played Jim Hawkins.
In 1959 Taylor appeared in a brief role in Stanley Kramer
Stanley Kramer
Stanley Earl Kramer was an American film director and producer. Kramer was responsible for some of Hollywood's most famous "message" movies...
's On the Beach
On the Beach (1959 film)
On the Beach is a post-apocalyptic drama film based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel of the same name. The film features Gregory Peck , Ava Gardner , Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins...
. In 1964 he appeared in the ABC-TV
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
children's adventure serial The Stranger
The Stranger (Australian TV series)
The Stranger was an Australian science fiction television series made for children and produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
, Australia's first locally-produced science fiction TV series, which was also sold to the BBC.
UK work
Returning to the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Taylor worked on the long-running medical drama Emergency Ward 10
Emergency Ward 10
Emergency – Ward 10 is a British television series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like The Grove Family, a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, Emergency – Ward 10 is considered to be one of British television's first major soap operas.-Overview:The series was made by the ITV...
. This led to plenty of work in character roles, from Anglia TV's soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Weavers Green
Weavers Green
Weavers Green was a British television soap opera, made in 1966 for ITV by Anglia Television. It was notable for being one of the first television programmes to be shot on location using videotape and outside broadcast equipment, rather than film, as had usually been the case for non-studio...
and several Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
-backed projects, including The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, The Champions
The Champions
The Champions is a British espionage/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure series consisting of 30 episodes broadcast on the UK network ITV during 1968–1969, produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company...
and The Troubleshooters. He was a Scots border chieftain in the BBC's 1968 colour costume drama The Borderers.
His most fondly-remembered role was in the Gerry Anderson science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
, where he played sometime-ally, sometime-antagonist General Henderson, with wild eyebrows! 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.
On the movie side Taylor appeared in the big-screen adaptation of Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit is a British television science-fiction serial, originally transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's Quatermass serials, although the character would reappear in a 1979 ITV production simply entitled Quatermass...
(1967) and opposite the kids in Calamity the Cow
Calamity the Cow
Calamity The Cow was a film made for the Children's Film Foundation in 1967. The film starred young child actor Phil Collins, just three years prior to joining Genesis.- Cast :* John Moulder-Brown as Rob Grant* Elizabeth Dear as Jo Grant...
(with Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
).
He died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 1971 aged 54.
Filmography
- Dad Rudd, MPDad Rudd, MPDad Rudd, M.P. is a 1940 comedy that was the last of four films made by Ken G. Hall starring Bert Bailey as Dad Rudd. It was the last feature film directed by Hall prior to the war and the last made by Cinesound Productions, Bert Bailey and Frank Harvey....
(1940) - Forty Thousand HorsemenForty Thousand HorsemenForty Thousand Horsemen is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse cavalry which operated in the desert at the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I. It follows the adventures of three rowdy heroes in fighting and...
(1940) - 100,000 Cobbers100,000 Cobbers100,000 Cobbers is a 1942 dramatised documentary made by director Ken G. Hall for the Australian Department of Information during World War II to boost recruitment into the armed forces. It was filmed at Liverpool Military camp in 1941 using national servicemen...
(1942) - short - The Rats of TobrukThe Rats of Tobruk (1944 film)The Rats of Tobruk is a 1944 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film follows three drover friends who enlist in the Australian Army together during World War II. Their story is based on the siege of the Libyan city of Tobruk in North Africa by Rommel's Afrika Korps...
(1944) - Eureka StockadeEureka Stockade (film)Eureka Stockade is a 1949 British film of the story surrounding Peter Lalor and the gold miners' rebellion of 1854 at the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, Victoria...
(1949) - The Kangaroo KidThe Kangaroo KidMatt Coulter, the Kangaroo Kid, is a world class stuntman from Brisbane, Australia. Most of his stunts are performed on a Quad bike.In 2000 he created two new "Guinness Book of Records" records by jumping 14 4 x 4 jeeps and 4 moving 4 x 4 jeeps...
(1950) - Inland with SturtInland with SturtInland with Sturt is a 1951 short from Film Australia about the 1950-51 re-enactment of Captain Charles Sturt's 1829-30 expedition down the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers...
(1951) - short - Captain Thunderbolt (1953)
- His Majesty O'KeefeHis Majesty O'KeefeHis Majesty O'Keefe is a 1954 adventure film starring Burt Lancaster. The film was directed by Byron Haskin and Otto Heller and included choreography by Daniel Nagrin...
(1953) - Long John SilverLong John Silver (film)Long John Silver is a 1954 Australian film about the eponymous pirate from Treasure Island, starring Robert Newton as Silver and Rod Taylor as Israel Hands....
(1954) - The Adventures of Long John Silver (1955) - TV series
- On the BeachOn the Beach (1959 film)On the Beach is a post-apocalyptic drama film based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel of the same name. The film features Gregory Peck , Ava Gardner , Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins...
(1959) - Smiley Gets a GunSmiley Gets a GunSmiley Gets a Gun is a 1958 American-British film that is the sequel to Smiley. Keith Calvert replaces Colin Petersen in the title role.-Cast:* Sybil Thorndike as Granny McKinley* Chips Rafferty* Keith Calvert as Smiley* Grant Taylor as Stiffy...
(1959) - The Siege of PinchgutThe Siege of PinchgutThe Siege of Pinchgut is a 1959 British thriller film directed by Harry Watt. It was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. It was the last film from Ealing Studios.-Plot:...
(1959) - The StrangerThe Stranger (Australian TV series)The Stranger was an Australian science fiction television series made for children and produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
(1964) - TV series - Emergency Ward 10Emergency Ward 10Emergency – Ward 10 is a British television series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like The Grove Family, a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, Emergency – Ward 10 is considered to be one of British television's first major soap operas.-Overview:The series was made by the ITV...
- TV series - Weavers GreenWeavers GreenWeavers Green was a British television soap opera, made in 1966 for ITV by Anglia Television. It was notable for being one of the first television programmes to be shot on location using videotape and outside broadcast equipment, rather than film, as had usually been the case for non-studio...
- TV series - The AvengersThe Avengers (TV series)The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
- TV series - The ChampionsThe ChampionsThe Champions is a British espionage/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure series consisting of 30 episodes broadcast on the UK network ITV during 1968–1969, produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company...
- TV series - The Troubleshooters - TV series
- The Borderers (1968) - TV series
- Quatermass and the PitQuatermass and the PitQuatermass and the Pit is a British television science-fiction serial, originally transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's Quatermass serials, although the character would reappear in a 1979 ITV production simply entitled Quatermass...
(1967) - Calamity the CowCalamity the CowCalamity The Cow was a film made for the Children's Film Foundation in 1967. The film starred young child actor Phil Collins, just three years prior to joining Genesis.- Cast :* John Moulder-Brown as Rob Grant* Elizabeth Dear as Jo Grant...
(1967) - UFOUFO (TV series)UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
(1970-71) - TV series
External Links
- Grant Taylor at IMDB
- Grant Taylor Australian theatre credits at AusstageAusstageAusStage is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia. It provides records of productions from the beginnings of theatre in Australia up to today...
- Grant Taylor at National Film and Sound ArchiveNational Film and Sound ArchiveThe National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...