Jud Taylor
Encyclopedia
Judson Taylor was an American
actor
, television director
and television producer
. He sometimes used the pseudonym Alan Smithee
.
Taylor is perhaps best known for his directorial work on 1960s television classics such as Star Trek
, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
, and Mannix
. He also performed as an actor in small parts on shows such as The Fugitive
, Harbourmaster
, and Gunsmoke
before taking up directing. He appeared twice as Red Magruder in the syndicated
military drama Men of Annapolis
. He also played the part of Goff in The Great Escape
.
Taylor was vice-president of the Directors Guild of America
from 1977 to 1981, and president from 1981 to 1983.
He died in New York City
, following a long illness.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, television director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
. He sometimes used the pseudonym Alan Smithee
Alan Smithee
Alan Smithee was an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project, coined in 1968. Until its use was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild of America when a director dissatisfied with the final product proved to...
.
Taylor is perhaps best known for his directorial work on 1960s television classics such as Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
, and Mannix
Mannix
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
. He also performed as an actor in small parts on shows such as The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
, Harbourmaster
Harbourmaster (TV series)
Harbormaster is an American adventure/drama series that premiered on September 26, 1957 on CBS. In January 1958, the series was renamed Adventure at Scott Island and began airing on ABC. Harbormaster was a Ziv production .-Synopsis:The series stars Barry Sullivan as ship's captain and crime chaser...
, and Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
before taking up directing. He appeared twice as Red Magruder in the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
military drama Men of Annapolis
Men of Annapolis
Men of Annapolis is a 41-episode half-hour syndicated drama television series in anthology format which aired from 1957–1958 and was hosted by the voice of Art Gilmore. Darryl Hickman appeared four times on the program as Dusty Rhodes, a fictitious midshipman at the United States Naval Academy in...
. He also played the part of Goff in The Great Escape
The Great Escape (film)
The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...
.
Taylor was vice-president of the Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
from 1977 to 1981, and president from 1981 to 1983.
He died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, following a long illness.
Actor
- Attack!Attack!Attack! is a board game created by Glenn Drover and published by Eagle Games in 2003. It is a light wargame that is midway between Risk and Axis and Allies in complexity. The game is loosely set in the 1930s and includes plastic pieces featuring tanks, planes, infantry, and artillery...
1956 WWII film - General Electric TheaterGeneral Electric TheaterGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
(1 episode, 1957) - GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
(1 episode, 1957) - The Adventures of Rin Tin TinThe Adventures of Rin Tin TinThe Adventures of Rin Tin Tin is an American children's television program which originally aired in 166 episodes on ABC from October 1954 until August 1959. It starred child actor Lee Aaker as Rusty, a boy orphaned in an Indian raid, who was being raised by the soldiers at a US Cavalry post known...
(1 episode, 1959) - Follow the SunFollow the Sun (TV series)Follow the Sun is an American drama series which ran for thirty episodes on the ABC television network from September 17, 1961, through April 8, 1962.-Synopsis:...
(1 episode, 1961) - The Great EscapeThe Great Escape (film)The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...
(1963) - 12 O'Clock HighTwelve O'Clock High (TV series)Twelve O'Clock High or 12 O'Clock High is an American drama series set in World War II. This TV series originally broadcasted on ABC-TV for two-and-one-half TV seasons from September 18, 1964, through January 13, 1967; was based on the motion picture Twelve O'Clock High...
(3 episodes, 1964–1965) - The FugitiveThe Fugitive (TV series)The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
(5 episodes, 1963–1965)
Director
- Dr. Kildare (2 episodes, 1965)
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
(1 episode, 1965) - A Man Called ShenandoahA Man Called ShenandoahA Man Called Shenandoah is a Western series that aired on ABC-TV from 1965 to 1966 by MGM Television.-Synopsis:The series starred Robert Horton as a man who was found shot and left for dead on the trail and is revived...
(6 episodes, 1965–1966) - ShaneShane (TV series)Shane is an American Western television series based on the 1949 book of the same name by Jack Schaefer . The series was created by Herschel Daugherty and Gary Nelson, and starred David Carradine as the title character...
(1 episode, 1966) - The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. is an American spy-fi TV series that aired on NBC for one season from September 16, 1966 to April 11, 1967. The series was a spin-off from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and used the same theme music composed by Jerry Goldsmith, which was rearranged into a slightly different,...
(1 episode, 1966) - T.H.E. Cat (1 episode, 1967)
- The Second Hundred Years (1 episode, 1967)
- The Guns of Will SonnettThe Guns of Will SonnettThe Guns of Will Sonnett is a Western television series set in the 1870s which ran on the ABC television network from 1967 to 1969. The series was the first production collaboration between Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas, who would later go on to produce one of ABC's most-memorable hits, The Mod...
(1 episode, 1968) - Judd, for the DefenseJudd, for the DefenseJudd, for the Defense is an American legal drama originally broadcast on the ABC network on Friday nights from September 8, 1967, to September 19, 1969.-Synopsis:...
(1 episode, 1968) - Star TrekStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
(5 episodes, 1968–1969) - Then Came BronsonThen Came BronsonThen Came Bronson is a short-lived adventure/drama television series that aired on NBC from 1969 to 1970, and was produced by MGM Television. The series, created by Denne Bart Petitclerc, began with a movie pilot on Monday, March 24, 1969. The series was greenlit for one year and began its first...
(8 episodes, 1969–1970) - The Bold Ones: The New DoctorsThe Bold Ones: The New DoctorsThe Bold Ones: The New Doctors is an American medical drama that lasted for four seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1973.-Overview:The series focuses on the life of Dr. David Craig The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (also known as The New Doctors) is an American medical drama that lasted for four seasons on...
(Unknown episodes, 1969) - Love, American StyleLove, American StyleLove, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
(2 episodes, 1969) - The Young LawyersThe Young LawyersThe Young Lawyers is an American legal drama that was aired on the ABC network as part of its 1970-71 lineup.-Plot:Aaron Silverman is part of a group of young, idealistic students at a top Boston law school who open a legal aid center, the "Neighborhood Law Office," to help the poor...
(Unknown episodes, 1970) - LongstreetLongstreet (TV series)Longstreet is an American crime drama series that was broadcast on the ABC in the 1971-1972 season . A 90-minute pilot movie of the same name aired prior to the debut of the series as an ABC Movie of the Week.-Synopsis:...
(1 episode, 1971) - MannixMannixMannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
(1 episode, 1971) - The RookiesThe RookiesThe Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It followed the exploits of three rookie police officers in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department .-History:...
(1 episode, 1972) - HawkinsHawkins (TV series)Hawkins is a television series which aired for one season on CBS between 1973 and 1974. The mystery, created by Robert Hamner and David Karp, starred James Stewart as rural-bred lawyer Billy Jim Hawkins, who investigated the cases he was involved in...
(4 episodes, 1973–1974) - Lou GrantLou Grant (TV series)Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
(1 episode, 1977) - Tail Gunner JoeTail Gunner JoeTail Gunner Joe is a 1977 television movie dramatizing the life of U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, a Wisconsin Republican who claimed knowledge of communist infiltration of the U.S. government during the 1950s. The film was broadcast on NBC-TV...
(1977) - FoxfireFoxfire (1987 film)Foxfire is a 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie starring Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, and John Denver, based on the play of the same name. The movie aired on CBS on December 13, 1987. Tandy won an Emmy Award for her performance.-External links:*...
(1987) - Kung Fu: The Legend ContinuesKung Fu: The Legend ContinuesKung Fu: The Legend Continues is a spin-off of the 1972-1975 television series Kung Fu. David Carradine and Chris Potter starred as a father and son trained in kung fu - Carradine playing a Shaolin monk, Potter a police detective. This series aired in syndication for four seasons, from January 27,...
(1 episode, 1993) - Law & Order: Special Victims UnitLaw & Order: Special Victims UnitLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
(5 episodes, 2000–2004)
Producer
- Return to Earth (1976)
- Woman of the Year (1976)
- Incident at Crestridge (1981)
- A Holiday to RememberA Holiday to RememberA Holiday to Remember is a TV movie starring Connie Sellecca and Randy Travis. It premiered on CBS in 1995. As of 2009, it was shown in the 25 Days of Christmas programming block on ABC Family, but it was not part of the block in 2010...
(1995)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Film or series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Nominated | Emmy Award Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various... |
Outstanding Directing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy | Tail Gunner Joe |
| 1988 | Won | Directors Guild of America Award | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials | Foxfire Foxfire (1987 film) Foxfire is a 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie starring Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, and John Denver, based on the play of the same name. The movie aired on CBS on December 13, 1987. Tandy won an Emmy Award for her performance.-External links:*... (Shared with Frederic B. Blankfein, John Eyler & Murray Schwartz) |
| 2003 | Won | Directors Guild of America Award | Robert B. Aldrich Award for Extraordinary Service to the Guild | |