Vaughn Taylor (actor)

Early years

Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a graduate of Northeastern University and the Leland Powers School of Elocution, Boston. He was also a certified public accountant. In his youth, he worked in summer stock and on radio. After army service in World War II, he broke into television. His wife Ruth Moss was a radio personality and Broadway actress.

Film

Taylor's film appearances include Jailhouse Rock (1957), Decision at Sundown (1957), Cowboy (1958), Screaming Mimi (1958), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Warlock (1959), The Gallant Hours (1960), The Plunderers (1960), Diamond Head (1963), The Wheeler Dealers (1963), The Carpetbaggers (1964), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), The Professionals (1966), In Cold Blood (1967), The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968), The Power (1968), The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970).

In 1960 he appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's original Psycho as Mr. Lowery, Marion Crane's employer in a small real estate office. The same year he starred in the movie about Admiral William F. Halsey, The Gallant Hours, as Commander Mike Pulaski, USN. Taylor's final film appearance was in another comedy, The Gumball Rally, released in 1976.

Television

Taylor portrayed Horatio Frisby on the comedy series Johnny Jupiter. He was also a regular performer on Montgomery's Summer Stock, which was a summer replacement for Robert Montgomery Presents from 1953 through 1956.^:713

In his many television appearances, Taylor was cast as Julian Tyler in the 1957 episode "The Chess Player" of the CBS crime drama, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, starring David Janssen. He appeared too in several episodes of CBS's Twilight Zone, including the role of the salesman in the episode" I Sing the Body Electric". He also appeared in "Time Enough at Last", "Still Valley", "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" and "The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross".

In 1958, Taylor appeared in Steve McQueen's CBS western series, Wanted: Dead or Alive as a doctor shot to death in the back by the brother (played by Nick Adams) of an outlaw (portrayed by Michael Landon), whom he had treated. In a later episode, he appeared as a doctor whose son, played by Mark Rydell, is a thief whom Josh has brought in, only to lose the bounty because the doctor paid someone else to take the blame.

That same year, Taylor was cast on the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Cheyenne as Doc Johnson, an unusual outlaw known as "The Ghost of the Cimarron", the title of the episode. In the story line, Cheyenne Bodie must ally temporarily with Johnson to clear his own name with the law, as officers think Cheyenne is part of the gang. Peter Brown appears in this episode as Billy Younger; Wright King, as the Kiowa Kid.

Taylor guest starred as Jeremy Tolliver in the title role in the 1959 episode "The Trouble with Tolliver" of the ABC western drama, The Man from Blackhawk, starring Robert Rockwell as a roving insurance investigator. Robert Bray also appeared in this episode.

He was cast in 1960 again as a physician, Bryan Craig, in the episode "Strange Encounter" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Colt .45, starring Wayde Preston. He also guest starred in the ABC/WB detective series, Bourbon Street Beat and in the 1960 NBC summer western series, Tate, starring David McLean.

Taylor appeared three times in the 1960–1961 season in the syndicated series COronado 9 starring Rod Cameron. He guest starred on ABC's The Real McCoys, with Walter Brennan, and in 1961, he played a veterinarian in another ABC sitcom, The Hathaways, starring Peggy Cass, Jack Weston, and the Marquis Chimps. He guest starred as financier Asbury Harpending in the 1965 episode "Raid on the San Francisco Mint" on Death Valley Days, with series host Ronald W. Reagan cast as William Chapman Ralston, the founder of the Bank of California.

Taylor also appeared in 1961 in James Franciscus's short-lived CBS drama series, The Investigators.

Taylor was cast as bank president Houghton in the 1961 episode "The Proxy" on another ABC western series, The Rebel, starring Nick Adams, with whom Taylor had worked three years earlier in Wanted Dead or Alive."

In 1962 he appeared in one episode as the head college librarian opposite Gertrude Berg in her short-lived sitcom "Mrs. G. Goes to College."

He was also a frequent guest on CBS's Perry Mason legal drama, having appeared eight times, including murderer Louis Boles in the premiere episode, "The Case of the Restless Redhead" in 1957. In 1959 he played the title role, murder victim Bishop Arthur Mallory, in "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop." In 1961 he played defendant Ralph Duncan in "The Case of the Fickle Fortune." In 1963 he again played the murder victim and title character; this time as Martin Weston in "The Case of the Witless Witness."

Taylor was cast in two episodes of the ABC science fiction series The Outer Limits; in "Expanding Human" as Dean Flint, and "The Guests" as Mr. Latimer. In addition, he appeared in the pilot episode of The Invaders entitled "Beachhead". Usually involved in dramatic roles, Taylor continued to accept work in comedic productions. In 1966, in the Get Smart episode "The Diary," Taylor portrays Herb Gaffer, a retired secret agent sought by CONTROL agent Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) and by enemy spies. Taylor gets a chance in the plot to exchange humorous takes with Adams and perform some physical comedy. Another veteran of acting, Ellen Corby, also appears in this same Get Smart episode, which takes place in "Spy City," a retirement community for former agents.

In 1966 and 1968, Taylor made guest appearances on Petticoat Junction. In 1966 he played Mr. Foley, episode: "Better Never Than Late", and in 1968 he played Mr. Clayton, episode: "Uncle Joe Runs the Hotel".

Death

Taylor died in April 1983 at the age of seventy-three.