eXcentris

Rod Taylor, star of The Birds, dies aged 84



Australian actor Rod Taylor, who starred in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller The Birds, has died aged 84, according to reports in the US.

Taylor, who lived in the United States, is said to have died at his home in Los Angeles after a dinner party.

He came to prominence in the 1960s, starring alongside Hollywood greats like Jane Fonda and Richard Burton.

In 2009, he made a cameo as ex-UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds.

He got his first leading role in the 1960 adaptation of HG Wells' science-fiction classic The Time Machine and went on to star in several hit films in the 1960s and 1970s.

He also voiced one of the Dalmatian dogs in Disney's animated hit 101 Dalmatians.

Tippi Hedren, his co-star in The Birds, told People magazine that Taylor had been "a great pal to me and a real strength".

"He was one of the most fun people I have ever met, thoughtful and classy. There was everything good in that man," she said.

He was due to turn 85 on Sunday.

He is survived by spouse Carol Kikumura and daughter Felicia Rodrica Sturt Taylor, a TV presenter in the US.

RocShemp

GoldenJCJ

I remember him mostly from The Time Machine. I didn't know he played Churchill in Inglourious Basterds.

RIP

Jon2

One of my favorite actors.

R.I.P. Time traveler.

What were those three books.

Maxflier

Loved him from The Time Machine and The Birds.
R.I.P.

GreenVulture

Sad news to hear, I always thought he was a pretty underrated actor.

He'll be forever remembered for The Birds and The Time Machine, but I'd like to recommend a trio of movies that haven't found much of an audience beyond a small cult: Dark of the Sun, Darker Than Amber and 36 Hours. All three are well worth your time and worth seeking out-- 36 Hours is OOP I believe and I don't think Amber has ever had an official DVD, but Dark of the Sun is part of the Warner Archive line and is an excellent mercenary/smuggler/war film that got some notoriety at the time due to its violent content--right down your alley if you're a fan of "men on a mission" movies.

The Valeyard

Great actor! One of my favorites. He will be missed.

Giantrobo

Seemed like a cool Man. RIP

rw2516

He made many, many good movies. He was one of those actors it was great to just watch. The John Wayne film The Train Robbers is about the worst film I can think of with him in it.
Other good ones: Fate Is The Hunter, Chuka, Glass Bottom Boat, and last but not least the very funny 60s spy spoof The Liquidator.
The short lived tv series Bearcats! is very good and available on dvd.
One thing he did that sucked, can't remember name of it, 80s or 90s tv series about some Texas Rangers in old west who get caught in some kind of "time storm" and transported to our present. They open a modern detective agency. Lame.
I have always believed that in the day, he would have made a great James Bond.

Time Warrior

Starred in my favourite film of all time - Nobody Runs Forever (1967). RIP.

Solid Snake

Wow. Didn't know he was Churchill in Basterds.

creekdipper

He was also good in the short-lived series Bearcats! with co-star Dennis Cole. It was set in the early Twentieth-Century (around Pancho Villa time) with our leads playing mercenaries who hired out as trouble-shooters sorting out various violent messes. They traveled around in a yellow Stutz Bearcat which lent its name to the show. Only lasted 13 episodes; I think it was canceled partially because it was expensive to film.

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Edit: apologies to rw2516, who already mentioned the show about 3 posts back. I actually read your post including the part about the Texas Rangers but was in a hurry & totally missed the line about Bearcats. Glad to see another fan of the show.

mike7162

The Birds is in my top ten, and The Time Machine I watched dozens of times on Family Classics with Frazier Thomas on WGN. Thanks for the memories.

Mondo Kane

I've actually created a "Ultimate Time Machine" re-edited version that has plenty of time songs playing over the movie. The playlist looked something like this:

"Time is on my side" Stones
"Time won't let me" Outsiders
"Time" Alan Parsons Project (This actually plays beautifully over the time-travel segments starting when the lava starts to flow)
"Time" Culture Club
"Time Has Come Today" Chambers Bros (Full 11-minute version) Works great with the Morlock scenes
"Got The Time" Anthrax (During the earth-collapse)
"Good Riddance-Time of your life Green Day (Closes out the movie well)

RIP, Rod

Paul_SD

As a bif catalog fan, I've come to notice and like him quite a bit in the last ten years or so. Often he's shown up in something I had already planned to watch for other reasons, but his presence just made it that much more enjoyable (Fate Is The Hunter, Separate Tables, The V.I.P.'s, and 36 Hours come to mind).

Warner has been teasing Raintree County for several years now. Hopefully that'll get a release soon.

ken_572002

Think I'll watch The Train Robbers in his honor today...great actor.

Match

Birds and Time Machine were my favorites.
RIP Rod.