Jack Taylor (born George Brown Randall; October 21, 1936) is an American actor best known for starring in many European low-budget exploitation films of the 1970s, in particular several directed by Spanish cult filmmaker Jesús Franco.[1][2][3] Born in the Portland, Oregon suburb of Oregon City, Taylor began acting onstage as a child. In the 1950s, he began appearing in small roles on Los Angeles-based television series before moving to Mexico and starring in several films directed by Federico Curiel.
Jack Taylor | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Taylor in Succubus (1968) | |
| Born | George Brown Randall October 21, 1936 Oregon City, Oregon, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1960–2015 |
Taylor had several minor roles in films in the early 1960s, including Cleopatra (1963) and Custer of the West (1966) before having a lead role in Jesús Franco's Succubus (1968). Taylor subsequently relocated to Madrid, and appeared in numerous exploitation and horror films there, including Count Dracula (1970), Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion (also 1970), Female Vampire (1973), and Pieces (1982).
Taylor's later roles include 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), Roman Polanski's The Ninth Gate (1999), Daryush Shokof's A2Z (filmed 2004) and Miloš Forman's Goya's Ghosts (2006).
Early life edit
Taylor was born George Brown Randall[2] on October 21, 1936 in Oregon City, Oregon,[4] a suburb of Portland. He began acting as a child, first appearing in a stage production of Macbeth.[5]
Career edit
He adopted the stage name Jack Taylor and began his acting career in small roles in 1950s American TV shows such as The Jack Benny Program and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. He relocated to Mexico in the late 1950s and starred in a number of films for director Federico Curiel, often vehicles for the Mexican characters Nostradamus the Vampire and the superhero Neutron. Reportedly, he moved to Europe to appear in Elizabeth Taylor's epic Cleopatra (1963), but his small part ended up uncredited.
Taylor had a minor role in the international co-production sou Robert Siodmak's Custer of the West (1966).
In 1967, Taylor began his prolific collaboration with Jesús Franco in Succubus (1968, his first onscreen lead role) and Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion (1970).[6] He went on to play Quincey Morris in the 1970 Franco opus Count Dracula alongside Christopher Lee, Herbert Lom, Soledad Miranda and Klaus Kinski, before appearing in many of Franco's softcore films, most famously Female Vampire (1973) with Lina Romay.[7]
During this period, Taylor also co-starred with Spanish horror star Paul Naschy in Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf (1971) and The Mummy's Revenge (1975) and worked for director Amando de Ossorio on three occasions, on The Ghost Galleon (1974), Night of the Sorcerers (1974) and The Sea Serpent (1985). He appeared in León Klimovsky's The Vampires Night Orgy (1972) and the Italian giallo film Red Rings of Fear (1978). Juan Piquer Simón directed him in two films, a Jules Verne adventure film called Where Time Began (1978) and the gory cult film Pieces (1982).[8] Taylor next appeared as a priest in John Milius' Conan the Barbarian (1982).
José Ramón Larraz directed Taylor in two other Spanish slasher films: Rest in Pieces (1987) and Edge of the Axe (1988). He also had a supporting role in Ridley Scott's 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and later co-starred with Johnny Depp in Roman Polanski's horror film The Ninth Gate (1999).
He next appears in André Téchiné's Loin (2001), and Miloš Forman's Goya's Ghosts (2006). Taylor had a supporting role in Son of Cain (2013), followed by Grand Piano (also 2013), starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack.[9]
Select filmography edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Neutron, the Man in the Black Mask | |||
| 1960 | Neutron vs. The Amazing Dr. Caronte | |||
| 1960 | Neutron vs. The Death Robots | |||
| 1961 | The Curse of Nostradamus | |||
| 1962 | Nostradamus, the Genie of Darkness | |||
| 1962 | Nostradamus, the Monster Demolisher | |||
| 1963 | Cleopatra | Caesar's Slave | ||
| 1964 | Tomb of the Pistolero | Herbert Brandon | ||
| 1965 | Fall of the Mohicans | Duncan Edward | ||
| 1966 | Custer of the West | |||
| 1967 | Agente Sigma 3 - Missione Goldwather | Charles Butler, Agent Sigma 3 | Alternate title: Sigma 3 | |
| 1968 | Succubus | William Francis Mulligan | Alternate title: Necronomicon - Geträumte Sünden | [10] |
| 1969 | Nightmares Come at Night | Cynthia's Lover | ||
| 1970 | Count Dracula | Quincey Morris | [11] | |
| 1970 | Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion | Mirvel | [12] | |
| 1971 | Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf | Henry Jekyll | [13] | |
| 1972 | The Vampires Night Orgy | Luis | [14] | |
| 1972 | The Vengeance of Doctor Mabuse | Farkas / Mabuse | ||
| 1973 | The Killer is One of Thirteen | Harlan | ||
| 1973 | Autopsy | Dr. Azcona | ||
| 1973 | Tender and Perverse Emanuelle | Michel Dreville | ||
| 1973 | Female Vampire | Baron Von Rathony | [7] | |
| 1974 | The Ghost Galleon | Howard Tucker | Alternative title: Horror of the Zombies | |
| 1974 | Night of the Sorcerers | Prof. Jonathan Grant | [15] | |
| 1975 | The Mummy's Revenge | Prof. Nathan Stern | [16] | |
| 1975 | Devil's Exorcist | Dr. Beneau / Michele | ||
| 1977 | Sexy Sisters | Dr. Charles | ||
| 1977 | Voodoo Passion | Jack Haus | ||
| 1977 | Where Time Began | Olsen | ||
| 1978 | Red Rings of Fear | Parravicino | ||
| 1978 | Nathalie: Escape from Hell | Lt. Erik Muller | ||
| 1980 | Vicious and Nude | Juan | ||
| 1982 | Pieces | Professor Arthur Brown | [8] | |
| 1982 | Conan the Barbarian | Priest | ||
| 1984 | The Panther Squad | Frank Bramble | ||
| 1985 | Angel of Death | Aaron Horner | ||
| 1985 | The Sea Serpent | Asesino | Alternative title: Hydra | |
| 1987 | Rest in Pieces | David Hume | ||
| 1988 | Edge of the Axe | Christopher Caplin | ||
| 1988 | Iguana | Captain 'Old Lady II' | ||
| 1989 | Fine Gold | Banquero 2 | ||
| 1992 | 1492: Conquest of Paradise | De Vicuña | ||
| 1999 | Presence of Mind | Father | ||
| 1999 | The Ninth Gate | Victor Fargas | [17] | |
| 2001 | Loin | James | ||
| 2004 | The Birthday | Ron Fulton | ||
| 2004 | A2Z | |||
| 2010 | Agnosía | Meissner | ||
| 2013 | Son of Cain | Andrew Holsteter | ||
| 2013 | Grand Piano | Patrick Godureaux | [9] | |
| 2013 | Presentimientos (Inside Love) | Abel | [18] | |
| 2014 | Wax | Dr. Knox |
References edit
- ^ "Q&A: Jack Taylor". spanishfear.com. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
- ^ a b Belategui, Oskar (May 2, 2019). "Ser el malo siempre es mejor: la gente solo se acuerda de ti". El Correo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 5, 2019.
- ^ Weismann 2021, p. 118.
- ^ "Jack Taylor". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021.
- ^ Andreu, Jerónimo (March 23, 2010). "En la cárcel de su misterio". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on August 16, 2019.
- ^ Young 2000, pp. 197, 438.
- ^ a b "Female Vampire". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Muir 2010, p. 344.
- ^ a b Twelftree, Rodney (2013). "Movie Review – Grand Piano". Fernby Films. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022.
- ^ Young 2000, p. 438.
- ^ Young 2000, p. 115.
- ^ Young 2000, p. 197.
- ^ Young 2000, p. 169.
- ^ Young 2000, p. 468.
- ^ Young 2000, p. 449.
- ^ Young 2000, p. 423.
- ^ Caputo 2012, p. 229.
- ^ Caviaro, Juan Luis (24 January 2014). "Estrenos de cine | 24 de enero | Von Trier y Spike Lee contra Hércules". Espinof.
Sources edit
- Caputo, Davide (2012). Polanski and Perception: The Psychology of Seeing and the Cinema of Roman Polanski. Bristol, England: Intellect Ltd. ISBN 978-1-841-50552-7.
- Muir, John Kenneth (2010). Horror Films of the 1980s. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-45501-0.
- Weismann, Brad (2021). Lost in the Dark: A World History of Horror Film. Jackson, Mississippi: Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-496-83325-9.
- Young, R. G. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies. New York City, New York: Applause Books. ISBN 978-1-557-83269-6.
External links edit
- Jack Taylor at IMDb
- Jack Taylor at AllMovie