Donald Ritchie Taylor (December 13, 1920 – December 29, 1998) was an American actor and film director. He co-starred in 1940s and 1950s classics, including the 1948 film noir The Naked City, Battleground, Father of the Bride, Father's Little Dividend and Stalag 17. He later turned to directing films such as Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Tom Sawyer (1973), Echoes of a Summer (1976), and Damien - Omen II (1978).

Biography Early life and work The son of Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Taylor, Donald Ritchie Taylor was born in Freeport, Pennsylvania on December 13, 1920. (Another source says that he was born "in Pittsburgh and raised in Freeport, Pa.") He studied speech and drama at Penn State University and hitchhiked to Hollywood in 1942. He was signed as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appeared in small roles. Drafted into the United States Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, he appeared in the Air Forces' Winged Victory Broadway play and movie (1944), credited as "Cpl. Don Taylor."

Acting career After discharge from the AAF, Taylor was cast in a lead role as the young detective, Jimmy Halloran, working alongside veteran homicide detective Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) in Universal's 1948 screen version of The Naked City, which was notable for being filmed entirely on location in New York. Taylor was later part of the ensemble cast in MGM's classic World War II drama Battleground (1949). He then appeared as the husband of Elizabeth Taylor in the comedies Father of the Bride (1950) and its sequel Father's Little Dividend (1951), starring Spencer Tracy. Another memorable role was Vern "Cowboy" Blithe in Flying Leathernecks (1951). In 1952, Taylor played a soldier bringing his Japanese war-bride back to small-town America in Japanese War Bride. In 1953, Taylor had a key role as the escaping prisoner Lt. Dunbar in Billy Wilder's Stalag 17, and starred as Robin Hood in the following year's The Men of Sherwood Forest from future horror pioneers Hammer Films. His last major film role came in I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), although he continued to occasionally act for television into the early 60s.

Directorial career From the late 1950s through the 1980s, Taylor turned to directing movies and TV shows, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the short-lived Steve Canyon, starring Dean Fredericks, and Rod Serling's Night Gallery. One of his memorable efforts, in 1973, was the musical film Tom Sawyer, which boasted a Sherman Brothers song score. Other films that Taylor directed are Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Echoes of a Summer (1976), The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (also 1976), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) starring Burt Lancaster, Damien - Omen II (1978) with William Holden, and The Final Countdown (1980) with Kirk Douglas.

Taylor occasionally performed both acting and directing roles simultaneously, as he did for episodes of the TV detective series Burke's Law.

Writing career Taylor "wrote one-act plays, radio dramas, short stories, and the 1985 TV movie My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn.

Personal life

Taylor was married twice. His first wife was Phyllis Avery, whom he married in 1944; they divorced in 1955, but not before the births of their daughters Anne and Avery. His second wife was Hazel Court, whom he married in 1964 and stayed with until his death; they had a son, Jonathan, and a daughter, Courtney.

Death Taylor died on December 29, 1998, at the University of California Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, of heart failure.

Awards Nominee, Best Director – Saturn Awards (The Island of Dr. Moreau) (1977) Nominee, Best Director-Comedy – Emmy Awards (The Farmer's Daughter) (1963)

Selected filmography as director In addition to his Hollywood credits, Taylor directed 27 television movies and episodes for 53 television series including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Big Valley, Burke's Law, Cannon, Checkmate, The Dick Powell Theatre, Dr. Kildare, 87th Precinct, The Farmer's Daughter, The Flying Nun, Honky Tonk, It Takes a Thief, The Lloyd Bridges Show, The Mod Squad, Rod Serling's Night Gallery, The Rogues, The Rifleman, The Tammy Grimes Show, Vacation Playhouse, The Wild Wild West, Zane Grey Theater, and others.

Everything's Ducky (1961) Ride the Wild Surf (1964) Jack of Diamonds (1967) The Five Man Army (1969) Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) Tom Sawyer (1973) Echoes of a Summer (1976) The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (1976) The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) Damien - Omen II (1978) The Final Countdown (1980) The Diamond Trap (1988)

Selected filmography as actor Year Title Role Notes1943 The Human Comedy Soldier Uncredited Salute to the Marines Brooks - Marine at Bridge Uncredited Swing Shift Maisie Young Pilot Uncredited Thousands Cheer Soldier at Train Station Uncredited Girl Crazy Student Uncredited 1944 Winged Victory Danny 'Pinkie' Scariano 1947 Song of the Thin Man Buddy Hollis1948 The Naked City Detective Jimmy Halloran For the Love of Mary David Paxton 1949 Battleground Standiferd1950 Ambush Lieutenant Linus Delaney Father of the Bride Buckley Dunstan1951 Submarine Command Lieutenant Peter Morris Father's Little Dividend Buckley Dunstan The Flying Leathernecks Lieutenant Vern 'Cowboy' Blithe The Blue Veil Dr. Robert Palfrey Submarine Command Lieutenant Commander Peter Morris 1952 Japanese War Bride Captain Jim Sterling1953 Destination Gobi Jenkins The Girls of Pleasure Island Lieutenant Jimmy Gilmartin Stalag 17 Lieutenant James Schuyler Dunbar1954 Johnny Dark Duke Benson The Men of Sherwood Forest Robin Hood 1955 I'll Cry Tomorrow Wallie1956 The Bold and the Brave Sergeant Ewald 'Preacher' Wollaston Ride the High Iron Sergeant Hugo Danielchik1957 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Professor Donald Mason Season 3 Episode 5: "Silent Witness" Love Slaves of the Amazons Dr. Peter Masters 1961 Savage Guns Mike Summers 1969 The Five Man Army Poker Player Uncredited (final film role)

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