William Hurley Traylor Jr. (October 8, 1930 – September 23, 1989) was an American film, stage, and television actor. He was also, along with his wife, Peggy Feury, an acting coach and founder of The Loft Studio, an acting school attended by such major stars as Sean Penn, Anjelica Huston and Nicolas Cage. He is the father of actresses Stephanie Feury and Susan Traylor.
Early life He was born William Hurley Traylor Jr. in Kirksville, Missouri, to parents Edna Mae (Singleton) and William Hurley Traylor Sr. Kirksville had a population of 8,293 at the time. A fellow member of the Actors Studio, Geraldine Page, was also born in Kirksville. Traylor and his two siblings, sisters Patricia (Traylor) Weber and Lucille (Traylor) Jorgenson, were raised in the Brashear, Missouri area, where William Sr. operated an oil business and service station.Kirksville Daily Express. Edna Traylor obituary. Published December 19, 1991. Brashear is a small farm town with the Hog Branch stream running through one corner of it. When Traylor lived there, it had a population of only about 438 people, though it has shrunk considerably since then.A Book Of Adair County History, Published by the Adair County Bicentennial Committee, 1976.
Actors Studio In his twenties, William Traylor arrived in New York City, where he studied acting, and soon became a member of the Actors Studio. The Actors Studio was founded in 1947 by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow, to provide training for actors. Lee Strasberg joined later and became its director in 1951. The Actors Studio is known for teaching method acting, as it evolved out of the Group Theatre in the 1930s and the ideas of Constantin Stanislavski.Anna Sokolow The Rebellious Spirit by Larry Warren pages 89–94: The Actors Studio.
As a member of the Actors Studio in New York, Traylor, along with others, participated in a program to record and archive work that was being done there, including performances of scenes from dramatic literature. Traylor participated in these recordings from 1961 to 1968. These recordings have been archived as part of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
Television As an actor in New York, Traylor began appearing in roles in television dramas during what has become known as the Golden Age of television. He appeared in Screen Directors Playhouse, Highway Patrol, I Led 3 Lives, The Alcoa Hour, Goodyear Playhouse, Flipper, Father Knows Best, Naked City, and others.
Theatre He also performed on stage in theatres on Broadway as well as off Broadway, and in theatres in the region. His debut on Broadway occurred on November 14, 1957 at the Belasco Theatre, and was a remarkable opportunity. Traylor appeared in two comedies written by and starring theatre legend Noël Coward: Present Laughter with Traylor appearing as Roland Maule, and Nude With Violin with Traylor appearing as Clinton Preminger. Other cast members included Eva Gabor, Morris Carnovsky, Joyce Carey, and Mona Washbourne. The plays were produced together, and performed on different nights in repertory.Coward, Noel. Present Laughter. Playbill programCoward, Noel. Nude with Violin. Playbill program Traylor received positive personal notices for his Broadway debut.Peterson, Camilla. "'LAUGHTER' Noel Coward Play Provides 'A Good Time'". Stanford Daily. February 27, 1958.
During that production, Traylor had a problematic and apparently sexual relationship with Coward, which caused them both anguish, and resulted in an apparent suicide attempt by Traylor. The run of show ended soon after, and the company dispersed.Hoare, Phillip. Noel Coward: A Biography of Noel Coward. Simon and Schuster (2013) pages 442-433.. Coward, Noel. Coward Plays: 6: Semi-Monde; Point Valaine; South Sea Bubble; Nude With Violin. World Classics. (2013) p. 10 of introduction by Sheridan Morley. In 2013, British playwright, James Martin Charlton, used this episode as the basis for a fictionalized theatrical dramatization, entitled Coward. According to the press and the reviews of the production, the names of the characters, and the setting, and the period were all changed in the manner of a roman à clef, and none of the fictional characters were portrayed in an especially positive light by the playwright.Wainwright, Jon. "Coward – White Bear Theatre, London." The Public Reviews. October 25, 2013.O'Shaughnessy, Chris. "The rationality of evil: Coward at the White Bear Theatre". October 25, 2013.
Traylor went on to appear on Broadway in The Glass Menagerie, Show Boat, and Of Love Remembered, which was directed by Burgess Meredith.Playbill program. Showboat. 1966. Schubert TheatreOf Love Remembered. Playbill program
Los Angeles He met and married a fellow Actors Studio member, the actress Peggy Feury in 1961. Eventually, professional opportunities drew Traylor to Los Angeles. His family, which now included two young children, Stephanie and Susan, left New York to join him in Los Angeles. On September 23, 1989, just 14 days before his 59th birthday, he suddenly died from a heart attack at his home.
In Los Angeles, he appeared in television dramas and series, including Adam-12, Bracken's World, The F.B.I., McMillan & Wife, Mannix, Kung Fu and The Execution of Private Slovik.
Films His film work includes Cisco Pike (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974), Smile (1975), S*H*E (1980), The Long Riders (1980), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), Fletch (1985) (for which he is best remembered as the uptight Mr. Underhill) and others. Year Title Role Notes1955 The Last Frontier Soldier Uncredited1961 One Plus One Hollister ("Honeymoon' segment)1964 Diary of a Bachelor The Bachelor 1968 Windflowers FBI Agent #1 1968 The Boston Strangler Arnie Carr 1970 Colossus: The Forbin Project Party Guest Uncredited1972 Cisco Pike Jack 1972 The Legend of Hillbilly John Reverend Millen 1974 The Towering Inferno Security Guard in Control Room Uncredited1975 Smile Ray Brandy 1980 S*H*E Lacey 1980 The Long Riders Pinkerton 1981 The Postman Always Rings Twice Sackett 1983 The Man with Two Brains Inspector 1984 The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension General Catburd 1985 Fletch Ted Underhill 1989 Fletch Lives 1989 Dead Bang Elton Tremmel (final film role)
Teacher He and his wife, Peggy Feury, together founded the Loft Studio to teach acting.Oakley, James. "Susan Traylor's LA Story". Interview Magazine. July 11, 2012. Peggy Feury. New York Times. November 26, 1985 The Loft Studio became a greatly admired acting studio, where Traylor and Feury brought the precepts of Stanislavski, and lessons from their own experiences at the Actors Studio, and the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. They taught a remarkable roster of actors, including Sean Penn,Abramowitz, Rachel. "Don't Get Him Started". Los Angeles Times. January 6, 2002. Parker, Sachi. Lucky Me: My Life With--and Without--My Mom, Shirley MacLaine. Penguin (2013) Johnny Depp,Blitz, Michael. Krasniewicz, Louise. Johnny Depp: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group (2007) Page 20. Ellen Burstyn,Burstyn, Ellen. Lessons in Becoming Myself By Ellen Burstyn Jeff Goldblum,DiMarco, Damon. The Quotable Actor: 1001 Pearls of Wisdom from Actors Talking About Acting. Santa Monica Press. (2009) Page 133. Lily Tomlin, Joanna Kerns,Ardmore, Jane. "Growing a Delight for Joanna Kerns". February 4, 1987. Lawrence Journal-World. Page 4. Annette O'Toole,Densmore, John. Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and the Doors. Random House Publishing Group (2009) John Mayall, Anjelica Huston,Kozlowski, Carl. Fleischauer, Robert. Oscar-winning actress Anjelica Huston hits the Alex Theatre Nov 20 to discuss her memoir 'Watch Me'. Pasadena Weekly. November 13, 2014. Meg Tilly,White, Nancy J. "International Women's Day: Behind every great woman — there's a woman". Toronto Star. March 7, 2014. Nicolas Cage,Hoare, Philip. Noel Coward: A Biography of Noel Coward. Simon and Schuster (2013) Michelle PfeifferParker, Sachi. Lucky Me: My Life With--and Without--My Mom, Shirley MacLaine. Penguin (2013) and Callie Khouri — who wrote the film Thelma and Louise.Field, Syd. Four Screenplays: Studies in the American Screenplay. Random House. (2009)
References
External links (archive)
William Traylor at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection