On the occasion of Rod Taylor’s birthday (Jan. 11, 1930), I’m sharing a recent acquisition that definitely casts Rod in the party spirit.
“How Rod Taylor Muscled in on Hollywood,” was part of a series of articles titled “The Hellraisers” in Australia’s TV Times magazine. The installment featuring Rod was published Aug. 4, 1973. Link to PDF of the article
The article features an interview with Rod in a boisterous mood, emphasizing the “booze, broads and brawls” aspect of Rod’s life. Despite describing some less-than-savory escapades, the article is praiseworthy of Rod and includes kind words from co-stars.
In particular, it notes:
“A diabolical charmer, he is a man whom women of all ages find irresistible; a man men can admire for his he-man quality and his ribald, salty wit and personality.”
In addition, it also includes his enjoyment of good food, making art, and living life to its fullest.
The 1973 article mentions a romance with Carol Kikumura, the woman who would become Rod’s wife in 1980. She helped settle him down considerably more, and they remained married until his death on Jan. 7, 2015.
Here are some photos to illustrate things mentioned in the article:
It’s time for our annual treat to observe Rod Taylor’s birthday! This time we’re hitting the Oregon Trail for a promotional video from NBC that highlighted Rod’s many talents.
In this quick one-minute video, you’ll see Rod boating, boxing, typing, playing tennis and drawing.
Let’s travel back in time for a visit with Rod Taylor in 1966. His parents were visiting from Australia and he was in the midst of making “Chuka.” Hope you enjoy these as we mark Rod’s January 11th birthday!
The following snapshots were taken poolside at Rod’s first Palm Springs getaway, which he owned in the mid- to late-1960s. The house was at 444 W. Mariscal Road, in the area known as Little Tuscany. It was across the street from Dean Martin’s and not far from the Racquet Club. (Rod was an avid tennis player.)
Rod and his father.Rod and his daughter
These two snapshots aboard a boat show (1) Rod with his parents, Bill and Mona, and his then-wife Mary and (2) Rod with his agent, Wilt Melnick.
Finally, here are some snapshots of Rod with his parents and wife on the set of “Chuka.” Also pictured behind the scenes are actors Ernest Borgnine and John Mills.
A special message from Rod Taylor and an unusually heavy snowfall in Britain brought a glimpse of a white Christmas to summertime Australia in 1967.
The Christmas Day broadcast also delivered a sneak peek at Rod’s next movie, “The High Commissioner” (1968), one of many special promotional efforts for the film in which Rod Taylor plays an Australian detective on an important assignment in London.
Rod Taylor, at far right, recording special messages for Australia.
Rod recorded the Christmas message on the grounds of the Hall Barn estate, a grand old ancestral home in Beaconsfied, Buckinghamshire, about 20 miles northwest of London. The setting was a frosty one, as England saw an unusually snowy winter in 1967-68.
“It was a notable occasion,” declared the Australiasian Exhibitor in its Jan. 4, 1968, issue, stating that it was “the first time that a film distribution company and an Australian television network had combined to present a Christmas message from an international film star whilst his current film was still in production.”
Australia’s Channel 7 network scheduled the message in peak viewing times in all the major city stations across the continent on Christmas evening.
Millions of people saw Rod’s Christmas greeting and also were treated to a scene from the movie. “The High Commssioner” (known as “Nobody Runs Forever” in the U.K.) was not scheduled to wrap shooting until the end of January 1968 and wouldn’t be released until later in 1968. Thus, it was quite an achievement to get a film clip for the December 1967 TV broadcast.
Coordinating the message and the film clip took six weeks of organization between Sydney and London, involving British Empire Films, Pinewood Studios, the Rank Organisation’s overseas publicity department, and Channel 7 executives. The latter had to arrange special time slots and distribution of the film for all the stations — Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Canberrra.
Director Ralph Thomas actress Camilla Sparv and Rod Taylor, in his Aussie shearing jacket.
In “The High Commissioner,” Rod plays an Australian detective on a major assignment in London. It was one of the rare times in his career that Rod, an Aussie, actually played an Australian.
A London-based contributor to the Los Angeles Times, Sally K. Brass, interviewed Rod while he was filming in “the drawing room of the Australian High Commissioner to London.” She described Rod as “standing against an elegant background of antiques, objets d’art and valuable oil paintings which furnish the Jacobean mansion in Beaconsfield where ‘Nobody Runs Forever’ is being filmed.”
“His shooting schedule was tough that day,” Brass wrote, wryly. Rod’s scenes called for him to make passes at Camilla Sparv all morning. Then, the afternoon would be devoted to rehearsals for a bedroom scene with Daliah Lavi.
Daliah Lavi and Rod Taylor
Lunchtime was spent at the Saracen’s Head, a pub also known as the Royal Saracen’s Head thanks to a legend that King Richard the Lionheart once drank there. The complete Los Angeles Times article is here (PDF).
Another big promotional effort for “The High Commissioner” occurred in September 1968, when Rod went to Australia for the movie’s premiere and met with Prime Minister John Gorton. More on the movie and the meeting can be found on the page for “The High Commissioner” on the Rod Taylor Site.
Welcome to Rod Taylor’s place, circa 1956! With the stability of an MGM contract under his belt, Rod moved from a tiny Hollywood apartment into this house at 19210 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California.
Rod shared the three-bedroom/two-bath house with two roomates (more on that later). It was built in 1948 and is located along Las Tunas Beach.
So, here’s a treat for Rod’s fans while we observe his January 11th birthday.
Scroll through the following galleries for scans from a series of proof sheets. The photo shoot took place in 1956 to accompany a Photoplay magazine article that ran in March 1957. Rod has his “Raintree County” haircut at this time.
Below, we go inside for a look at Rod reading, joking and playing Mr. Fix-it!
A quick change of shirts and here’s more of Rod around the house.
For the series of pictures below, the photographer must have asked Rod to pretend he’s getting an early call? Cute way to get Rod in bed!
Finally, Rod hits the beach and romps in the surf with dogs and surf board.
Here’s the result from the photo shoot, leading in to a nice feature story about Rod in Photoplay, March 1957 (PDF). Surprisingly, only one other photo was used to accompany the article, making the above galleries even more special.
Rod shared the Malibu pad with fellow actor Jeff Richards and casting director Bob Walker. Other roomates came and went, including Charles Bronson. A neighbor was Russ Tamblyn. Below are Bob and Jeff at a cafe in Malibu from the same photoshoot as above. The one of Rod and Jeff fishing was taken at another time.
Finally, below are two later renovations of the house, which is now valued at more than $2,700,000. There’s a Zillow listing that shows the interior and its views. Quite a difference from 1956!
Left, likely a pre-2014 view of the house. Right, a 2017 view of the house.
Rod Taylor was born on this day — January 11 — in 1930. The Complete Rod Taylor Site was launched on this date in 2001.
Rod, who passed away on Jan. 7, 2015, would have been 91 today. The website is a robust 20 years old, which I must say is quite a milestone in internet years!
Last year, I had resolved to do a renovation of the website to make it more modern and mobile responsive. That goal was going well, but was derailed by a combination of stresses both global and personal.
Nevertheless, the Rod Taylor site remains a tribute to the actor, his life and his work. And TCM is airing a daylong tribute to Rod Taylor!
One of these movies, “Trader Horn” (1973), has never had a home video release, so it is quite a rarity. Although it has deep flaws, it’s a treat to be able to see it on TV.
Many thanks to TCM for regularly saluting Rod Taylor on his birthday!
Rod Taylor was the producer one film during his long career: a 1967 Western titled “Chuka” in which he also played the title role. I’m working on a lengthy project about the film, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share some special snapshots from behind the scenes.
Rod’s parents, Bill and Mona Taylor, made the trek from Australia in 1966 while Rod was making “Chuka.” These photos are from a small photo album that had once belonged to Bill Taylor and were acquired through the magic of eBay.
‘Chuka’ co-star Ernest Borgnine with Mona and Bill Taylor.
Mona and Bill Taylor check out a prop while an amused Ernest Borgnine looks on.
Mona and Bill Taylor with Mary and Rod Taylor.
Mona Taylor, actor John Mills, Bill Taylor, and Rod & Mary Taylor.
In “The Liquidator,” Rod Taylor’s character was duped into a mission to bump off the Duke of Edinburgh. In real life, their encounter was a much more civilized affair.
Fifty-five years ago, on June 16, 1965, Rod Taylor attended a gala reopening of the Theatre Royal Windsor, a venerable London-area establishment that had been undergoing much-needed renovations.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, attended the event with his wife, Queen Elizabeth II. Rod Taylor was there with his wife at the time, Mary Hilem.
Rod Taylor and then-wife Mary at a formal event in 1965, quite possibly the Theatre Royal Windsor reopening.
The royal party included 37 people who were the queen’s guests at Windsor Castle for Ascot Week. Among the dignitaries were the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
In addition to Mary, Rod’s entourage consisted of his friend, assistant and stunt coordinator, Fred Hakim, and Fred’s wife, Delores.
The queen was patron to the Theatre Royal Windsor Trust, which raised about £75,000 to support the renovations that were unveiled at the event. Rod was a donor to the cause.
In “The Liquidator,” Rod Taylor and Jill St. John went gunning for the Duke of Edinburgh amid a plot of double- and triple-crossing. Trevor Howard, left, stood in for the duke at the crucial moment later in the film.
The Royal Treatment
Movie-making, royal and real worlds collided as Rod was completing work on “The Liquidator.” The schedule for the spy romp had begun on April 5, 1965, with four weeks of filming at locations along the French Riviera and in Monte Carlo.
Production moved to London on May 1 and later, Rod was joined by his wife, Mary, and baby daughter, Felicia, for a three-week visit.
Rod described the royal invitation in a letter to Hedda Hopper, the empress of Hollywood gossip columnists: “Mary and the baby are enjoying London and we are getting very social and kissy next week by being presented to the Queen. Mainly I think because I donated some dough to improve the dressing rooms at the Royal Windsor Theatre, which is under her patronage.”
An article in the October 1965 Rod-Lore fan newsletter reported that the “dough” amounted to $1,000 (about $8,000 in today’s dollars).
Rod discussed the event with another grand dame of the Hollywood gossip scene, Sheila Graham, in an August 1965 column.
“The queen brought her guests from Windsor Castle,” Rod said. “We didn’t actually meet her. But we saw her.”
Graham wrote:
“And the queen saw Rod. She smiled and whispered to Prince Philip who whispered to Princess Margaret and they all smiled in the direction of Rod Taylor.”
Sounds like a scene straight out of “The Crown”!
All the gentlemen in the audience wore black tie, Rod said, but “the people with the queen were in white tie, black tails, with their coats featuring red lapels and red cuffs.”
What Rod was describing is the Windsor uniform, a piece of royal attire introduced by King George III in the 1770s. Early versions featured a bicorne hat with ostrich feathers, and heavy gold braiding on the coat. In more recent times, the Windsor men have sported dinner jacket versions, like the one Prince Philip is wearing in the portrait below.
Prince Philip, in Windsor Castle wearing the Windsor uniform. The painting was done to commemorate his retirement from public duties at the age of 96. By Australian artist Ralph Heimans, 2017.
Renovations and Reopenings
For the reopening festivities, Rod and the royals enjoyed a production of “The Rivals,” a classical comedy of manners by Richard Sheridan that, like the Windsor uniform, dates to the 1770s.
Their surroundings were somewhat more modern. The theater was built in 1910, albeit on classical 18th century lines and rather austere.
The renovations in May 1965, funded by contributions to the Theatre Royal Windsor Trust, added decorations in a color scheme of crimson, white and gold (suggested by the Queen Mother). Work also included installing a crystal chandelier from Paris, improving refreshment service areas, upgrading the air conditioning and wiring, and modernizing the dressing rooms (thank you, Rod).
More Theater Royalty
The Theatre Royal Windsor has undergone ups and downs over the years, but it seems on the upswing right now, with another reopening of sorts. After closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the venue has begun “socially distant” rehearsals for a production of “Hamlet” that will star Sir Ian McKellen as Shakespeare’s moody Danish prince.
More information about the theater and its history can be found at its website.
Remember in Part 1, there was an idea for a sequel to “The Time Machine” that featured going back in time to Atlantis?
And in Part 2, scripts were being developed that would have the Time Traveler rescue his friend Filby from perishing in World War I?
Well, Part 3 brings some of those ideas together, based on five pages of notes that were hand-written by Rod Taylor in the mid- to late-1990s.
A Puzzle
Rod’s notes are fragmentary, but we can puzzle out a bit of the story.
What if, Rod muses, we duplicate but improve upon the Time Traveler’s return to the laboratory as depicted in “Time Machine: The Journey Back”? But this time he would go earlier, to 1911, to talk to a newspaper friend and somehow trick Philby out of dying in World War I.
Spoiler alert! That may actually be the end of the movie.
The film would open with Filby giving a lecture to a “pompous scientific gathering of fuddy duddies.” He’s reading from the journal of his friend George, the Time Traveler, as he fights to preserve George’s house as an historic monument. “The property is not for sale,” Filby declares amid jeering, mustachioed audience members. “I believe in my friend.”
But the fuddy duddies don’t believe. They demand proof of time travel! What will convince them? A photograph from the distant past! Maybe Henry VIII. Elizabeth I. Stonehenge.
From there, Rod proposes scenes that would show how the Eloi had progressed after George returned to the future and built a life with Weena. The Morlocks have been vanquished and the Eloi have become artists and craftsmen – kind of “brilliant hippies.” George has taught them with the benefit of “the three books” from the original 1960 movie.
This idyllic existence is shattered when the Morlocks return and kidnap Weena, George and their young son and daughter.
It appears that only George survives. Another scene would show a solemn group of mourners, with George’s narration telling us, “It was over. I felt not like a man, but the empty shell of a man. I had lost my children and now my beloved wife.”
After the funeral, George and an Eloi friend, Acron, travel in time to the distant past. (For this sequel concept, the time machine now has a passenger seat, as Rod mentions at the end of Part 2.)
On one of their first stops, they meet the druids in 1500 BC, but move on at George’s insistence.
Then, it’s on to visit the survivors from the submerging of Atlantis. George and Acron arrive at a white temple (Stonehenge location?). The people of the distant past are giants – gentle web-footed servants who saved the Atlanteans from drowning when Atlantis was engulfed. The Atlanteans are beautiful, tall good guys, Rod writes. He proposes that there is only one villain: a beautiful aristocratic woman perhaps.
Rod’s notes do not describe what happens next, but he writes that Acron will remain in the past to create a statue of the Time Machine and George, wearing the costume of Atlantis.
Then, George changes into his familiar 1890s jacket for the journey in time to get Filby. The idea possibly was to take Filby with him back to Atlantis. As Rod said in a 1994 magazine article, “We’ll go backward in time instead of into the future.”
Still Standing
Rod’s notes also refer to the Great Fire of London. It’s unclear where this would fit into the plot, but his notations are fun.
Rod suggests a location that could be used – the Wig and Pen Club in London. The Wig and Pen was a members-only club, located across from the Royal Courts of Justice, where lawyers and journalists exchanged court gossip. It was built in 1625 and survived the Great Fire in 1666. It’s one of the last standing examples that era. Perfect for a movie about time travel!
Plus, Rod notes, “I was an honorary member.”
Mysteries Remain
As mentioned in Part 2, many people involved in the creation of “Time Machine: The Journey Back” were enthusiastic about going on to produce a full sequel to “The Time Machine.” They included director Clyde Lucas; Rod Taylor and Alan Young; film historian Bob Burns and his wife, Kathy; and screenwriter D.C. Fontana, famed for her work in the Star Trek universe.
Fontana wrote an outline for a sequel, as did Alan Young. Lucas has said that he, Rod and Alan Young continued to meet to discuss story ideas. Rod’s notes are likely a result of those meetings.
As I’ve taken this recent deep dive into Time Machine sequels, I’ve been delighted to find a lot of new-to-me resources. I also have been disappointed by a promising lead.
What I really need is a time machine to go back and ask questions! But until one comes along, I’ll keep digging and hope to unearth more treasures.
The Rod Taylor Blog 