Jack Taylor (actor)
Jack Taylor (born George Brown Randall, October 21, 1936), is a Spanish-based American actor best known for starring in many European low-budget exploitation films of the 1970s, and in particular several directed by Spanish cult director Jesús Franco.[1][2][3]
Jack Taylor | |
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![]() Taylor in Night of the Sorcerers | |
Born | George Brown Randall October 21, 1936 Oregon City, Oregon, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1960–2015 |
Career
Born in Oregon in 1936,[3] George Brown Randall[2] 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.
In 1967, Taylor began his prolific collaboration with Jesus Franco in Succubus (1968, his first onscreen lead role) and Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion (1970). 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.
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). José Ramón Larraz directed him in two other Spanish slasher films, Rest in Pieces (1987) and Edge of the Axe (1988).
Over the years, Taylor has played supporting roles in international co-productions such as Robert Siodmak's Custer of the West (1966), John Milius' Conan the Barbarian (1982), Richard Lester's The Return of the Musketeers (1989), Ridley Scott's 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), Roman Polanski's The Ninth Gate (1999), André Téchiné's Far (2001) and Miloš Forman's Goya's Ghosts (2006) while continuing to work in low-budget film and television in Spain.
Select filmography
- Neutron, the Man in the Black Mask (1960, dir. Federico Curiel)
- The Curse of Nostradamus (1961, dir. Federico Curiel)
- Nostradamus, the Genie of Darkness (1962, dir. Federico Curiel)
- Nostradamus and the Monster Demolisher (1962, dir. Federico Curiel)
- Neutron vs. The Amazing Dr. Caronte (1963, dir. Federico Curiel)
- Neutron vs. The Death Robots (1964, dir. Federico Curiel)
- Custer of the West (1966, dir. Robert Siodmak)
- Succubus (1968, dir. Jesús Franco) a.k.a. Necronomicon - Geträumte Sünden
- Nightmares Come at Night (1969, dir. Jesús Franco)
- Count Dracula (1970, dir. Jesús Franco)
- Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion (1970, dir. Jesús Franco)
- Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf (1971, dir. León Klimovsky)
- The Vampires Night Orgy (1972, dir. León Klimovsky)
- The Vengeance of Doctor Mabuse (1972, dir. Jesús Franco) aka Dr. M schlägt zu
- The Killer is One of Thirteen (1973, dir. Javier Aguirre)
- Autopsy (1973, dir. Juan Logar)
- Tender and Perverse Emanuelle (1973, dir. Jesús Franco)
- Female Vampire (1973, released in 1975, dir. Jesús Franco)
- The Ghost Galleon (1974, dir. Amando de Ossorio) a.k.a. Horror of the Zombies
- Night of the Sorcerers (1974, dir. Amando de Ossorio)
- The Mummy's Revenge (1975, dir. Carlos Aured)
- Devil's Exorcist (1975, dir. Jorge Darnell)
- Sexy Sisters (1977, dir. Jesús Franco)
- Voodoo Passion (1977, dir. Jesús Franco)
- Where Time Began (1977, dir. Juan Piquer Simón)
- Red Rings of Fear (1978, dir. Alberto Negrin) a.k.a. Enigma rosso
- Nathalie: Escape from Hell (1978, dir. Alain Payet) a.k.a. Nathalie, Fugitive from Hell
- Vicious and Nude (1980, dir. Manuel Esteba)
- Pieces (1981, dir. Juan Piquer Simón)
- Conan the Barbarian (1982, dir. John Milius)
- The Panther Squad (1984, dir. Pierre Chevalier)
- The Sea Serpent (1985, dir. Amando de Ossorio) a.k.a. Hydra
- Rest in Pieces (1987, dir. José Ramón Larraz)
- Edge of the Axe (1988, dir. José Ramón Larraz)
- Iguana (1988, dir. Monte Hellman)
- Fine Gold (1989, José Antonio de la Loma)
- The Return of the Musketeers (1989, dir. Richard Lester)
- 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992, dir. Ridley Scott)
- The Ninth Gate (1999, dir. Roman Polanski)
- Far (2001, dir. André Téchiné)
- The Birthday (2004, dir. Eugenio Mira)
- Goya's Ghosts (2006, dir. Miloš Forman)
- A2Z (2004, released in 2007, dir. Daryush Shokof)
- Agnosía (2010, dir. Eugenio Mira)
- Son of Cain (2013, dir. Jesús Monllaó)
- Grand Piano (2013, dir. Eugenio Mira)
- Wax (2014, dir. Víctor Matellano)
References
- "Q&A: Jack Taylor". spanishfear.com. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
- Belategui, Oskar (May 2, 2019). "Ser el malo siempre es mejor: la gente solo se acuerda de ti". El Correo. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- Andreu, Jerónimo (March 23, 2010). "En la cárcel de su misterio: El 'rey' de los papeles del cine B de terror español escribe y dirige teatro". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved January 13, 2020.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jack Taylor (actor). |
- Jack Taylor on IMDb
- Jack Taylor at AllMovie