Forrest Taylor

Forrest Taylor (December 29, 1883 – February 19, 1965) was an American character actor whose artistic career spanned six different decades, from silents through talkies to the advent of color.

Early years
Taylor was born E. Forrest Taylor in Bloomington, Illinois. His father managed the Dreamland Theatre in Kewanee, Illinois, and a news item in 1916 reported, "Manager Chris Taylor of Dreamland at Kewanee features his son, E. Forrest Taylor, in Western pictures every Monday."

Stage
Taylor was a veteran of the stage by the time he started appearing as a silent lead in both short and feature-length films. His talents extended beyond acting to include management. The Richfield Reaper, in a January 23, 1908, article, wrote about Taylor's efforts with the Empire Amusement Company, saying, "Mr. Taylor certainly deserves success as when he took hold of the company it was badly disorganized and in debt, but he has brought order out of the chaos and is now in good shape ..."

A newspaper article published in The Arizona Republic on October 13, 1922, described Taylor and Anne Berryman as "two of the best known players in the western portion of the country." At that time, Taylor headed his own troupe after having spent nine months with the Majestic Theatre Players in Los Angeles.

Taylor's Broadway credits include Open House (1947) and We, the People (1932).

Film
Taylor essayed prime roles in the films The Terror of Twin Mountains (1915), Sunset Country (1915), April (1916), True Nobility (1916) and The Abandonment (1916), before joining the army during World War I. He would not return to films until 1926, appearing in A Poor Girl's Romance.

During the 1930s, Taylor became entrenched as a supporting player in B-westerns and several cliffhanger serials, often playing either the action or brains heavy roles. As he grew older and grayer, Taylor migrated to nice guy roles, such as the father of the heroine, a lawman, or a scientist.

Taylor is identified in about 400 films, including 325 sound era films and of those, 201 are westerns and 36 are chapterplays, according to the Internet Movie Database. As well, his credits at Republic Pictures number about 75 for the period 1937-1953 (most all of these are B-westerns and serials).

His last film was Bitter Creek (1954).

Television
After the westerns and serials faded Taylor migrated to television work. From 1952 through 1954, he costarred as Grandpa Fisher on the religious TV series This is the Life. He retired in 1963 after filming an episode of Ripcord.

Personal life
Taylor was married to actress Ada Daniels, and the two appeared together in stage productions. They had a son and a daughter.

Death
Taylor died of natural causes on February 19, 1965, in Garden Grove, California, at the age of 81.

Films

 * The Abandonment (1916)
 * True Nobility (1916)
 * No Man's Gold (1926)
 * Riders of Destiny (1933)
 * The Gilded Lily (1935)
 * Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)
 * Two Minutes to Play (1936)
 * Heroes of the Hills (1938)
 * The Fighting Gringo (1939)
 * Chip of the Flying U (1940)
 * The Durango Kid (1940)
 * Ridin' on a Rainbow (1941)
 * Flying Wild (1941)
 * Outlaws of Pine Ridge (1942)
 * Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
 * Sons of the Pioneers (1942)
 * The Spoilers (1942)
 * Thundering Trails (1943)
 * Dead Men Walk (1943)
 * King of the Cowboys (1943)
 * Shake Hands with Murder (1944)
 * Lady in the Death House (1944)
 * Mom and Dad (1945)
 * Identity Unknown (1945)
 * Rockin' in the Rockies (1945)
 * The Glass Alibi (1946)
 * Charlie Chan and the Golden Eye  (1948)
 * The Prince of Peace (1948)
 * Deputy Marshall (1949)
 * Winchester '73 (1950)
 * Calamity Jane (1953)
 * Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)

Serials

 * The Fighting Devil Dogs (1938)
 * Dick Tracy Returns (1938)
 * The Phantom Creeps (1939)
 * The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939)
 * The Oregon Trail (1939)
 * Terry and the Pirates (1940)
 * Deadwood Dick (1940)
 * The Green Archer (1940)
 * The Spider Returns (1941)
 * The Iron Claw (1941)
 * King of the Texas Rangers (1941)
 * Sea Raiders (1941)
 * Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. (1941)
 * Perils of the Royal Mounted (1942)
 * Perils of Nyoka (1942)
 * King of the Mounties (1942)
 * The Valley of Vanishing Men (1942)
 * The Desert Hawk (1944)
 * Haunted Harbor (1944)
 * Zorro's Black Whip (1944)
 * Manhunt of Mystery Island (1945)
 * Rockin' in the Rockies (1945) (uncredited)
 * The Crimson Ghost (1946)
 * The Black Widow (1947)
 * Superman (1948)
 * Tex Granger (1948)
 * Bruce Gentry (1949)
 * The Lost Planet (1953)

Television appearances

 * The Cisco Kid (1950–53)
 * The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1952)
 * The Roy Rogers Show (1952–55)
 * Hopalong Cassidy (1954)
 * Annie Oakley (1954)
 * The Gene Autry Show (1954)
 * Lassie (1955–61)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (1955)
 * Four Star Playhouse (1955)
 * Medic (1955)
 * My Friend Flicka (1956)
 * Official Detective -episode- 'The Blind Man' as Hunter (1957)
 * The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1956–57)
 * Matinee Theatre  (1957)
 * The Lineup (1958)
 * Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater (1958)
 * The Dennis O'Keefe Show (1959)
 * Man Without a Gun (1959)
 * Maverick (1960)
 * Wanted: Dead or Alive (1960)
 * M Squad (1960)
 * Lawman (1960)
 * Tales of Wells Fargo (1960)
 * Bonanza (1960–62)
 * Ripcord (1963)