Rodney Sturt "Rod" Taylor

 Rodney Sturt "Rod" Taylor (January 11, 1930 – January 7, 2015)

Taylor acquired extensive radio and stage experience in his native Australia, where his radio work included a period on Blue Hills and a role as Tarzan. Taylor made his feature film debut in the Australian Lee Robinson film King of the Coral Sea (1954), playing an American. After coming to Los Angeles, Taylor soon landed roles in television shows such as Studio 57 and the films Hell on Frisco Bay (1955) and Giant (1956). In 1955, he guest-starred in the third episode ("The Argonauts") of the first hour-long Western television series, Cheyenne, an ABC program starring Clint Walker. Taylor's first leading role in a feature film was in The Time Machine (1960), George Pal's adaptation of the science-fiction classic by H. G. Wells with Taylor as the time traveler who, thousands of years in the future, falls for a woman played by Yvette Mimieux. Taylor starred in Alfred Hitchcock's horror/thriller The Birds (1963), along with Tippi Hedren, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright, and Jessica Tandy. In 1973, Taylor was cast in The Train Robbers with John Wayne and Ann-Margret. The film was a box office success. From 1988 to 1990, Taylor appeared in the CBS drama series Falcon Crest as Frank Agretti, playing opposite Jane Wyman. In the mid 1990s, he appeared in several episodes of Murder, She Wrote and Walker, Texas Ranger. Taylor suffered a fatal heart attack on January 7, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 84, four days short of his 85th birthday.