Edwin 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 films.
Early years
Taylor was born in Bloomington, Illinois.[1] 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."[2]
Career
Stage
E. Forrest Taylor in 1911
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 ..."[3]
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."[4] At that time, Taylor headed his own troupe after having spent nine months with the Majestic Theatre Players in Los Angeles.[4]
Taylor's Broadway credits include Open House (1947) and We, the People (1932).[5]
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.
Riders of Destiny in 1933
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).
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. In 1960 Taylor appeared as the Minister on the TV western Cheyenne in the episode titled "The Long Rope." [citation needed] 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.[6]
The Cisco Kid (1950-1953) - Red Bell/Sheriff/Reverend Calvin Whitacre/Rev. William Smiley/Norman Slade, Cattle Inspector/Nugget City Sheriff/John Warren, Railroad President/Replaced by Leary/ Sheriff/Hale, Durado Banker
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