- Buck Taylor
Infobox actor
name = Buck Taylor
imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Walter Clarence Taylor, III
birthdate = birth date and age |1938|5|13
birthplace = Hollywood, Los Angeles County,California , USA
deathdate =
deathplace =
height = 6 ft.
othername =
website = http://www.bucktaylor.com/
occupation =Actor
residence = Fort Worth, Tarrant County,Texas
spouse =(1) Judy Ann Nugent (born 1941; married 1961-1983,divorce d) (2) Goldie Ann Taylor (born ca. 1953; married since 1995)
children = Tiffany Adam Carlyle Taylor (1966-1994) Matthew "Matt" Taylor (born 1970) Cooper Glenn "Coop" Taylor (born 1975)
awards =
footnotes=(1) In his long acting career, Taylor has starred in some fiftyfilm s, sometimes as avillain , but it was his role as "good guy" Newly O'Brien onCBS 's "Gunsmoke " that made him famous among millions of weekly viewers.(2) Taylor named two of his sons for "Gunsmoke" cast members, one for the character
Marshal Matt Dillon and one for the lateGlenn Strange , who played thebartender , Sam.(3) A prolific Western
artist , Taylor has painted the portrait of his friendJames Arness .(4) Taylor's oldest son, Adam Carlyle Taylor, was married until his death in a
highway accident inMontana , to theactress Anne Lockhart .(5) Taylor lives on a
ranch north of Fort Worth,Texas , with his second wife, Goldie. He still acts and paints.(6) Taylor is widely remembered for his role as Turkey Creek Jack Johnson in the 1993 film "Tombstone".
(7) As a boy, Taylor practically grew up on Hollywood sets because his father,
character actor Dub Taylor , was in huge demand by thestudio s.Infobox Artist
name = Buck Taylor
imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Walter Clarence Taylor, III
deathdate =
deathplace =
nationality =
field = Watercolor
training =
movement =Artist of theAmerican West
works = Portrait ofJames Arness
patrons =
influenced by =Rodeo s
influenced =
awards =Walter Clarence Taylor, III, known as Buck Taylor (born
May 13 ,1938 ), is an Americanactor and water colorartist best known for his role asgunsmith -turned-deputy Newly O'Brien in 113 episodes during the last eight seasons ofCBS 's "Gunsmoke "television series (1967-1975). In recent years, he has painted the portrait of his friend and "Gunsmoke" costarJames Arness . [ [http://www.bucktaylor.com/paintingpages/jarness.htm Buck Taylor Paintings ] ] Taylor's painting specialty is theAmerican West , and each year, he creates the posters for severalTexas rodeo s. Taylor lives with his second wife on aranch near Fort Worth,Texas . [http://www.tv.com/buck-taylor/person/33018/biography.html Buck Taylor Bio - Buck Taylor Biography - Buck Taylor Stories ] ]Early years, education, military
Taylor was born in Hollywood to Mr. and Mrs. Walter Taylor, Jr. He has an older sister, Faydean Taylor Tharp (born ca. 1931) of the
Greater Los Angeles Area . His father was thecharacter actor Dub Taylor , sometimes known as "Cannonball" Taylor and a native of Richmond,Virginia . Buck Taylor was born in the same year that his father got his first acting role in thefilm "You Can't Take It With You ". Dub Taylor starred with many leading actors, includingJohn Wayne and themusician sTex Ritter andBob Wills and theTexas Playboys . Buck grew up on the various Hollywood sets. He was close to his father's Texas friend, the Western actorChill Wills . [http://www.bucktaylor.com/files/bio.htm Buck Taylor | Actor and Western Artist | Biography ] ]Taylor graduated from
high school in Hollywood and studiedtheatre arts at theUniversity of Southern California in Los Angeles. In 1960, he tried out for theOlympic Games ingymnastics . He served two years in theUnited States Navy .Television and film roles
Taylor began appearing on
television in 1963, with an appearance on ABC's "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet " and CBS's "My Favorite Martian " starringRay Walston andBill Bixby . He also costarred that year in the film "Johnny Shiloh ", the first of the more than fifty films in which he would eventually appear. He was then cast in "Ensign Pulver " (1964) and in "The Wild Angels" (1966), as amotorcycle gang member. He guest starred inRichard Boone 's "Have Gun Will Travel " on CBS, onNick Adams ' "The Rebel " on ABC, and onJames Drury 'sNBC series, "The Virginian". [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0852076/ Buck Taylor (I) ] ]Newly O'Brien on "Gunsmoke"
Taylor's long-term role on "Gunsmoke" was not his first role in a series. In the preceding 1966-1967 season, he starred in ten episodes as John "Brad" Bradford, along with
Michael Anderson, Jr. , andBarbara Hershey , in ABC's "The Monroes", the story of an orphaned family trying to survive in theWyoming wilderness . [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060011/fullcredits#cast "The Monroes" (1966) - Full cast and crew ] ]"Gunsmoke" introduced Taylor on a weekly basis to millions of viewers. Dub Taylor also guest starred numerous times on the series. Before Taylor was cast as handsome young gunsmith "Newly", he had actually appeared in an earlier segment of the series as an outlaw. As Newly, however, he was clearly one of the "good guys" in the same tradition as James Arness as Matt Dillon. Taylor got along so well with the "Gunsmoke" cast that he named his second and third sons, Matthew Taylor and Cooper Glenn Taylor for James Arness'
Marshal Matt Dillon character and forGlenn Strange (1899-1973), the character actor who played thebartender , Sam, and remained on the program untilcancer claimed his life. Strange never knew of the honor, for Cooper Taylor was not born until 1975. Taylor was actively involved in the preparation of the script for the 1987 "Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge" reunion movie, [ [http://www.amazon.com/Gunsmoke-Return-Dodge-James-Arness/dp/6302662346 Amazon.com: Gunsmoke- Return to Dodge: James Arness, Amanda Blake, Buck Taylor, Fran Ryan, Earl Holliman, Ken Olandt, William Morgan Sheppard, Patrice Martinez, Tantoo Cardinal, Steve Forrest, Mickey Jones, Frank Totino, Robert Koons, Walter Kaasa, G... ] ] by which timeMilburn Stone , the cranky Doc Adams character, had died.Ken Curtis , the deputyFestus Haggen character, was still living. In 1991, Taylor co-starred with Curtis in what turned out to have been Curtis' last acting role in the film version ofLouis L'Amour 's "Conagher ", which also starred Taylor's friend,Sam Elliott and Elliott's wife,Katharine Ross .Acting after "Gunsmoke"
After "Gunsmoke", Taylor appeared in occasional Westerns, such as "Cattle Annie and Little Britches" (1980) and "The Triumphs of a Man Called Horse" (1983), [ [http://www.starpulse.com/Actors/Taylor,_Buck/Biography/ Buck Taylor Biography ] ] on CBS's "Dallas" and "
Walker, Texas Ranger " starringChuck Norris .Taylor had a memorable role too as Turkey Creek Jack Johnson in "Tombstone" (1993), played Colonel William Gamble in "Gettysburg", and appeared in "Rough Riders" (1997), all co-starring with Sam Elliott. He appeared in director
Ron Howard 's "The Alamo" (2004) and in theWyoming -based "Flicka " (2006), an adaptation of the novel "My Friend Flicka ".He appeared as Ben Lily in January 2008, with his friend Val Kilmer in the CBS
miniseries "Comanche Moon ", another in the "Lonesome Dove " line of television films. Taylor in 2008 is working for roles in three films set for production in 2009: "The Hard Ride", "The Last Horseman", and "Legend of Hell's Gate".Taylor the artist
In 1993, Taylor began selling his paintings at the
National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. These paintings are sold through hiswebsite , private art shows and festivals, and at galleries. His private commissions can be found in the Loomis Fargo headquarters, theFranklin Mint ,John Wayne Enterprises, theAmerican Quarter Horse Association Museum in Amarillo, theNational Ranching Heritage Center museum in Lubbock, and in the hands of private collectorsRoy Clark ,Val Kilmer ,Roger Staubach ,Powers Boothe (a native ofSnyder, Texas ), Sam Elliott, and James Arness. Taylor is the official artist for several rodeos, including thePendleton Round-Up inPendleton, Oregon , and state fairs.Taylor's art touches on all aspects of the American West:
cowboy s, Native Americans,horse s,homesteader s, and the landscape. He has painteddrover s pushinglonghorn cattle along western trails, braves pursuing the buffalo, or spectacular horse races. Taylor once said that the West Texas ranch is his "church", and his art is his "worship" of theCreator . Taylor's defense of the land is reflected in the film "Truce", in which he, as the modern rancher Harry Dodds, uses grace and charm to outwit those who would take his land.Awards
Taylor is an inductee of the
Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in Fort Worth and received the "Spirit of Texas" Award. In 1993, he received theGolden Boot award which honors the "Best of the West" from the Motion Picture and Television Fund. In 1998, Taylor,Rex Allen , and Christina Paine won the "Cowboy Spirit Award". In 2000, Taylor was memorialized in "The Trail of Fame" on the streets of Dodge City, the westernKansas town where "Gunsmoke" is set. He has also received the "Spirit of the West" award, along withJack Palance andRoy Rogers . Additionally, Taylor is recognized on theHollywood Walk of Fame with his friends Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross. Taylor's star also appears on the streets of "Little Hollywood" inKanab, Utah . There his star is betweenRonald W. Reagan andTom Mix . In 1981, Taylor was inducted as a trustee in theNational Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum inOklahoma City for his "Gunsmoke" role.In 2006, he was awarded by the same organization with the "Wrangler" (or Western Heritage Award).Taylor has a plaque on the Walk of Western Stars inSanta Clarita, California , that includes past recipients James Arness and other "Gunsmoke" alumni,Dennis Weaver and the lateAmanda Blake .Family and charities
In 1961, Taylor married the actress Judy Ann Nugent, who was a sister-in-law of actor Nick Adams. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0637803/ Judy Nugent (I) ] ] The couple
divorced in 1983. They had three sons: Adam Carlyle Taylor (1966-1994), Matthew Taylor (born 1970), and Cooper Glenn Taylor (born 1975). Adam was an assistant director, and Matthew and Cooper are Hollywood stunt men who were reared inMontana . Taylor is the father-in-law ofactress /producerAnne Lockhart (born 1953), thewidow of Adam Taylor, who died three days before his 28th birthday in ahighway accident in Madison County, Montana. Anne is the daughter of actressJune Lockhart . Taylor has two grandsons, Carlyle and Zane Taylor, the sons of Adam and Anne. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0852076/bio Buck Taylor (I) - Biography ] ] Taylor and current wife Goldie, aflight attendant , met in 1995 at aquarter horse show, where his paintings were being exhibited. They wed after a three-month courtship.Taylor supports the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, the
Walt Garrison Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, theFuture Farmers of America Scholarship , theScreen Actors Guild Retirement Home, the Ben Johnson Children's Hospital, andFrontier Texas! , a state-of-the-artmuseum for which Taylor does some of the narration. The museum opened in 2004 in Abilene, the seat of Taylor County (coincidence of the name) inWest Texas ,References
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