Donald Richie Taylor (Dec13, 1920 – Dec29, 1998) was an American actor and film director.He co-starred in 1940s and 1950s classicsEarly life and workThe son of Mr. and Mrs. D.E. Taylor, in Freeport, Pennsylvania, on December 13, 1920.he was born Donald Ritchie Taylor(Another source says that he was born "in Pittsburgh and raised in Freeport, Pa.")He studied speech and drama at Penn State University and hitchhiked to Hollywood in 1942. He was signed as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appeared in small roles. Drafted into the United States Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, he appeared in the Air Forces's Winged Victory Broadway play and movie (1944), credited as "Cpl. Don Taylor."Acting careerAfter discharge from the AAF, Taylor was cast in a lead role as the young detective, Jimmy Halloran, working alongside veteran homicide detective Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) in Universal's 1948 screen version of The Naked City, which was notable for being filmed entirely on location in New York. Taylor was later part of the ensemble cast in MGM's classic World War II drama Battleground (1949). He then appeared as the husband of Elizabeth Taylor in the comedies Father of the Bride (1950) and its sequel Father's Little Dividend (1951), starring Spencer Tracy. Another memorable role was Vern "Cowboy" Blithe in Flying Leathernecks (1951). In 1952, Taylor played a soldier bringing his Japanese war-bride back to small-town America in Japanese War Bride. In 1953, Taylor had a key role as the escaping prisoner Lt. Dunbar in Billy Wilder's Stalag 17. His last major film role came in I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)Directorial careerFrom the late 1950s through the 1980s,Taylor turned to directing movies and TV shows, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents. One of his memorable efforts, in 1973, was the musical film Tom SawyerWriting Taylor "wrote one-act plays, radio dramas, short stories, and the 1985 TV movie My Wicked, Wicked Ways ... The Legend of Errol Flynn."
