A Fistful Of Facts About Rod Taylor, Hollywood's Brawling Aussie
You could take Rod Taylor out of the Outback, but you couldn't take the Outback out of Rod Taylor—and that's something the people of Old Hollywood had to learn the hard way.
1. He Was Actually Australian
Although the majority of his screen characters were American, Rod Taylor was actually born and raised in Australia. An accomplished artist, he flip-flopped between a career in fine art and acting. His mother pushed him towards painting, but after witnessing Sir Laurence Olivier’s portrayal of Richard III, Taylor knew that acting was for him.
Still, his mom put up a fight.
2. He Defied His Mother
Taylor’s mother was an accomplished children’s book author and his father was a commercial artist. Mom pushed hard for him to follow in their footsteps, badgering him to attend a technical school.
Taylor was having none of it though, and dropped out to audition for theatre school.
In the long term, it was the right decision.This next decision was...not so good.
3. He Had A Doomed Relationship
In 1951, feeling like his career was finally hitting its stride and life was falling into place, 21-year-old Rod Taylor decided to get married. He’d fallen in love with a model named Peggy Williams. The two wed, but the bloom came off the rose in short order. Within a scant three years the marriage began to fall apart—and the rumored reason why was explosive.
4. He Was Divorced But Not Charged
Rod Taylor always claimed that his brief marriage to Williams ended because the two of them were simply too young to have a happy marriage. Unfortunately, as part of the divorce proceedings, his soon-to-be ex-wife claimed he beat her.
No charges were ever laid, but the shadow of the accusation followed Taylor throughout his career.
And with good reason.
