Don Taylor

Don Taylor was born in Freeport, Pennsylvania. He initially studied law, then speech and drama at Penn State University, where as a freshman he began participating in college stage productions. In 1942, he hitchhiked to Hollywood, where he screen-tested at Warner Brothers but was rejected due to his draft status. MGM, less concerned with such matters, signed him to a contract and immediately cast him in a minor role as a soldier in Clarence Brown's The Human Comedy (1943), a sentimental portrait of small-town life during World War II. He continued in small roles before enlisting in the Army, where he remained active in acting. Playwright and screenwriter Moss Hart cast him in a leading role in the United States Army Air Forces' production of Hart's play, "Winged Victory." There, Taylor met his first wife, actress Phyllis Avery, who also appeared in the production. After returning to civilian life, Taylor resumed his film career with a leading role in the influential crime drama The Naked City (1948). Later in his career, he transitioned into directing for film and television, earning an Emmy nomination for his work on an episode of The Farmer's Daughter. He met his second wife, Hazel Court, while directing her in a 1958 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955).