Rodney Sturt Taylor was born on 11 January 1930, in Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, best known for appearing in numerous films such as “The Time Machine”, “The Birds”, and “Darker than Amber”. He’s also known for his final appearance in the 2009 film “Inglorious Basterds”. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it was prior to his passing in 2015.
How rich was Rod Taylor? As of late-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $5 million, mostly earned through a successful career as an actor. Aside from films, he did stage and radio work, and also appeared in numerous television shows, with all of these achievements ensuring the position of his wealth.
Rod attended Parramatta High School and after matriculating, went to East Sydney Technical and Fine Arts College. He mainly worked as a commercial artist before deciding that he wanted to pursue a career as an actor.
Rod Taylor Net Worth $5 million
He began appearing in various stage productions and radio shows, but he still needed to support his acting career with other jobs, so he worked at a department store, mainly as a designer and painter. In 1951, he had a part in the filmed documentary re-enactment of his great-great grand uncle explorer Charles Sturt’s exploration of the Murray River, and then in1954 he made his film debut in “King of the Coral Sea” which led to “Long John Silver”. In the same year he was then awarded the 1954 Rola Show Australian Radio Actor of the Year Award. Afterwards, he would land several television roles, and he also continued to appear in films such as “Giant” and “Hell on Frisco Bay”. His career on Hollywood was starting to flourish and it helped increase his net worth considerably. He was then given a contract at MGM after an impressive screen test for the film “Somebody Up There Likes Me”. He would appear in numerous supporting roles, and was then cast in “Separate Tables” which would gain several awards.
In 1960, Taylor had his first lead role in “The Time Machine”, based on the book by HG Wells. This would lead to the series “Hong Kong”, and his net worth was starting to increase dramatically. He then worked on the animated feature “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” before starring in the thriller “The Birds”. Over the next few years, he made a lot of films that were mostly under MGM; some of the projects he became a part of include “The V.I.P.s”, “Young Cassidy”, and “The Liquidator”. In the late 1960s, he was asked to do more tough-guy roles, changing his image as seen in “Chuka” and “Dark of the Sun”.
In the 1970s, he continued appearing in television shows and films. He starred in “Bearcats!” and also had a regular role in “Masquerade”. In 1988, he appeared in “Falcon Crest”, and would then guest star in “Murder, She Wrote” during the mid-1990s. During this time he would also return to Australia to work on several projects. Later in his life he moved into semi-retirement, but still had a few roles here and there. He made a cameo appearance in “Inglorious Basterds” in 2009, playing Winston Churchill.
For his personal life, it is known that Rod was married three times, firstly to Peggy Williams from 1951 to 1954, then to model Mary Hilem (1963-69) – their daughter is CNN reporter Felicia Taylor. Rod’s final marriage was to Carol Kikumura in 1980, who was with him until, in January 2015, Taylor had a heart attack just a few days away from his 85th birthday, and passed away in Los Angeles, California.
