Dub Taylor
Acting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Walter Clarence Taylor Jr. (February 26, 1907 – October 3, 1994), known as Dub Taylor, was an American character actor who from the 1940s into the 1990s worked extensively in films and on television, often in Westerns but also in comedies. He was the father of actor Buck Taylor, who played the character Newly O'Brien on Gunsmoke. Walter C. Taylor Jr. was born in 1907 in Richmond, Virginia, the middle child of five children of Minnie and Walter C. Taylor, Sr. According to the federal census of 1920, young Walter had two older sisters, Minnie Marg[aret] and Maud, a younger brother named George, and a little sister, Edna Fay. The family moved to Augusta, Georgia around 1912 when Walter was five years old, and the Taylors lived in this city until he was 13. The census of 1920 also documents that Dub's mother was a native of Pennsylvania and his father was a native of North Carolina, who worked in Augusta at that time as a "Cotton Broker". While living in Georgia as a boy, Walter, Jr., got his lifelong nickname when his friends began calling him "W" (double-u) and then shortened his nickname even farther, to just "Dub". It was in Georgia, too, where Taylor befriended Ty Cobb, Jr., the son of the legendary professional baseball player. A vaudeville performer, Dub Taylor was a member of the 1937 Alabama Crimson Tide football team that played in the 1938 Rose Bowl. He stayed behind to establish a career in films, making his film debut in 1938 as the cheerful ex-football captain Ed Carmichael in Frank Capra's You Can't Take It with You. Taylor secured the part because the role required an actor who could also play the xylophone. Later, during the 1950s and early 1960s, he demonstrated his considerable talent for playing the xylophone on several television shows, including an episode on the syndicated series Ranch Party hosted by Tex Ritter. In 1939, he appeared in the film Taming of the West, in which he originated the character of Cannonball, a role he continued to play for the next ten years, in over 50 films. Cannonball was a comic sidekick to Wild Bill Saunders (played by Bill Elliott), a pairing that continued through 13 features, during which Elliott’s character became Wild Bill Hickok. Despite his extensive career as a character actor in a wide range of roles, Dub Taylor continued to find his niche in Westerns, a genre in which he performed in literally dozens of more films and in episodes of many television series. Taylor often appeared in the guise of talkative hotel or postal clerks, court bailiffs, cooks, or dissolute doctors. He portrayed, for example, an ill-tempered chuckwagon cook in the 1969 film The Undefeated, starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson. He appeared as well in the 1971 movie Support Your Local Gunfighter as the drunken Doc Shultz. Taylor played Houston Lamb over the course of four episodes of Little House On The Prairie in seasons six and seven (1979 to 1981). Taylor made at least two film cameos in the early 1990s. In Back to the Future Part III, he appeared with veteran Western actors Pat Buttram and Harry Carey Jr.. His last appearance was in the film Maverick as a hotel room clerk. Dub Taylor died of a heart attack on October 3, 1994 in Los Angeles. In addition to being father to Buck Taylor, Dub had a daughter, Faydean Taylor Tharp. CLR
TV Shows(58)
Designing Women
1986
The Cosby Show
Slim Claxton
1984
Bret Maverick
Toothless Tim Teal
1981
How the West Was Won
Moss
1977
Movin' On
1974
Little House on the Prairie
Houston Lamb
1974
Run, Joe, Run
1974
Chopper One
Rudy
1974
The Brian Keith Show
1972
Emergency!
Old Man
1972
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
The Partridge Family
Flicker
1970
The Odd Couple
Slim
1970
Love, American Style
1969
The Mod Squad
1968
Lancer
1968
Hawaii Five-O
Ray Tobias
1968
The High Chaparral
Oscar Hipple
1967
The Guns of Will Sonnett
1967
Cimarron Strip
Owley
1967
Custer
1967
Mr. Terrific
Preacher
1967
The Monkees
Paw
1966
That Girl
1966
The Monroes
1966
The Loner
Jim
1965
The Wild Wild West
Guard
1965
Laredo
1965
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Ed Hewley
1965
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Preacher
1964
Burke's Law
Garnet
1963
Temple Houston
Cliff Willard
1963
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Ensign O'Toole
Clerk
1962
The Virginian
Walt Cooper
1962
The Lloyd Bridges Show
Freddy
1962
The Beachcomber
Pete Dibley
1962
Hazel
1961
Surfside 6
1960
The Andy Griffith Show
Billy Ray Talbot
1960
The Westerner
Walt Smith
1960
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
George B. Glines
1960
Dennis the Menace
Opie
1959
The Twilight Zone
Peters
1959
Wichita Town
1959
Bonanza
Simon
1959
77 Sunset Strip
1958
Lawman
1958
26 Men
1957
Casey Jones
Wallie Sims
1957
Perry Mason
Stroller
1957
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Yancie
1956
Cheyenne
Hoyt
1955
Gunsmoke
Sonny Starr
1955
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Hogan
1955
The Wonderful World of Disney
Purse
1954
Death Valley Days
Rupert
1952
I Love Lucy
Rattlesnake Jones
1951
Movies(157)
Maverick
Room Clerk
1994
Falling from Grace
Grandpa Parks
1992
The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw
The Westerner's Friend
1991
Conagher
1991
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Gimme Cap
1991
Back to the Future Part III
Saloon Old Timer
1990
Once Upon a Texas Train
Charlie Lee
1988
The Best of Times
Mac
1986
The Outlaws
L.D. Sloane
1984
Cannonball Run II
Police Officer
1984
Soggy Bottom, U.S.A.
Cottonmouth Gorch
1981
Used Cars
Tucker
1980
1941
Mr. Malcomb
1979
They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way
Gunner
1978
Doc Hooker's Bunch
Dr. Isaiah Beauregard Hooker
1978
The Great Smokey Roadblock
Harley Davidson
1978
Beartooth
1978
The Rescuers
Digger (voice)
1977
Moonshine County Express
Uncle Bill
1977
Great Day
Doc
1977
Kit Carson and the Mountain Men
Stableman
1977
Pony Express Rider
Boomer Riley
1976
Burnt Offerings
Walker
1976
Gator
Mayor T.L. Caffery
1976
Treasure of Matecumbe
Sheriff Forbes
1976
The Winds of Autumn
Rattler S. Gravley
1976
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
(archive footage)
1976
Creature from Black Lake
Grandpaw Bridges
1976
Hearts of the West
Nevada Ticket Agent
1975
Poor Pretty Eddie
Justice of the Peace Floyd
1975
Flash and the Firecat
Sheriff C.W. Thurston
1975
The Fortune
Rattlesnake Tom
1975
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe Return
Bitteroot
1975
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Station Attendant
1974
Honky Tonk
1974
Shootout in a One-Dog Town
Halsey
1974
This Is a Hijack
Sheriff Gordon
1973
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Josh
1973
Tom Sawyer
Clayton
1973
Brock's Last Case
Judge Robbins
1973
Country Blue
J.J. 'Jumpy' Belk
1973
The Getaway
Laughlin
1972
Junior Bonner
Del
1972
The Delphi Bureau: The Merchant of Death Assignment
Old Timer
1972
Wild in the Sky
Officer Roddenberry
1972
Evel Knievel
Turquoise Smith
1971
Man and Boy
Atkins
1971
Support Your Local Gunfighter
Doc Schultz
1971
Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?
Reed, the Lawyer
1971
The Wild Country
Phil
1970
A Man Called Horse
Joe
1970
The Liberation of L.B. Jones
Mayor
1970
Menace on the Mountain
Cicero Everhart
1970
… tick… tick… tick…
Junior
1970
The Reivers
Dr. Peabody
1969
The Undefeated
McCartney
1969
The Learning Tree
Spikey
1969
The Wild Bunch
Reverend Wainscoat
1969
Death of a Gunfighter
Doc Adams
1969
Ride a Northbound Horse
Purse
1969
Something for a Lonely Man
Sheriff
1968
The Shakiest Gun in the West
Pop Cushings
1968
Bandolero!
Attendant
1968
The Money Jungle
Pete Jensen
1967
Bonnie and Clyde
Ivan Moss
1967
Johnny Banco
1967
Don't Make Waves
Electrician
1967
The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
Timekeeper
1967
The Cincinnati Kid
Dealer
1965
The Hallelujah Trail
Clayton Howell
1965
The Decorator
Taxi Driver
1965
Major Dundee
Priam
1965
Spencer's Mountain
Percy Cook
1963
The Losers
Gregory
1963
Mooncussers
Fire Tender
1962
How the West Was Won
Man (uncredited)
1962
Period of Adjustment
Drunk (uncredited)
1962
Black Gold
Doc
1962
Sweet Bird of Youth
Dan Hatcher
1962
Pocketful of Miracles
Man (uncredited)
1961
Parrish
Teet Howie
1961
Home from the Hill
Bob Skaggs (uncredited)
1960
A Hole in the Head
Fred
1959
Auntie Mame
County Veterinarian (uncredited)
1958
Hot Rod Gang
Landlord
1958
No Time for Sergeants
Mr. McKinney
1958
You Can't Run Away from It
Joe
1956
The Fastest Gun Alive
Nolan Brown (uncredited)
1956
I Died a Thousand Times
Ed (uncredited)
1955
Tall Man Riding
Townsman (uncredited)
1955
A Star Is Born
Norman's Driver (uncredited)
1954
The Bounty Hunter
Eli Danvers
1954
Dragnet
Miller Starkie
1954
Them!
Railroad Yard Watchman
1954
Riding Shotgun
Eddie (uncredited)
1954
Crime Wave
Gus Snider
1953
Life with Buster Keaton
1951
The Marshall of Trail City
Cannonball
1950
Riding High
Joe
1950
Lawless Code
Cannonball Taylor
1949
Roaring Westward
Cannonball
1949
Brand of Fear
Cannonball
1949
Across The Rio Grande
Cannonball Taylor
1949
Gun Law Justice
Cannonball
1949
Gun Runner
Cannonball Taylor (as 'Cannonball' Taylor)
1949
Courtin' Trouble
Cannonball
1948
Outlaw Brand
Cannonball
1948
Silver Trails
Cannonball
1948
Cowboy Cavalier
Cannonball
1948
Range Renegades
Cannonball
1948
Partners of the Sunset
Cannonball
1948
The Rangers Ride
Cannonball Taylor
1948
Oklahoma Blues
Cannonball Taylor
1948
Song of the Drifter
Cannonball
1948
Ridin' Down the Trail
Cannonball
1947
Frontier Gunlaw
Cannonball
1946
Texas Panhandle
Cannonball Taylor
1945
Lawless Empire
Cannonball
1945
Outlaws of the Rockies
Cannonball
1945
Blazing the Western Trail
Cannonball
1945
Rustlers of the Badlands
Cannonball
1945
Both Barrels Blazing
Cannonball
1945
Rough Ridin' Justice
Cannonball
1945
Sagebrush Heroes
Cannonball
1945
Saddle Leather Law
Cannonball
1944
Cyclone Prairie Rangers
Cannonball
1944
Cowboy from Lonesome River
Cannonball
1944
The Last Horseman
Cannonball
1944
Wyoming Hurricane
Doc 'Canonball' Jones
1944
Sundown Valley
Cannonball Boggs
1944
Cowboy Canteen
Cannonball
1944
Cowboy in the Clouds
Cannonball
1943
The Vigilantes Ride
Cannonball Taylor
1943
Minesweeper
Seaman Stubby Gordon
1943
Silver City Raiders
Cannonball
1943
Saddles and Sagebrush
Cannonball
1943
Riders of the Northwest Mounted
Cannonball
1943
A Tornado in the Saddle
Cannonball
1942
The Lone Prairie
Cannonball
1942
Tanks a Million
Malloy
1941
King of Dodge City
Cannonball Taylor
1941
The Son of Davy Crockett
Cannonball
1941
Hands Across the Rockies
Cannonball Taylor
1941
The Return of Daniel Boone
Cannonball
1941
North from the Lone Star
Cannonball
1941
Across the Sierras
Cannonball
1941
The Wildcat of Tucson
Cannonball
1940
Beyond the Sacramento
Cannonball
1940
Prairie Schooners
Cannonball
1940
One Man's Law
Nevady
1940
The Return of Wild Bill
Cannonball
1940
The Man from Tumbleweeds
Cannonball
1940
Pioneers of the Frontier
Cannonball Simms
1940
Taming of the West
Cannonball
1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Reporter (uncredited)
1939
Carefree
(uncredited)
1938
You Can't Take It with You
Ed Carmichael
1938