After starring in Flight Command, 1940, Robert Taylor became fascinated with flying. He earned a pilot’s license and spent every spare moment in the air. His wife, Barbara Stanwyck, was even concerned about his obsession and insisted he see the studio psychologist about it. A lieutenant in the Navy during World War II, Taylor was a flight instructor and flew Stearman open cockpit planes like the one shown above. After the war the studio gave him the exclusive use of a twin engine Beechcraft that he named Missy, after Stanwyck’s nickname. It was nothing for Taylor to fly hundreds of miles for dinner or to visit a friend. It also gave him the freedom he lacked in many areas of his life.
Robert Taylor Actor 