56 years ago today, Rober Taylor died at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 57.
Robert Taylor was a complicated and incredibly versatile man who could play any sort of character from a Roman general to a mental patient. He was a family man happily settled with his second wife, Ursula Thiess, and their two children.
Mr. Taylor was a patriot who served in the United States Navy for 3 years during World War II. He was a dedicated anti-communist and an early suporter of his friend Ronald Reagan.
I became a Robert Taylor fan at the age of 15 when his TV show, "The Detectives" premiered. My mother wanted to watch it because she remembered Mr. Taylor from the thirties. I took one look and that was it. I spent the rest of my high school career watching Robert Taylor movies on late night TV, buying photos of him, making scrapbooks and being a typical teenager. College, marriage and career intervened. I remember being sad when Mr. Taylor died. I mailed two huge scrapbooks to Ursula Thiess. I hope she got them. Time passed, retirement, moving to Florida. Then in 2012 my husband Fred pointed that there were two Robert Taylor movies that evening on Turner Classic Movies--"Ivanhoe" and "Quentin Durward." I watched both and it happened all over again. I started this blog both for fans and for people who didn't know about Robert Taylor. As the blog passes 200,000 views I'm delighted that so many people have come by and hope it will help preserve the legacy of this fine actor and equally good man.
Robert Taylor Actor 
RIP to a great actor and patriot and family man.
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