Jud Taylor

American actor/director (1932–2008)


title: "Jud Taylor" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1932-births", "2008-deaths", "presidents-of-the-directors-guild-of-america", "american-television-directors", "television-producers-from-new-york-city", "american-television-writers", "american-male-television-writers", "american-male-television-actors", "american-male-film-actors", "directors-guild-of-america-award-winners", "male-actors-from-new-york-city", "film-directors-from-new-york-city", "screenwriters-from-new-york-(state)", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "20th-century-american-screenwriters", "20th-century-american-male-writers"] description: "American actor/director (1932–2008)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jud_Taylor" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actor/director (1932–2008) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameJud Taylor
birth_nameJudson Taylor
birth_date
birth_placeNew York City, U.S.
death_date
death_placeNew York City, U.S.
other_namesAlan Smithee
occupationActor
television director
television producer
yearsactive1965–2004
spouseLynn Kressel
children1
::

| name = Jud Taylor | image = | birth_name = Judson Taylor | birth_date = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = New York City, U.S. | other_names = Alan Smithee | occupation = Actor television director television producer | yearsactive = 1965–2004 | spouse = Lynn Kressel | children = 1 Judson Taylor (February 25, 1932August 6, 2008) was an American actor, television director, and television producer.

Early years

Born in New York City, Taylor graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.

Career

Taylor is perhaps best known for his directorial work on 1960s television shows such as Star Trek, Dr. Kildare, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. In the early 2000s, he directed several episodes of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Taylor also directed more than 40 made-for-TV movies, including the award-winning Tail Gunner Joe and Foxfire, and the final film appearances of both Susan Hayward in Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole (1972) and David Janssen in City in Fear (1980).

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, before becoming an established director, Taylor worked as an actor. He had a recurring role on Dr. Kildare as Dr. Gerson. He appeared in several episodes of The Fugitive and Twelve O'Clock High playing different characters. Other TV programs in which he had small roles included Gunsmoke, Men of Annapolis, and Wagon Train. He also played the part of Goff, one of three Americans, in the feature film The Great Escape and subsequently directed a made-for-TV sequel to the film titled The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988) starring Christopher Reeve. Two years later, he directed a television miniseries based on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea (1990 miniseries) starring Anthony Quinn in the role originally portrayed by Spencer Tracy in the earlier theatrical version.

Taylor was vice president of the Directors Guild of America from 1977 to 1981 and president from 1981 to 1983.

He died in New York City in 2008, following a long illness.

Selected filmography

Actor

Director

Writer

TV movies

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table]

YearResultAwardCategoryFilm or series
1977NominatedEmmy AwardOutstanding Directing in a Special Program - Drama or ComedyTail Gunner Joe
1988WonDirectors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic SpecialsFoxfire (Shared with Frederic B. Blankfein, John Eyler & Murray Schwartz)
2003WonDirectors Guild of America AwardRobert B. Aldrich Award for Extraordinary Service to the Guild
::

References

References

  1. "Jud Taylor Obituary (classified)".
  2. (August 8, 2008). "Past president of Directors Guild". The Los Angeles Times.
  3. (2011). "Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010". McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
  4. (June 16, 1963). "Director Describes New POW Film". The Post-Standard.
  5. (July 12, 1963). "Screen". The Richmond News Leader.
  6. (November 6, 1988). "Bent on Revenge". The Standard-Star.
  7. [https://variety.com/2008/scene/news/tv-director-jud-taylor-dies-at-76-1117990181/ "TV Director Jud Taylor Dies at 76,"] Variety, Aug. 6, 2008.
  8. [http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=jud-taylor&pid=115037565&fhid=2086 Jud Taylor Obituary], New York Times, Aug. 7, 2008.
  9. "("Jud Taylor" search results)". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
  10. "("Jud Taylor" search results)".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1932-births2008-deathspresidents-of-the-directors-guild-of-americaamerican-television-directorstelevision-producers-from-new-york-cityamerican-television-writersamerican-male-television-writersamerican-male-television-actorsamerican-male-film-actorsdirectors-guild-of-america-award-winnersmale-actors-from-new-york-cityfilm-directors-from-new-york-cityscreenwriters-from-new-york-(state)20th-century-american-male-actors20th-century-american-screenwriters20th-century-american-male-writers