Robert Taylor (born Spangler Arlington Brugh; August 5, 1911 – June 8, 1969) was an American film and television actor who was one of the most popular leading men of his time. Taylor began his career in films in 1934 when he signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He won his first leading role the following year in Magnificent Obsession. His popularity increased during the late 1930s and 1940s with appearances in A Yank at Oxford (1938), Waterloo Bridge (1940), and Bataan (1943). During World War II, he served in the United States Naval Air Corps, where he worked as a flight instructor and appeared in instructional films. From 1959 to 1962, he starred in the ABC series The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor. In 1966, he took over hosting duties from his friend Ronald Reagan on the series Death Valley Days. Taylor was married to actress Barbara Stanwyck from 1939 to 1951. He married actress Ursula Thiess in 1954, and they had two children. A chain smoker, Taylor was diagnosed with lung cancer in October 1968. He died of the disease on June 8, 1969 at the age of 57.

Filmography

• Yellowthread Street — Det. Peter Marenta
• 1976That's Entertainment, Part II — (archive footage)
• 1968The Day the Hot Line Got Hot — Anderson
• 1968Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows — Mr. Farriday: The 'In' Group
• Hondo
• 1967Hondo and the Apaches — Gallagher
• 1967Return of the Gunfighter — Ben Wyatt
• 1967The Glass Sphinx — Prof. Karl Nichols
• 1966Johnny Tiger — George Dean
• 1966Savage Pampas — Captain Martín
• 1964A House Is Not a Home — Frank Costigan
• 1964The Big Parade of Comedy — Raymond Dabney in 'Personal Property' (archive footage)
• 1964The Night Walker — Barry Moreland
• 1963Cattle King — Sam Brassfield
• 1963Miracle of the White Stallions — Col. Podhajsky
• 1963Recoil — Captain Matt Holbrook
• 1959Killers of Kilimanjaro — Robert Adamson
• The Detectives — Captain Matt Holbrook
• 1959The Hangman — Mackenzie Bovard
• 1959The House of the Seven Hawks — John Nordley
• 1958Party Girl — Tommy Farrell
• 1958Saddle the Wind — Steve Sinclair
• 1958The Law and Jake Wade — Jake Wade
• The Thin Man
• 1957Tip on a Dead Jockey — Lloyd Tredman
• 1956D-Day the Sixth of June — Capt. Brad Parker
• 1956The Last Hunt — Charlie Gilson
• 1956The Power and the Prize — Cliff Barton
• 1955Many Rivers to Cross — Bushrod Gentry
• 1955Quentin Durward — Quentin Durward
• 1954Rogue Cop — Det. Sgt. Christopher Kelvaney
• 1954Valley of the Kings — Mark Brandon
• 1953Above and Beyond — Lt. Col Paul W. Tibbets
• 1953All the Brothers Were Valiant — Joel Shore
• 1953I Love Melvin — Robert Taylor
• 1953Knights of the Round Table — Lancelot
• 1953Ride, Vaquero! — Rio
• Death Valley Days — Self - Host, Shanghai Kelly
• 1952Ivanhoe — Wilfred of Ivanhoe
• 1952The Hoaxters — Narrator (voice)
• 1951Quo Vadis — Marcus Vinicius
• 1951Westward the Women — Buck Wyatt
• 1950Ambush — Ward Kinsman
• 1950Devil's Doorway — Lance Poole
• 1950The Fighting Lady's Family — Narrator (voice)
• 1949Conspirator — Major Michael Curragh
• 1949The Bribe — Rigby
• 1948The Secret Land — Narrator
• 1947High Wall — Steven Kenet
• 1946Undercurrent — Alan Garroway
• 1945Primary Flight Instruction: Stearman N2-S Part 1 — Lt. Taylor, Director
• 1945Primary Flight Training: Attitudes of Flight: Part 1 — Lt. Taylor, Director
• 1945Primary Flight Training: Before You Fly — Lt. Taylor, Director
• 1945Primary Flight Training: First Flight, Part 2 — Lt. Taylor, Director
• 1945Primary Flight Training: Keep It Flying, Part 1 — Instructor, Director
• 1945Primary Flight Training: Keep It Flying, Part 2 — Lt. Taylor, Director
• 1945Primary Flight Training: Landings — Lt. Taylor, Director
• 1945Primary Flight Training: Taxiing and Take-offs — Instructor, Director
• 1944Primary Flight Training: Flight Sense — Lt. Robert Taylor, Director
• 1944Song of Russia — John Meredith
• 1944The Fighting Lady — Narrator
• 1943Bataan — Sgt. Bill Dane
• 1943The Youngest Profession — Robert Taylor
• 1942Her Cardboard Lover — Terry Trindale
• 1942Stand by for Action — Lieut. Gregg Masterman
• 1941Billy the Kid — Billy Bonney
• 1941Johnny Eager — Johnny Eager
• 1941When Ladies Meet — Jimmy Lee
• 1940Escape — Mark Preysing
• 1940Flight Command — Ens. Alan Drake
• 1940Waterloo Bridge — Roy Cronin
• 1939Lady of the Tropics — William 'Bill' Carey
• 1939Lucky Night — Bill Overton
• 1939Remember? — Jeff Holland
• 1939Stand Up and Fight — Blake Cantrell
• 1938A Yank at Oxford — Lee Sheridan
• 1938The Crowd Roars — 'Killer' McCoy
• 1938Three Comrades — Erich Lohkamp
• 1937Broadway Melody of 1938 — Steve Raleigh
• 1937Personal Property — Raymond Dabney
• 1937This Is My Affair — Lt. Richard L. Perry
• 1936Camille — Armand Duval
• 1936His Brother's Wife — Chris Claybourne
• 1936Private Number — Richard Winfield
• 1936Small Town Girl — Dr. Robert 'Bob' Dakin
• 1936The Gorgeous Hussy — 'Bow' Timberlake
• 1935Broadway Melody of 1936 — Robert Gordon
• 1935Buried Loot — Albert 'Al' Douglas (uncredited)
• 1935Magnificent Obsession — Dr. Robert Merrick
• 1935Murder in the Fleet — Lieutenant Tom Randolph
• 1935Society Doctor — Dr. Ellis
• 1935Times Square Lady — Steve Gordon
• 1935West Point of the Air — 'Jasky' Jaskarelli
• 1934A Wicked Woman — Bill Renton
• 1934Handy Andy — Lloyd Burmeister
• 1934The Spectacle Maker — The Duchess's Paramour
• 1934There's Always Tomorrow — Arthur White

Appearances as themselves (23)

• 2021The Real Charlie Chaplin — Self (archive footage)
• 2014Stars of the Silver Screen - Greta Garbo — Self (archive footage)
• 1997Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line — Self (archive footage)
• 1991Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire — Self (archive footage)
• 1972Hollywood: The Dream Factory — Self (archive footage)
• 1969Garbo, by Joan Crawford — Self (archive footage)
• 1969The Extraordinary Seaman — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
• The Merv Griffin Show — Self
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self - Co-Host
• MGM Parade — Self, self
• 1951Rome, the Eternal City — Self
• 1950Screen Actors — Self (uncredited)
• What's My Line? — Self
• The Ed Sullivan Show — Self
• 1947Performers Arrive in Hampshire — Self
• 1940A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound — Self
• 1940Hollywood: Style Center of the World — Self
• 1940Trifles of Importance — Self (archive footage)
• 1939From the Ends of the Earth — Self
• 1938Hollywood Goes to Town — Self
• 1937Lest We Forget — Himself
• 1937The Romance of Celluloid — Self (archive footage)
• 1935La Fiesta de Santa Barbara — Self