Kent Taylor on AllMovie

Kent Taylor headed for Hollywood after graduating from high school -- though not as soon after graduation as he'd later claim. Signed by Paramount in 1932, the handsome but slightly callow Taylor appeared in bits and small supporting roles in films like The Devil and the Deep, If I Had a Million, and Sign of the Cross. He befriended comedian Will Rogers, who spotlighted young Taylor in good leading man roles in several of his vehicles at Fox (notably 1934's David Harum). Taylor's film assignments improved after he adopted a mustache and developed a go-getting screen personality. He freelanced in big and small productions at such studios as RKO, Paramount, Columbia, and Universal, often cast as detectives or soldiers of fortune. In 1951, Taylor was cast in the title role of the syndicated TV series Boston Blackie, which ran profitably in rerun form into the 1960s. In 1958, Taylor starred in a network Western, The Rough Riders. Kent Taylor remained active in films into the 1970s, albeit in progressively cheaper efforts like Al Adamson's Satan's Sadists (1968).