Thursday, October 13, 2022

Rod Tayler: Bite Me!


Rod Taylor
as Mitch Brenner
The Birds (1963)


I think if actor Rod Taylor was hitting Hollywood today he'd be viewed in the vein of Chris Hemsworth or Chris Evans.  Incredibly good looking, talented and likable.  Taylor also has that strong, thick chest that I so associate with classic movie idols from the 50's and 60's.   I did a previous piece featuring images or Rod after a viewing of The Birds HERE:. 


Like everyone else in the film, Rod Taylor’s character—Mitch Brenner—had to withstand a barrage of avian attacks. One particular bird really had it in for Taylor. There was a captive raven named Archie who seemingly went out of his way to attack the actor, even when the cameras weren’t rolling. “Every morning, if we were on the set together, he’d come over and … bite me,"


Taylor revealed in Universal’s DVD documentary All About the Birds. "I hated him and he hated me.” It got to the point where Taylor started making inquiries about Archie’s whereabouts as part of his daily, on-set ritual. “I’d walk in and say, ‘Is Archie working today?’ And they’d say, ‘Uh, I don’t think so Rod. I think we’re working with seagulls.’ And out of the rafters would come Archie. [He] hated me and would lie in wait for me.” 
Fascinating Facts


On set of The Birds


Young Cassidy (1965)

The Hell with Heroes (1968)

World Without End (1956)


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