Meshach Taylor dies; 'Designing Women,' 'Mannequin' actor
Meshach Taylor, who played a lovable ex-convict surrounded by boisterous Southern belles on the sitcom "Designing Women" and appeared in numerous other TV and film roles, died of cancer at age 67, his agent said Sunday.
Taylor died Saturday at his home near Los Angeles, according to agent Dede Binder.
Taylor got an Emmy nod for his portrayal of Anthony Bouvier on "Designing Women" from 1986 to 1993. Then he costarred for four seasons on another successful comedy, "Dave's World," as the best friend of a newspaper humor columnist played by the series' star, Harry Anderson.
Other series included the cult favorite "Buffalo Bill" and the popular Nickelodeon comedy "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide."
Taylor's movie roles included a flamboyant window dresser in the 1987 comedy-romance "Mannequin" as well as "Damien: Omen II."
He guested on many series including "Hannah Montana," "The Unit," "Hill Street Blues," "Barney Miller," "Lou Grant," "The Drew Carey Show," and, in an episode that aired in January, "Criminal Minds." The last series stars Joe Mantegna, with whom Taylor performed early in his career as a fellow member of Chicago's Organic Theater Company. Taylor also had been a member of that city's Goodman Theatre.
The Boston-born Taylor started acting in community shows in New Orleans, where his father was dean of students at Dillard University. He continued doing roles in Indianapolis after his father moved to Indiana University as dean of the college of arts and sciences.
After college, Taylor got a job at an Indianapolis radio station, where he rose from a "flunky job" to Statehouse reporter, he recalled in an interview with The Associated Press in 1989.
"It was interesting for a while," he said. "But once you get involved in Indiana politics you see what a yawn it is."
Resuming his acting pursuit, he set up a black arts theater to keep kids off the street, then joined the national touring company of "Hair." His acting career was launched.
After "Hair," he became a part of the burgeoning theater world in Chicago, where he stayed until 1979 before heading for Los Angeles.
Taylor played the assistant director in "Buffalo Bill," the short-lived NBC sitcom about an arrogant and self-centered talk show host played by Dabney Coleman. It lasted just one season, 1983-84, disappointing its small but fervent following.
Seemingly his gig on "Designing Women" could have been even more short-lived. It was initially a one-shot.
"It was for the Thanksgiving show, about halfway through the first season," Taylor said. But producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason told him if the character clicked with audiences he could stay.
It did. He spun comic gold with co-stars Jean Smart, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts and Delta Burke, and never left.
Meanwhile, his real life worked its way into one episode.
"We were doing some promotional work in Lubbock, Texas, and somehow Delta Burke and I got booked into the same hotel suite," he said. They alerted their respective significant others to the mix-up, then muddled through with the shared accommodations.
"When we got back I told Linda, and she put it into a show: We got stranded at a motel during a blizzard and ended up in the same bed!"
In 1977, Taylor moved to Los Angeles, where he crafted a gallery of memorable characters in film and on television, including his Emmy nominated turn in the CBS sitcom Designing Women. Taylor played Anthony Bouvier, the assistant at the fictitious Sugarbaker interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1989, he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In May 1981, the ninth season of M*A*S*H, he was seen as a corpsman in the final episode, "The Life You Save".
From 1993-97, he was a series regular as plastic surgeon Sheldon Baylor on Dave's World (CBS), and had a recurring role as Alastair Wright, the history teacher turned school principal, on Nickelodeon's sitcom, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (2004–07).
Other appearances include: The Unit, Jessie, Hannah Montana as a fashion designer, All of Us as Neesee's father, The Drew Carey Show, Static Shock, Caroline in the City, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Women of the House, In the Heat of the Night, Punky Brewster, What's Happening Now!!, Hill Street Blues, ALF, Melba, The Golden Girls, Cagney & Lacey, Barney Miller, Lou Grant, The White Shadow, The Incredible Hulk, The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue and Barnaby Jones.
In 1996, Taylor hosted his own series on HGTV, The Urban Gardener with Meshach Taylor, and in 1998, he hosted Meshach Taylor's Hidden Caribbean on The Travel Channel. He was a regular panelist on the 2000 revival of the television game show To Tell the Truth. He co-hosted Living Live! with Florence Henderson on Retirement Living TV; in 2008 until the program was revamped as The Florence Henderson Show.
Taylor made his Broadway debut as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, where he starred alongside Toni Braxton.
Taylor is survived by his four children and his wife, Bianca Ferguson.
Filmography
Film and television roles Year Title Role Notes
1978 Damien: Omen II Dr. William Kane
1978 Stony Island Aldeman's Yes-Man
1981 The Howling Shantz
1982 The Beast Within Deputy Herbert
1982 The Haircut Sam
1985 Explorers Gordon Miller
1985 Warning Sign Video Technician #2
1986 One More Saturday Night Bill Neal
1986 Inside Out Freddy
1987 Mannequin Hollywood
1987 The Allnighter Hotel Detective Philip
1987 House of Games Mr. Dean
1988 Kid Safe: The Video Marty Short film
1990 Ultra Warrior Elijah
1991 Mannequin Two: On the Move Hollywood Montrose / Doorman
1992 Class Act Duncan's Dad
1993 Double, Double, Toil and Trouble Mr. N
1997 The Right Connections Lionel Clark
1998 The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue Cecil Direct-to-video
2000 Jacks or Better Ron
2001 Friends & Family Bruno
2010 Wigger Charles Pruitt
2010 Tranced Cabbie
2011 Hyenas Crazy Briggs
2012-2014 Criminal Minds Harrison Scott 2 episodes, (final appearance)
Other series included the cult favorite "Buffalo Bill" and the popular Nickelodeon comedy "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide."
Taylor's movie roles included a flamboyant window dresser in the 1987 comedy-romance "Mannequin" as well as "Damien: Omen II."
He guested on many series including "Hannah Montana," "The Unit," "Hill Street Blues," "Barney Miller," "Lou Grant," "The Drew Carey Show," and, in an episode that aired in January, "Criminal Minds." The last series stars Joe Mantegna, with whom Taylor performed early in his career as a fellow member of Chicago's Organic Theater Company. Taylor also had been a member of that city's Goodman Theatre.
The Boston-born Taylor started acting in community shows in New Orleans, where his father was dean of students at Dillard University. He continued doing roles in Indianapolis after his father moved to Indiana University as dean of the college of arts and sciences.
After college, Taylor got a job at an Indianapolis radio station, where he rose from a "flunky job" to Statehouse reporter, he recalled in an interview with The Associated Press in 1989.
"It was interesting for a while," he said. "But once you get involved in Indiana politics you see what a yawn it is."
Resuming his acting pursuit, he set up a black arts theater to keep kids off the street, then joined the national touring company of "Hair." His acting career was launched.
After "Hair," he became a part of the burgeoning theater world in Chicago, where he stayed until 1979 before heading for Los Angeles.
Taylor played the assistant director in "Buffalo Bill," the short-lived NBC sitcom about an arrogant and self-centered talk show host played by Dabney Coleman. It lasted just one season, 1983-84, disappointing its small but fervent following.
Seemingly his gig on "Designing Women" could have been even more short-lived. It was initially a one-shot.
"It was for the Thanksgiving show, about halfway through the first season," Taylor said. But producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason told him if the character clicked with audiences he could stay.
It did. He spun comic gold with co-stars Jean Smart, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts and Delta Burke, and never left.
Meanwhile, his real life worked its way into one episode.
"We were doing some promotional work in Lubbock, Texas, and somehow Delta Burke and I got booked into the same hotel suite," he said. They alerted their respective significant others to the mix-up, then muddled through with the shared accommodations.
"When we got back I told Linda, and she put it into a show: We got stranded at a motel during a blizzard and ended up in the same bed!"
In 1977, Taylor moved to Los Angeles, where he crafted a gallery of memorable characters in film and on television, including his Emmy nominated turn in the CBS sitcom Designing Women. Taylor played Anthony Bouvier, the assistant at the fictitious Sugarbaker interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1989, he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In May 1981, the ninth season of M*A*S*H, he was seen as a corpsman in the final episode, "The Life You Save".
From 1993-97, he was a series regular as plastic surgeon Sheldon Baylor on Dave's World (CBS), and had a recurring role as Alastair Wright, the history teacher turned school principal, on Nickelodeon's sitcom, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (2004–07).
Other appearances include: The Unit, Jessie, Hannah Montana as a fashion designer, All of Us as Neesee's father, The Drew Carey Show, Static Shock, Caroline in the City, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Women of the House, In the Heat of the Night, Punky Brewster, What's Happening Now!!, Hill Street Blues, ALF, Melba, The Golden Girls, Cagney & Lacey, Barney Miller, Lou Grant, The White Shadow, The Incredible Hulk, The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue and Barnaby Jones.
In 1996, Taylor hosted his own series on HGTV, The Urban Gardener with Meshach Taylor, and in 1998, he hosted Meshach Taylor's Hidden Caribbean on The Travel Channel. He was a regular panelist on the 2000 revival of the television game show To Tell the Truth. He co-hosted Living Live! with Florence Henderson on Retirement Living TV; in 2008 until the program was revamped as The Florence Henderson Show.
Taylor made his Broadway debut as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, where he starred alongside Toni Braxton.
Filmography
Film and television roles Year Title Role Notes
1978 Damien: Omen II Dr. William Kane
1978 Stony Island Aldeman's Yes-Man
1981 The Howling Shantz
1982 The Beast Within Deputy Herbert
1982 The Haircut Sam
1985 Explorers Gordon Miller
1985 Warning Sign Video Technician #2
1986 One More Saturday Night Bill Neal
1986 Inside Out Freddy
1987 Mannequin Hollywood
1987 The Allnighter Hotel Detective Philip
1987 House of Games Mr. Dean
1988 Kid Safe: The Video Marty Short film
1990 Ultra Warrior Elijah
1991 Mannequin Two: On the Move Hollywood Montrose / Doorman
1992 Class Act Duncan's Dad
1993 Double, Double, Toil and Trouble Mr. N
1997 The Right Connections Lionel Clark
1998 The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue Cecil Direct-to-video
2000 Jacks or Better Ron
2001 Friends & Family Bruno
2010 Wigger Charles Pruitt
2010 Tranced Cabbie
2011 Hyenas Crazy Briggs
2012-2014 Criminal Minds Harrison Scott 2 episodes, (final appearance)
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