SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2015 Rod Taylor, ‘The Birds’ and ‘The Time Bill Cosby heckled during Machine’ star, dies at 84 second Canadian show ill Cosby, the subject of more than a dozen sex abuse allegations over Bthe past three months, was heckled during a show on his Canadian tour on Thursday, with one audience member call- ing him a “rapist”, the Canadian Press reported. The news agency said a man shouted “You are a rapist,” at a show in , Ontario, before being removed

od Taylor, the Australian-born actor who starred in ’s adaptation of H.G. Wells’ “” and in RAlfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” then decades later made a Demonstrators gather to protest comedian Bill Cosby’s second performance in memorable swan-song appearance as in Canada at the Budweiser Gardens. — AP photo ’s “,” died Wednesday of a heart attack in Los Angeles. He was 84. His daughter Felicia, a for- Canadian shows this week. His first in mer CNN correspondent, confirmed the news Thursday. Kitchener, Ontario on Wednesday was not Taylor made his feature starring debut in 1960 sci-fier “The interrupted. But both shows had protest- Time Machine,” portraying a fictionalized Wells, who invents a ers outside the venues. time machine in Victorian England and travels to the distant The comedian, best-known as Dr. Cliff future. He also starred in a brief ABC adventure series, “Hong Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” has had Kong.” The next year he voiced the lead canine, Pongo, in two television projects shelved and sever- Disney’s “101 Dalmatians.” Even after an impressive performance al standup performances canceled since in Hitchcock’s well-received 1963 “The Birds” (in photo above), the allegations started last year. Cosby, 77, the actor never quite made it into the first rank of by security, with some audience members has never been charged over any of the actors. telling the heckler to be quiet and later allegations, which have been dismissed by giving Cosby a round of applause. his lawyers and in some cases date back as Early film business It said Cosby told the audience to be He was part of the starry ensemble of Liz Taylor-Richard In this Nov 21, 2014 photo, comedian far as the . He settled a 2005 civil suit quiet and patient as the man was taken Bill Cosby performs during a show at the that alleged sexual misconduct. Cosby’s Burton starrer “The V.I.P.s” and was second lead in “A Gathering away, then resumed his comedy routine. of Eagles,” “Fate Is the Hunter” and “36 Hours.” In 1965 he starred Maxwell C. King Center for the publicist and attorney did not respond to Cosby, one of the biggest television stars Performing Arts in Melbourne, Fla. — AP requests for comment. — Reuters in “,” about the early life of the Irish playwright of the 1980s, was scheduled to do three Sean O’Casey, leading a cast that included , , Michael Redgrave and Edith Evans. Taylor starred in a cou- ple of late-career vehicles for , “Do Not Disturb” and “,” then led the ensemble in “Hotel.” The Country stars sing adieu to Grand actor starred opposite his “Time Machine” co-star in the well-regarded actioner “” and had a supporting role in Antonioni’s 1970 drama “Zabriskie Point.” He had another go at TV with the short-lived CBS series Ole Opry’s Little Jimmy Dickens “Bearcats” in 1971 and NBC “The ” in 1976. But Taylor’s film career sputtered by the 1970s. He was second ountry music stars sang a farewell lead to in “”; starred in 1977 on Thursday to Grand Ole Opry icon Australian effort “The Picture Show Man,” about the early film CLittle Jimmy Dickens, who died last business in the country; and starred alongside Rex Harrison in week at 94 after decades performing at bland Mario Puzo adaptation “A Time to Die” in 1982. By the the landmark Nashville venue. Brad 1980s he was primarily a TV actor. Taylor played star Jaclyn Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill, Smith’s father in ABC telepic “Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy” and Steve Wariner, Chris Young and Old Crow appeared in “Charles and Diana: A Royal Love Story.” The actor Medicine Show took the stage near starred in a pair of short-lived series, ABC’s “Masquerade” in 1983 Dickens’ casket in songful tribute during a and CBS’ “Outlaws” in 1986-87, and recurred on “” as two-hour memorial service. Frank Agretti.

Supporting roles Taylor was born in and went to art school, East Sydney Technical and Fine Arts College. He did commercial illus- tration for newspapers and a bit of boxing; he was interested in acting, but seeing in a touring production of “Richard III” sparked him to pursue a career in it. During the he appeared in supporting roles in a number of prominent films, including George Stevens’ “Giant,” Civil War pic “Raintree Priscilla Presley cuts the eight-tiered birthday cake during the 80th birthday Country” and Delbert Mann’s “Separate Tables,” sometimes cred- celebration for her late ex-husband Elvis Presley at Graceland. ited as Rodney Taylor. Taylor worked only occasionally after the mid-1990s, appear- for generations. Dickens - who sang novel- of performers who embraced Dickens, the ing in a prominent role in Australian director Stephan Elliott’s ty numbers such as “Out Behind the Barn,” Opry’s oldest living member. “Welcome to Woop Woop” and recurring on TV series “Walker, and “May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Underwood broke into tears after Texas Ranger.” After an absence of seven years, he returned in Nose” as well as traditional country hits - telling a story about how her mother 2007 for the Sci Fi Channel film “Kaw,” essentially an update of The Old Crow Medicine Show per- joined the Opry in 1948. warned her to “watch out for Little Jimmy “The Birds,” but more prominently, he cameo’d as Winston forms during the funeral service for The comical 4-foot-11-inch performer Dickens, because he likes the pretty girls” Churchill in a key scene in Tarantino’s 2009 film “Inglourious Little Jimmy Dickens. died Jan 2 of cardiac arrest at a Nashville before her first Opry appearance. She Basterds.” In 2010 the cast of “Inglourious Basterds,” including hospital after suffering a stroke on went on to say her hero kissed her hand Taylor, won the SAG Award for outstanding performance by a When it was over, the curtain was low- Christmas Day. “We need to remember every time he saw her. Underwood and cast in a motion picture. In addition to daughter Felicia Taylor, ered and Dickens left the stage for the last that smile, that personality and that one- Gill sang the latter’s “Go Rest High On That from his second marriage, the actor is survived by third wife of-a-kind sense of humor,” said Paisley, Mountain,” which has become a staple of Carol Kikumura, to whom he was married since 1980. — Reuters time at the theater where he brought laughter and toe-tapping to country fans who was among the younger generation country music funerals. —Reuters