Meshach Taylor (; April 11, 1947 – June 28, 2014) was an American actor, widely known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the CBS sitcom Designing Women (1986–93), In May 1993, he received his bachelor's degree in theatre arts from Florida A&M.
Career
Theater and teleplays
Taylor's first professional acting gig was in a national tour of Hair. He honed his craft in repertory theater as a member of Chicago's Goodman Theatre, and the Organic Theater Company alongside Joe Mantegna, André DeShields, Dennis Franz, Keith Szarabajka, Jack Wallace, and director Stuart Gordon. While in Chicago, he appeared in David Rabe's Streamers, Native Son (1979 Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play), The Island and Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, for which he garnered the 1977 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play. He received an Emmy Award for his role as Jim in the WTTW production of Huckleberry Finn and hosted the Chicago television show Black Life. In 1998, Taylor made his Broadway debut as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, where he starred alongside Toni Braxton. In September 2012, he appeared in Year of the Rabbit at Ensemble Studio Theater-LA as Vietnam veteran JC Bridges.
Television and film
thumb|Taylor at the 1989 [[Emmy Awards]]
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 deliveryman at the Sugarbaker interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1989, he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
After Designing Women ended, he was a series regular as plastic surgeon Sheldon Baylor on Dave's World (CBS) from 1993 to 1997, 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) and Buffalo Bill on NBC with Dabney Coleman. Taylor guest-starred in 2012 on Criminal Minds eighth season in the episode "The Fallen", opposite Mantegna as Harrison Scott, Rossi's former Marine sergeant with whom he served in Vietnam. In January 2014, he reprised this role in "The Road Home" which aired January 22, 2014, just five months before his death. Mantegna led a Criminal Minds tenth season episode "Anonymous", to honor Taylor on January 21, 2015.
Taylor appeared in such feature films as Mannequin, Mannequin Two: On the Move, and Damien: Omen II.
Personal life and death
Taylor married actress Bianca Ferguson in 1983. He had four children, three with Bianca and one from a previous marriage. His children are daughters Tamar, Esme and Yasmine and son Tariq; he had four grandchildren. He was survived by his wife, his four children, his mother Hertha Ward Taylor, two siblings, and four grandchildren.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Film and television roles
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1978||Damien - Omen II|| Dr. J. Kayne ||
|-
|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 ||
|-
|1985||What's Happening Now!!|| Buddy Carlton || Recurring role <small>(season 1–2)</small>; 2 episodes
|-
|1985||The Golden Girls|| Police Officer ||
|-
|1986||One More Saturday Night|| Bill Neal ||
|-
|1986||Inside Out|| Freddy ||
|-
|1986–1993||Designing Women || Anthony Bouvier || Recurring role <small>(season 1–2)</small>, main role <small>(season 3–7)</small>; 152 episodes<br>Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series <small>(1989)</small>
|-
|1987||Mannequin|| Hollywood Montrose ||
|-
|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 ||
|-
|1992||In the Heat of the Night||Tyler Corbin ||
|-
|1993||Double, Double, Toil and Trouble|| Mr. N ||
|-
|1993–1997||Dave's World || Shel Baylor || Main role (97 episodes)
|-
|1997||The Right Connections|| Lionel Clark ||
|-
|1998||The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue|| Cecil || Voice, direct-to-video
|-
|2000||Jacks or Better|| Ron ||
|-
|2000
|Static Shock
|Doctor Harris
|Voice, episode: "Aftershock"
|-
|2001||Friends & Family|| Bruno ||
|-
|2004–2007||Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide||Mr. Wright||Recurring role (23 episodes)
|-
|2010||Wigger|| Charles Pruitt ||
|-
|2010||Tranced|| Cabbie ||
|-
|2011||Hyenas|| Crazy Briggs ||
|-
|2012||Jessie|| Grimm Haloran || Episode: "The Whining"
|-
|2012–2014||Criminal Minds|| Harrison Scott || 2 episodes; final role
|}
References
External links
- Meshach Taylor obituary at nytimes.com June 29, 2014
- 'Fresh Air' Remembers Actor Meshach Taylor NPR 'Fresh Air' host Terry Gross pays tribute to actor Meshach Taylor (April 11, 1947 – June 28, 2014) with rebroadcast of 1990 interview.