Kirk Taylor

Kirk Beecher Taylor is an American actor, acting teacher, and musician with credits in film, television, and stage. He is best known for his work in the movies Full Metal Jacket, Death Wish 3, School Daze, The Last Dragon, The Angriest Man in Brooklyn and the Broadway Tour of Five Guys Named Moe.[1] [2] [3]

Kirk Taylor
Born
Kirk Taylor

Bridgeport, Connecticut
WebsiteOfficial Website

Early life

The oldest of five children, Taylor was raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut by Dr. Robert Beecher Taylor and Rose Marie Taylor. He started performing on stage at Central High School.[4]

Taylor was the first Black student to become the coveted King of The Barnum Festival, a statewide scholastic and leadership competition. He also played in a local R&B group, The Mighty Chain Reaction alongside guitar sensation, Jonathan Dubose Jr.

Education

Taylor attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he received a BFA (major in drama and minor in music). He studied acting under Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, David Garfield, Barbara Covington Poitier, David Gideon, Elaine Aiken and Clay Stevens.[5] [6]

He studied composition with Lehman Engel and Vladimir Padwa; voice with Helen Lightner and Kenneth Kamal Scott; piano with John Randolph Eaton and Don Friedman; trumpet with Jimmy Owens. Taylor was a founding member of the Awamu Theater Company, New York University's first and only African American repertory company.

Career

Stage

In 1993, Taylor took center stage as Nomax in the first Broadway tour of Five Guys Named Moe, a jubilant musical featuring the songs of legendary band leader Louis Jordan.[7] [8] In preceding years, he graced the Off-Broadway stage as George the Barman in Take Me Along (1985), Bagheera the Panther in Mowgli (1985), Joey Robbins in The War Party (1986), and toured as jazz giant Jelly Roll Morton in Jelly Roll! The Music & The Man (1997). [9] [10] Taylor also performed as Edmond in the Off-Off-Broadway production of King Lear (1990) as part of the Brooklyn Shakespeare Company.[11] [12]

On the West Coast, he depicted the patriarch Dr. George Gibbs in Our Town (1998) with South Coast Repertory, General Vershinin in Three Sisters with Actor’s Alley (2000) and was the lead opposite the “Queen of Funk” Chaka Khan in the Stevie Wonder-inspired Las Vegas tribute show Signed, Sealed, Delivered (2002).[13] [14] [15] [16]

Taylor appeared in the touring production of What Men Don't Tell (2004), which included performances at the Beacon Theater on Broadway. In 2019, he joined the renowned Denver Center for the Performing Arts where he played the dual roles of Captain and trumpet-playing Fabian in their winter production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.[17]

Film

In 1984, Taylor began his film career as Flash the waiter in Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club. In the following years, he embodied some memorable characters: Crunch in The Last Dragon, The Giggler in Death Wish 3, Sgt Payback in Stanley Kubrick's celebrated war drama Full Metal Jacket, and Sir Nose in Spike Lee's 1988 collegiate classic, School Daze.[18]


He can also be seen in other noteworthy films such as Jacknife with Robert DeNiro, The Return of Superfly with Sam Jackson, Bonfire of the Vanities, MacArthur Park, and The Sum of All Fears as AFRAT Specialist Wesson in 2002. Taylor was honored to work alongside the late great Robin Williams in The Angriest Man in Brooklyn in 2014. In 2017, he was cast as Referee Burton in the indie feature 12 Round Gun, and starred as Cephas in Harry Lennix's musical feature film, Revival! (2018).

Television

Taylor made his television debut in 1981 on the long-running soap opera Guiding Light. He played a recurring role opposite Kevin Bacon as his football player teammate. Since then, his television credits have included True Blue, Law & Order, Ghost Writer, Chicago Hope, and To Have and To Hold. In 2000, Taylor joined an all-star cast to portray the role of Roland Brown in the TNT television movie Freedom Song. Working alongside stars Danny Glover and Loretta Devine, the film documented the true life struggles of the SNCC civil rights workers. In 2001, he landed the starring role of Sterling Hamilton in BET's One Special Moment. He can also be seen as British arms dealer Paul Green on NCIS: Los Angeles, and as French attorney Gilles Lemaire in the final season of All My Children.[19]

Music

Taylor has been a featured soloist in numerous noteworthy ensembles and events, including the New Song Gospel Choir at The Church on the Way under the direction of Rose "Sly and the Family" Stone (2004-2009), the international broadcast of Hour of Power at the famed Crystal Cathedral (2010-2012), The Havana Jazz Festival (2016) and Herbie Hancock's International Jazz Day concert at Saint Peter's “Jazz” Church in New York City (2018), which was subsequently broadcast by Queens Public Television in 2020.[20]

In 2014, Taylor made his Carnegie Hall debut in the Broadway Reunion with Black Stars of the Great White Way under the direction of four-time Grammy Award-winning vocal arranger Chapman Roberts.[21] Taylor owns the ASCAP-registered publishing company Rising Oak Music.

Teaching

Taylor taught acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City (1988-1993), for the Young People's, Professional, and NYU programs.

His students have included Jessie L. Martin, Chandra Wilson, Gary Dourdan, Karina Lombard, Charles Malik Whitfield, Jose Zuniga, Beth Littleford, Ken Marino, Mari Morrow, and Benno Fürmann.[22]

Taylor teaches 3-5 day acting intensives through his Art Group Acting Company in Montreal, Los Angeles, and at the University of Nations in Hawaii and Norway.

Taylor reflected on his acting career with Hollywood Toto:[23]

I do see it as important … it illuminates things in the world, gives voice to things, creates change, even. Washington is the seat of power … Hollywood is the seat of influence..

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1984 The Cotton Club Flash The Waiter Film debut, uncredited
1985 The Last Dragon 'Crunch'
1985 Death Wish 3 'The Giggler'
1987 Heart Fighter 1
1988 School Daze Sir Nose
1989 Jacknife Helicopter Gunner
1990 The Return of Superfly Renaldo
1990 Bonfire of the Vanities Aide
2001 MacArthur Park Officer Randolph Davis
2002 The Sum of All Fears AFRAT Specialist Wesson
2003 Jonah Angel Short
2009 Three Breaths Enoch Short
2009 Stealing Home Caesar Short
2009 Open Door 'Slim' Short
2011 Fly by Knight Calvin Knight Short
2014 The Angriest Man in Brooklyn Police Officer
2017 12 Round Gun Referee Burton
2019 Revival! Cephas

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1981 Guiding Light Football Player TV debut
1992 Law & Order Dr. Reed
1993 Ghost Writer Coach Ward Recurring
1996 Law & Order Officer Graham
1999 Chicago Hope Paul Griffin
2000 Freedom Song Roland Brown TV Movie
2001 One Special Moment Sterling Hamilton Starring Role
2011 NCIS: Los Angeles Paul Green
2011 All My Children Attorney Gilles Lemaire Final Season

Stage
Year Title Role Notes
1978-1981 Cane,
My Brother is Homemade,
Wine in the Wilderness,
Contributions,
Voices for My People,
An Evening of Poetry Music & Song		 Various NYU’S Awamu Theater Company (Founding Member)
1983 Last One in is A Rotten Egg J.T. The Kennedy Center, Washington DC
1984 The Prophet Nat Lonnie Off Off Broadway
1985 Take Me Along George the Barman Off Broadway
1985 Mowgli Bagheera the Panther Off Broadway
1986 The War Party Joey Robbins Negro Ensemble Company
1987 The Trial of Hansel and Gretel Candy-Rapper Was also the Musical Director/ Composer
1988 Don’t Shoot My Dream Soloist Holland, The Netherlands
1990 King Lear Edmund The Brooklyn Shakespeare Company
1991 The Mask of St. George Musical Director/ Composer and Co-Director
1993–1994 5 Guys Named Moe Nomax 1st National Broadway Tour
1997 Jelly Roll! The Music & The Man Jelly Roll Morton National Tour
1998 Our Town Dr. Gibbs South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa CA
1998 Three Sisters General Vershinin El Portal Theatre
2002 Signed, Sealed, Delivered (A Stevie Wonder Tribute) Male Lead Singer opposite Chaka Khan The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV
2004 What Men Don’t Tell Patrick National Tour
2008-2013 Speak of Me as I Am (Paul Robeson Story) Larry Brown Was also the Musical Director
2014 Broadway Reunion Ensemble Singer Carnegie Hall
2015 Broadway Reunion 1st Anniversary Soloist National Black Theater Festival, Winston-Salem, NC
2016 Havana Jazz Festival Soloist Havana, Cuba
2018 Chapman Roberts’ Broadway Jazz Festival (For International Jazz Day) Soloist Aired on Queens Public TV on 2020
2019 Twelfth Night Captain & Fabian Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver CO

References
  1. Kirk Taylor (MP3). 25 February 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via KUCI.
  2. DRAKE, SYLVIE (16 July 1993). "Theater Reviews: 'Five Guys Named Moe': Thin Book, Huge Party". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via LA Times.
  3. EVERETT, TODD (16 July 1993). "Five Guys Named Moe". variety.com. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  4. Kirk Taylor (MP3). 25 February 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via KUCI.
  5. THOMPSON, DAVE (7 March 2019). "Fate and Faith Offer Actor Kirk Taylor Another Memorable Role in "Revival"". Retrieved 7 March 2019 – via la.indymedia.org.
  6. TOTO, CHRISTIAN (January 2019). "'Revival!'s Taylor Keeps the Faith On and Off Screen". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via Hollywood in Toto.
  7. DRAKE, SYLVIE (16 July 1993). "Theater Reviews: 'Five Guys Named Moe': Thin Book, Huge Party". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via LA Times.
  8. EVERETT, TODD (16 July 1993). "Five Guys Named Moe". variety.com. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  9. SHERMAN, ROBERT (30 March 1997). "'Mozart and Salieri' Planned on Two Stages". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
  10. GANT-HILL, CATHY (22 March 1997). "Where Is Black Theater Headed?". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via Greensboro News and Record.
  11. "Off-Broadway". 22 April 1985. Retrieved 30 May 2020 – via New York Magazine.
  12. "Off Broadway Musicals, 1910-2007". 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  13. WINER, LAURIE (23 February 1998). "Stretching Borders of 'Our Town' Offers Sad Insight". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via LA Times.
  14. BACKSTAGE STAFF (20 February 2001). "Theater Reviews". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via Backstage.com.
  15. MANUS, WILLARD (9 June 2000). "Two Productions of Three Sisters Will Open in L.A., June 9 and 10". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via Playbill.
  16. JOHNSON, BILL (12 December 2018). "Fate and Faith Offer Actor Kirk Taylor Another Memorable Role". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via Studio City, CA Patch.
  17. "DCPA Theatre Company Announces Full Cast And Creative Team For TWELFTH NIGHT". broadwayworld.com. 2 Oct 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  18. IRWIN, RON (January 11, 2019). "Paying Back and Beyond – Meet Kirk Taylor". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via Splash Magazines.
  19. IRWIN, RON (January 11, 2019). "Paying Back and Beyond – Meet Kirk Taylor". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via Splash Magazines.
  20. "By Invitation Broadway Will Be Well Represented on Herbie Hancock's International Jazz Day Thursday, April 30, 2020, Thanks to QPTV & jazzday.com!" (PDF). Jazzday.com. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  21. GANS, ANDREW (5 May 2014). "Norm Lewis, Andre De Shields, Larry Marshall, Adrian Bailey Will Be Part of Black Stars of The Great White Way at Carnegie Hall". Retrieved 31 May 2020 – via Playbill.
  22. DOWD, JASON (19 March 2019). "Revival! The Next Generation of What Jesus Christ Superstar Meant to the 1970s". Retrieved 20 March 2019 – via AME Magazine.
  23. TOTO, CHRISTIAN (January 2019). "'Revival!'s Taylor Keeps the Faith On and Off Screen". Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via Hollywood Toto.
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