Dependable, clean-cut star who was signed by MGM while still in school, and spent most of his subsequent career with the company. Boyishly handsome, with a "perfect profile," Taylor highlighted many a light romance and was immensely popular for years after starring in "Magnificent Obsession" (1935). He eventually grew out of his pretty-boy good looks, became a solid, gritty performer, and made up for any lack of talent with a much-noted professionalism in a succession of epics ("Ivanhoe" 1951 "Knights of the Round Table" 1953) and Westerns ("The Hangman" 1959, "Cattle King" 1963) that
