Meshach Taylor (/ˈmiË ÊƒÃ¦k/; April , â€" June , ) was an American
actor. He was best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the CBS
sitcom Designing Women (â€"), for which he was nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Series. He was also known for his portrayal of Hollywood Montrose, a
flamboyant window dresser, in the film Mannequin. He played Sheldon
Baylor on the CBS sitcom Dave's World (â€"), appeared as Tony on the
NBC sitcom Buffalo Bill opposite Dabney Coleman, and appeared as the
recurring character Alastair Wright, the social studies teacher and
later school principal, on Nickelodeon's sitcom, Ned's Declassified
School Survival Guide.Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the
son of Hertha Mae (née Ward) and Joseph T. Taylor, former dean of
students at Dillard University in New Orleans, who was also the first
dean of arts and sciences at Indiana University â€" Purdue University
Indianapolis.After the family moved from New Orleans to Indianapolis,
Taylor graduated from Crispus Attucks High School in , where he took
an interest in acting, and went on to study in the dramatic arts
programs at Wilmington College (Ohio) and Florida A&M University.
Leaving Florida A&M a few credits shy of graduation, he worked in
Indianapolis as a State House reporter for AM radio station WIFE (now
WTLC), where he used the on-air name Bruce Thomas, and as the host of
a community-affairs program on television station WLWI (now WTHR), as
Bruce Taylor. Many years later, in May , he received his bachelor's
degree in theatre arts from Florida A&M.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 ( 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 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 , Taylor made his Broadway
debut as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, where he starred alongside
Toni Braxton. In September , he appeared in Year of the Rabbit at
Ensemble Studio Theater-LA as Vietnam veteran JC Bridges.
actor. He was best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the CBS
sitcom Designing Women (â€"), for which he was nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Series. He was also known for his portrayal of Hollywood Montrose, a
flamboyant window dresser, in the film Mannequin. He played Sheldon
Baylor on the CBS sitcom Dave's World (â€"), appeared as Tony on the
NBC sitcom Buffalo Bill opposite Dabney Coleman, and appeared as the
recurring character Alastair Wright, the social studies teacher and
later school principal, on Nickelodeon's sitcom, Ned's Declassified
School Survival Guide.Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the
son of Hertha Mae (née Ward) and Joseph T. Taylor, former dean of
students at Dillard University in New Orleans, who was also the first
dean of arts and sciences at Indiana University â€" Purdue University
Indianapolis.After the family moved from New Orleans to Indianapolis,
Taylor graduated from Crispus Attucks High School in , where he took
an interest in acting, and went on to study in the dramatic arts
programs at Wilmington College (Ohio) and Florida A&M University.
Leaving Florida A&M a few credits shy of graduation, he worked in
Indianapolis as a State House reporter for AM radio station WIFE (now
WTLC), where he used the on-air name Bruce Thomas, and as the host of
a community-affairs program on television station WLWI (now WTHR), as
Bruce Taylor. Many years later, in May , he received his bachelor's
degree in theatre arts from Florida A&M.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 ( 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 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 , Taylor made his Broadway
debut as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, where he starred alongside
Toni Braxton. In September , he appeared in Year of the Rabbit at
Ensemble Studio Theater-LA as Vietnam veteran JC Bridges.
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