Robert Taylor

American actor (1911-1969)

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Fame62.3
Momentum7.1
Actors rank#211
Wikipedia70.1K

Lived 1911–1969, aged 58United States

United States ActorsActor

Wikipedia
41 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1911–1969
Aged 58
Known for
The Matrix
1999

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

He was MGM's idea of the perfect leading man — dark-haired, square-jawed, and bankable for three decades. Born Spangler Arlington Brugh, he became Robert Taylor and carried some of the studio era's biggest romantic melodramas before switching to Westerns and a late-career turn hosting Death Valley Days.

Biography

About

Spangler Arlington Brugh signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1934 and got his first lead the next year in Magnificent Obsession. His star rose through the late 1930s and 1940s in Camille, A Yank at Oxford, Waterloo Bridge, and Bataan. During World War II he served in the Naval Air Forces as a flight instructor and made training films. He married Barbara Stanwyck in 1939; they divorced in 1952. Two years later he married Ursula Thiess and had two children. From 1959 to 1962 he starred in the television series The Detectives, then in 1966 took over hosting Death Valley Days from Ronald Reagan. A…

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