English-born writer, actor, radio presenter and television host.
After immigrating to Australia via Canada, Ray Taylor initially found irregular work as a radio actor (appearing alongside such performers as John Meillon, Rod Taylor and Ray Barrett) while also holding a variety of employment positions including in sales and an assistant manager's position with the Royal Automobile Club. He later moved into radio as a presenter, working first for 2GB in Sydney. It was there that he established himself as host of Teen Time, a program which also allowed him to write quasi-Goon Show scripts in order to brighten up the show. After being sacked from 2GB, following an appearance on his show by Johnny O'Keefe, Taylor moved to Channel 7 where he helped start Australia's first breakfast show.
In 1961, having been sacked from Channel 7, Taylor's name was suggested to William Orr by Gordon Chater as a possible writer for the series of revues Chater was about to star in at the Phillip Street Theatre. Taylor subsequently went on to contribute material to three shows, Yes Please (1961); At It Again (1962), which he also acted in; and What's New (1962).
Sometime around 1962/1963 Taylor returned to England where he wrote scripts for Bernard Braden and Tony Hancock. He returned to Australia in 1965 to host a 'tonight' show (The Ray Taylor Show) for Reg Ansett's new Channel 10 in Melbourne. Sacked once again after falling out with management, this time over a live satirical broadcast from a Melbourne restaurant, Taylor was engaged for several years as a columnist for the Australian before being offered an opportunity to write in Hollywood. He subsequently wrote scripts for such stars as Bill Cosby, Peter Sellers, Richard Prior, Don Rickels, Marty Feldman, Lily Tomlin, Cher, Dinah Shore and Bob Hope.
Taylor returned to Australia in the early 1980s, taking up a position in radio with Melbourne's 3AW, before moving on to 2BL (Sydney) and later the ABC. He published his autobiography, The Man Who Came to Breakfast in 1992.
