Roderick Taylor, also known as Rod Taylor or Roderick Falconer, is an American poet, recording artist, screenwriter, television producer and television director. Taylor is the father of screenwriter and television/film producer Bruce A. Taylor with whom he often collaborates.
Career
Taylor holds an MA from Stanford University where he was a Stegner Fellowship winner in poetry and where he later taught creative writing. Taylor is also a Woodrow Wilson fellowship winner and winner of the for his first collection, Florida East Coast Champion. While still at Stanford, Taylor moonlighted as a singer in a rock band and started writing songs. He signed with Geffen Records and began a musical career that produced seven albums, principally under the name Roderick Falconer. Later, he wrote music for film and television, including the TV seriesWitchblade. Taylor then began write story ideas and screenplays for television and film, often with his son Bruce, leading to the scripts for theatrical movies such as The Star Chamber and scripts for pilots like Annihilator and the Western-themed movies and Wild Horses. In 1985 he developed the science fiction series Otherworld, for which he served as narrator and also executive produced; the series failed to even run a full season. In 1998, he produced and directed his own scripted project, the 1998 television movieInferno. He wrote the scripts for American OutlawsThe Brave One. In 2009, Taylor and son Bruce completed work on Open Graves, a contemporary horror film. He won a Golden Spur Award from the WWA for Wild Horses, and two Crystal Reel "Best Director" Awards for the Viacom series Super Force. In 1995 he was awarded the Genesis Award from the Ark Trust Foundation for his work as executive producer and writer of the MTV Dead at 21. In 2001 Rod and Bruce received a Prism Award Commendation for their work as writers / executive producers on the VH 1 At Any Cost, for which he also wrote and produced the songs. When not writing for television and film Roderick teaches creative writing at Stanford University.
