Buck Taylor

Taylor is the son of Florence Gertrude Heffernan and character actor Dub Taylor,[4] from whom Buck reportedly acquired his nickname simply because, having clocked in at a hefty nine pounds at birth, he "looked like a big buck."[1] Taylor graduated from North Hollywood High School, where he became a talented gymnast. Actor Guinn "Big Boy" Williams sponsored him to go to the U.S. Olympic Trials as a gymnast, but he failed to qualify for the 1960 Summer Olympics.[5] He served two years in the United States Navy.[6]

His first important acting role was as Trooper Shattuck in the 1961 Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre episode "Image of a Drawn Sword". His other early roles were in a 1964 episode of The Outer Limits entitled "Don’t Open Till Doomsday", and as John Bradford (Brad) in four episodes of the 1966 ABC Western series The Monroes.[7]

From 1967 to 1975, Taylor played Newly O'Brian in the television series Gunsmoke.[8]^{: 413–414} He replaced deputy marshal Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood, played by Roger Ewing, after Ewing left the show.[8] The character came to Dodge City as a gunsmith, and later became a deputy marshal. He reprised his role in the 1987 television movie Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge,[9] where he played the city's marshal.

In 1981, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted Taylor into the Cowboy Hall of Fame, and awarded him the Trustee Award for his performance on Gunsmoke.[10]

Taylor attended the Chouinard Art Institute, and has been selling his watercolor and acrylic paintings of cowboys, Native Americans, and horses since 1993.[10] Many of his paintings are of characters and scenes from movies and television series in which he has appeared. These images are made into prints, which are sold in various sizes.[11] He is the official artist for many rodeos and state fairs, and creates their promotional posters.[12]