Ronald "Tiny Ron" Taylor (November 21, 1947 – November 28, 2019) was an American film actor and former basketball player, known for his work in feature films such as '' The Rocketeer'' (

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

) and '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'' (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

), and in television series such as ''

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...

'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', and as Al, the very tall police detective whose face is always out of frame in the '' Police Squad!'' and '' The Naked Gun'' franchise. His roles tended to exploit his 7 ft (2.13 m) frame.

Early life

Taylor was born in Torrance, California. He attended North Torrance High School and graduated from the University of Southern California.

Sports career

Taylor was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the second round of the

1969 NBA draft The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college bas ...

, but never played in the NBA, instead he started playing in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

. He played for four teams from 1969 to 1972: the New York Nets and Washington Caps (1969–70); the Virginia Squires (1970–71); and the

Pittsburgh Condors The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team pla ...

(1971–72). He played 75 of his 77 career games in his first season, 72 of them for the Nets. He scored 371 total points (4.8 ppg), 294 total rebounds (3.7 rpg), and 68 assists (0.9 apg). He also played some basketball in Austria before deciding to be an actor.Draft profile
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Acting career

When Taylor applied to the Screen Actors Guild, he learned that the name "Ron Taylor" was already in use by another actor. His acting teacher suggested he use "Tiny Ron", figuring that in a niche category populated by actors with such screen names as " André the Giant," the name "Tiny Ron" would stand out.

Filmography

*'' Police Squad!'' (1982, TV Series) – Al (uncredited) *'' Seven Hours to Judgment'' (1988) – Ira Martin *'' The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!'' (1988) – Al *'' Road House'' (1989) – Mountain *'' The Rocketeer'' (1991) – Lothar / Good Old Boy / Voice of Jerry Butkis *'' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'' (1994) – Roc *'' Last Man Standing'' (1996) – Jacko the Giant *'' Star Trek: Voyager'' (1998 - 1 episode) *''

'' (1993–1999 – 7 episodes) – Maihar'du *''Zigs'' (2001) – Terry *'' Six: The Mark Unleashed'' (2004) – Eddie *'' Sasquatch Mountain'' (2006) – Sasquatch *''Holyman Undercover'' (2010) – Himself *''Brother White'' (2012) – Himself *'' The Book of Esther'' (2013) – Nasir *''

Dancer and the Dame Dance is a performing art art form, form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolism (arts), symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its chor ...

'' (2015) – Martin

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Tiny Ron 1947 births 2019 deaths American expatriate basketball people in Austria American male film actors American male television actors American men's basketball players Basketball players from California Centers (basketball) New York Nets players People from Torrance, California Pittsburgh Condors players Seattle SuperSonics draft picks USC Trojans men's basketball players Virginia Squires players Washington Caps players