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 ...

) 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 sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

), 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 Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific Oc ...

. He attended North Torrance High School and graduated from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

Sports career

Taylor was drafted by the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...

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 ...

, 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 American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

. He played for four teams from 1969 to 1972: the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

and

Washington Caps The Washington Caps were an American Basketball Association team from 1969 through 1970. The franchise had previously been the Oakland Oaks. From 1970 through 1976 the team played as the Virginia Squires. Origins With the formation of the ABA i ...

(1969–70); the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

(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 Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

before deciding to be an actor.Draft profile
/ref>

Acting career

When Taylor applied to the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

, 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 André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by exces ...

," 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 ''Sasquatch Mountain'' (also called ''Devil on the Mountain'') is a 2006 science fiction film produced by Grizzly Peak Productions for the Syfy channel, and directed by Steven R. Monroe. Synopsis A lonely tow-truck driver ( Lance Henriksen) get ...

'' (2006) – Sasquatch *''Holyman Undercover'' (2010) – Himself *''Brother White'' (2012) – Himself *'' The Book of Esther'' (2013) – Nasir *'' Dancer and the Dame'' (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