He Was Built For More Than One Kind Of Comedy
Meshach Taylor became nationally familiar as Anthony Bouvier on Designing Women, but his career stretched far beyond one sitcom. He moved between theater, television, film, and Broadway. Then Mannequin gave him Hollywood Montrose, a flamboyant scene-stealer who became one of his most memorable creations.
Fotos International/Courtesy Getty Images)
His Story Started In Boston
Taylor was born in Boston on April 11, 1947, to two college professors. He grew up partly in New Orleans and Indianapolis. Acting caught his attention early, and he was already performing in high school.
Indianapolis Helped Shape Him
Taylor attended Wilmington College in Ohio and later Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. His route to acting fame was gradual rather than instantaneous, with years spent studying and developing his craft before Hollywood came calling.
Hair Became An Early Break
His first major professional role came with a national touring company of Hair. That job gave Taylor serious stage experience before television viewers knew him. It also helped send him toward Chicago, where his reputation grew.
Chicago Was His Training Ground
Taylor worked with both the Goodman Theatre and the Organic Theater Company in Chicago. He appeared in challenging plays including Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and Native Son. Chicago Public Library records confirm his involvement in Goodman productions of both works.
He Was Winning Before He Was Famous
Taylor’s performance in Sizwe Banzi Is Dead earned him a Joseph Jefferson Award in 1977. The honor came years before Designing Women, showing that his abilities were already being recognized in serious theater. Comedy stardom was still ahead.
Los Angeles Came Next
Taylor relocated to Los Angeles in 1978 and quickly began finding screen work. His credits soon covered both television and movies. The move widened his career without erasing the theatrical foundation he had built in Chicago.
Television Kept Calling
Before Designing Women, Taylor appeared on Barnaby Jones, The Incredible Hulk, MASH*, Barney Miller, Lou Grant, and The Golden Girls. The roles varied in size, but they built an impressively steady screen résumé.
Screenshot from Designing Women, Columbia Pictures Television (1986–1993), Modified
Buffalo Bill Gave Him A Regular Gig
Taylor became a regular as Tony on NBC’s Buffalo Bill, starring Dabney Coleman. The comedy ran during the 1983–84 period and gave Taylor valuable ensemble sitcom experience before his defining television part arrived.
Screenshot from Buffalo Bill, NBC (1983–1984), Modified
Then Designing Women Happened
Designing Women arrived on CBS in 1986, revolving around an Atlanta interior design business. Taylor entered that world as Anthony Bouvier. At first, the character was not supposed to become a permanent job.
Fotos International, Getty Images
Anthony Was Supposed To Be Temporary
Taylor later explained that Anthony was conceived as a one-shot guest role. His comic scenes with Delta Burke and Dixie Carter worked so well that the producers changed their plans. A brief appearance turned into seven seasons.
Screenshot from Designing Women, Columbia Pictures (1986-1993), Modified
Chemistry Changed Everything
The producers noticed Taylor’s chemistry with the show’s four central women and expanded his part. Anthony could react to their larger personalities without disappearing beside them. Taylor soon became a co-star rather than a visitor.
Screenshot from Designing Women, Columbia Pictures Television (1986–1993), Modified
He Became The Show’s Male Constant
Taylor stayed with Designing Women for its entire run and was its only male regular cast member. That made Anthony a particularly steady presence even as the ensemble changed. He had become part of the show’s basic chemistry.
Anthony Kept Moving Up
Anthony began as a deliveryman with a troubled past, but the character kept developing. He eventually attended law school and became a partner in the interior design business. His story was deliberately about moving forward rather than standing still.
Taylor Defended The Character
Some early criticism focused on the show’s only Black male regular having previously been incarcerated. Taylor rejected the idea that Anthony was automatically a negative stereotype. He defended portraying someone rebuilding his life and progressing beyond his past.
The Emmy Voters Noticed
In 1989, Taylor earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The recognition confirmed just how important Anthony had become to Designing Women. What started as one episode had turned into award-recognized television work.
Fotos International, Getty Images
Film Was Always In The Mix
Taylor also kept working in movies, appearing in Damien: Omen II, The Howling, Explorers, and House of Games. Then came the role that allowed him to turn practically every comic dial up at once.
Screenshot from Damien: Omen II, Twentieth Century Fox (1978)
Enter Hollywood Montrose
In 1987’s Mannequin, Taylor played Hollywood Montrose, a flamboyant visual merchandiser working in a Philadelphia department store. Hollywood befriends Andrew McCarthy’s Jonathan and barrels through the movie with confidence, fashion, and enormous reactions. Subtlety was not the assignment.
Screenshot from Mannequin, 20th Century Fox (1987)
Mannequin Was Proudly Ridiculous
The movie follows a frustrated artist who falls for a mannequin that comes to life, played by Kim Cattrall. Critics largely panned the fantastical romantic comedy, but audiences showed up anyway. It ultimately grossed about $42 million.
Screenshot from Mannequin, 20th Century Fox (1987)
Taylor Walked Away With Scenes
A Los Angeles Times retrospective later credited Taylor with stealing his share of scenes as Hollywood. The character treats department-store problems with the intensity of opening night. Even beside a magically living mannequin, Taylor makes himself difficult to ignore.
Stephanie Allespach, Getty Images
The Wardrobe Was Part Of The Fun
Hollywood’s bold clothes and dramatic accessories turned him into a walking burst of 1980s style. A later fashion retrospective went so far as to describe him as arguably the best-dressed man in the store. Taylor wore every bit of excess effortlessly.
Hollywood Had Real Heart, Too
The character could easily have become nothing more than a string of exaggerated punch lines. Instead, Taylor made Hollywood a loyal friend and creative ally to Jonathan. That underlying warmth helped make the performance more memorable than its loudest jokes.
Jonathan Leibson, Getty Images
The Movie Outlived Its Reviews
Mannequin may have been battered by critics, but its commercial success kept it from becoming a forgotten oddity. Its fantasy, fashion, romance, and unmistakable 1980s energy proved durable. Hollywood Montrose remains one of the movie’s most recognizable ingredients.
Screenshot from Mannequin, 20th Century Fox (1987)
They Brought Hollywood Back
When Mannequin: On the Move arrived in 1991, Taylor returned as Hollywood Montrose in a sequel built around a new central romantic pair. His return gave the second film an unmistakable connection to its predecessor.
Screenshot from Mannequin, 20th Century Fox (1987)
Designing Women Wasn’t The End
After Designing Women ended in 1993, Taylor moved into another CBS sitcom. He played Dr. Sheldon “Shel” Baylor on Dave’s World opposite Harry Anderson. The series kept him on network television for another four seasons.
Broadway Finally Got Him
In 1998, Taylor returned to his theatrical roots as Lumiere in Disney’s Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast. He joined the production as a replacement that September, during the period when Toni Braxton was playing Belle.
Screenshot from Beauty and the Beast, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (1991)
A New Generation Met Him
Taylor later appeared on Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide as Alistair Wright, a history teacher who became the school principal. Decades after his early television work, he was still finding completely new audiences.
Screenshot from Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Nickelodeon Productions (2004–2007)
His Career Ended With Range Intact
Near the end of his career, Taylor appeared on Criminal Minds as Vietnam veteran Harrison Scott, connected to Joe Mantegna’s David Rossi. Taylor died from colorectal cancer at his Altadena home on June 28, 2014, at 67. Anthony Bouvier made him a sitcom star, but Hollywood Montrose remains proof of just how joyfully big his comedy could get.
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