A clear member of what we at Empire like to call the 27 Per Cent-ers’ Club (as in, character actors who make films 27 per cent better simply by appearing in them), it’s sad to report that comedian and actor Taylor Negron has died at the age of 57 after a long battle with cancer.
One of four brothers born to parents of Puerto Rican descent in Glendale, California, the man originally known as Brad Stephen Negron was not the only member of his family to show talent – his cousin Chuck was a former member of pop group Three Dog Night. But Negron’s ambitions lay in comedy and performance, and he attended UCLA.
Following work with acting coach Lee Strasberg a private comedy seminar taught by Lucille Ball, he went on to join the cast of an improv comedy group alongside the likes of Robin Williams and Martin Short. He initially got his start acting on television, appearing in a variety of shows including The Last Resort, Hill Street Blues, Falcon Crest, Dream On, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Seinfeld and The Ben Stiller Show.
Film-wise, he’s best remembered for a role as a pizza delivery guy in 1982’s Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Julio in Easy Money and, perhaps most famously of all, as the villain Milo in The Last Boy Scout. In addition to his respected stand-up comedy work, Negron was a painter whose work had generated several exhibitions. “I want to inform you that my cousin Taylor Negron just passed away,” Chuck said on a YouTube video posted on Sunday. “His mother, his brother Alex and my brother Rene and his wife Julie were all there with him. May he rest in peace.”