Josh Taylor

Josh Taylor (born September 25, 1943) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chris Kositchek and Roman Brady on the American dramatic serial Days of Our Lives, Jack McKay on the teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 and as Michael Hogan, the father on the situation comedy The Hogan Family. Early life and education Born in Princeton, Illinois as Tommy Tim Taylor and known as "Timmy", Taylor moved with his family to Chillicothe, Illinois when he was two years old. His dad became athletic director of Chillicothe Township High School (now Illinois Valley Central High School) as well as a respected football coach, and both Josh and older brother Ron played quarterback under him. Heavily recruited for his football skills, Josh chose Dartmouth College, where he was a member of two Ivy Championship teams and the Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, graduating with an A.B. degree in sociology in 1965. He then received a full scholarship to the University of Denver law school, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1969. After law school, he moved to the West Coast. Career After earning his Juris Doctor, he decided to take a year off and work on the Alaska Pipeline. On the way to Alaska he stopped in Los Angeles to visit friends and was offered a job as manager of the Westwood Village Bratskeller. He spent a year and a half at the restaurant which catered to celebrities and, surrounded by actors and producers, decided to give up a future in law to pursue acting. After the Bratskeller closed, he worked as a bartender at the Riverside Lounge in Santa Monica until he snagged his first acting role playing a contemporary cowboy on an episode of Barnaby Jones in 1976. This was quickly followed with roles on The Six Million Dollar Man and The Hardy Boys. In 1977, he took the role of bartender Chris Kositchek on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. His notoriety heightened as he became an integral part of the fictional landscape of Salem, the setting of the soap, and this eventually led to primetime starring tryouts. In 1981, Taylor went to CBS and had his own short-lived detective series, Riker. His role on Days continued uninterrupted.