Taylor Negron

Brad Stephen Negron (August 1, 1957 – January 10, 2015), known professionally as Taylor Negron, was an American playwright, actor, painter, and stand-up comedian.

Taylor Negron was born on August 1, 1957 in Glendale, California, to parents Lucy (née Rosario) and Conrad Negron, Sr. Negron, of Puerto Rican, Iranian, Italian, and Jewish descent, grew up in La Cañada Flintridge, California and was an alumnus of UCLA.

His cousin is singer Chuck Negron who was a vocalist and founding member of Three Dog Night.

Negron was openly gay. He died after an extended battle with cancer on January 10, 2015, surrounded by his family.

Career

Breaking into comedy, Hollywood

While still in high school, Negron's career in comedy began with a stand-up performance at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. It was after this appearance that Negron ventured into being a Hollywood extra as well as a repeat contestant on Chuck Barris' ABC daytime show, The Dating Game.

Before his film career began, Negron was exposed to both dramatic and comedic legends: Lee Strasberg and Lucille Ball. In a work-study program at the famed Actors Studio, Negron worked as Strasberg's assistant. At Sherwood Oaks Experimental College in 1977, the 19 year old Negron worked as Ball's intern while she was a guest teacher at the school.

Film

His motion picture appearances include Angels in the Outfield; The Aristocrats; Better Off Dead; Bio-Dome; Call Me Claus; Easy Money; Fast Times at Ridgemont High; The Last Boy Scout; Nothing but Trouble; Punchline; The Stöned Age; Stuart Little; Young Doctors in Love; and Amy Heckerling's Vamps, where he reprised his Fast Times at Ridgemont High pizza delivery scene.

Television

Among his television appearances are guest star roles on That's So Raven, Wizards of Waverly Place, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Reno 911, Friends, My Wife and Kids, Seinfeld, ER, and Party of Five. Negron starred in the regular role of Manuelo the nanny in So Little Time with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. He also starred in Smart Guy and was a semi-regular guest on Off Beat Cinema.

Negron appeared as Melinda Hill's date in one episode of the 2013 web series Romantic Encounters.

Writer

In 2008 he wrote The Unbearable Lightness of Being Taylor Negron – A Fusion of Story and Song, directed by opera director David Schweitzer and co-starring singer/songwriter Logan Heftel. The show debuted to critical acclaim in the Green Room at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival. It also ran in the 2009 Best of New York Solo Festival at the SoHo Playhouse and at the Barrow Street Theater. Kate Copstick of The Scotsman wrote of it, "The underlying theme of this spellbinding hour seems to be Nietzschean – 'that which does not destroy me makes me strong'. And if that doesn't sound like out-and-out comedy, then that is good. Because the show is not out-and-out comedy. It is a mix of music, storytelling and comedy."

Negron's comedy essays have been published in the anthology Dirty Laundry (Phoenix Books) and Love West Hollywood: Reflections of Los Angeles (Alyson Books).

Director Justin Tanner recently revived Negron’s play Gangster Planet, a four-character domestic comedy set during the 1992 Los Angeles riots which was chosen by the Los Angeles Times as a Critics Choice. The LA Times wrote, "If Aristophanes were alive today and had watched L.A. burn, Gangster Planet could be the result... acute cynicism with a clown’s humanism."

Negron’s play, Downward Facing Bitch, a suspense comedy, was developed with director Kiff Scholl.

Negron was a regular contributor to Wendy Hammer's Tasty Words, Jill Solloway's "Sit and Spin" and Hilary Carlip’s online magazine "Fresh Yarns", as well as the Huffington Post.

He performed regularly across the United States and was one of the original members of the Un-Cabaret, dubbed "The Mother Show of Alternative Comedy" by the Los Angeles Times, where Negron fused standup, dada poetry and stream of consciousness storytelling to create some of the most artistic comedy ever.

Painter

Negron was an accomplished painter whose artwork has been featured in solo exhibitions at venues such as Los Angeles' Laemmle Royal Theater and the Hotel de Ville Lifestyle. Although he left his initial art school education when he was 19 years old, Negron later received training at the Academy of Fine Arts in San Francisco and the Art Students League in NYC. His work was influenced by Henri Matisse, Jean-Édouard Vuillard, Don Bachardy, and David Hockney.