Brad Stephen " Taylor" Negron
Early life
Negron was born in Glendale, California,
the son of
Puerto Ricans couple Lucy (
née Rosario) and Conrad Negron Sr.
His cousin is singer and musician
Chuck Negron, of Three Dog Night fame.
He grew up in La Cañada Flintridge, California,
and graduated from the University of California Los Angeles.
[ Profile, The Buffalo News. Retrieved January 13, 2015.]
Career
Breaking into comedy, Hollywood
Negron's career in comedy began while he was still in high school, with a stand-up performance at the
Comedy Store in
West Hollywood. After this appearance, 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 worked for dramatic and comedic legends Lee Strasberg and Lucille Ball. In a work-study program at the Actors Studio, Negron worked as Strasberg's assistant. At Sherwood Oaks Experimental College in 1977, Negron served as Ball's intern while she was a guest teacher at the school.
Film
Negron's motion picture appearances included
Angels in the Outfield, The Aristocrats,
Better Off Dead, Call Me Claus, Easy Money as the tenacious son-in-law of Rodney Dangerfield's character,
Fast Times at Ridgemont High, River's Edge, The Last Boy Scout,
Nothing but Trouble, Punchline,
The Stoned Age, Stuart Little, Young Doctors in Love, Funky Monkey,
Bio-Dome with Pauly Shore,
How I Got into College, and
Vamps, in which he reprised his
Fast Times at Ridgemont High pizza delivery scene.
Television and internet
Among Negron's television appearances are guest star roles on
Hill Street Blues,
That's So Raven,
So Little Time,
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,
The Ben Stiller Show,
Curb Your Enthusiasm,
Reno 911!,
Friends,
My Wife and Kids,
Seinfeld,
Zoey 101,
ER,
Party of Five, and
Falcon Crest. In addition to being a semiregular guest on
Off Beat Cinema, he co-starred in
Smart Guy and
Wizards of Waverly Place. He appeared in Comedy Central's
Un-Cabaret special as well as its Amazon episodes. He appeared as
Melinda Hill's date in one episode of the 2013 web series
Romantic Encounters.
His last television role was the part of an acting coach in Season 1, Episode 5 of
The Comedians starring
Billy Crystal and
Josh Gad. He also appeared on an episode of
The Dating Game on March 16, 1970.
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
– '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."
His 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 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 Critic's Choice. Another 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 UnCabaret, dubbed "The Mother Show of Alternative Comedy" by the LA Weekly, where Negron fused standup, dada poetry, and stream of consciousness storytelling.
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 New York City. His work was influenced by
Henri Matisse, Jean-Édouard Vuillard,
Don Bachardy, and
David Hockney.
Personal life and death
Negron was Jewish and
homosexuality.
[Anderson-Minshall, Diane (January 11, 2015). "Gay Fast Times at Ridgemont High Actor Taylor Negron Has Died", The Advocate. Retrieved January 12, 2015.][Wee, Darren (January 12, 2015). " Fast Times at Ridgemont High actor Taylor Negron dies at 57", Gay Star News. Retrieved January 12, 2015.][Feuer, Menachem (January 15, 2015) "In Memory of Taylor Negron, an Endearing Troubled Comedian". Retrieved April 22, 2025]
Negron was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2008. On January 10, 2015, he died at his home in Los Angeles, California at the age of 57.
Filmography
Film
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Video games
External links
