Rod Taylor Dead At 84

Rod Taylor (Frank Agretti from Falcon Crest’s seasons 7 – 9) died on Wednesday. He was 84 and would have turned 85 on Sunday.

According to People, the actor passed from natural causes surrounded by his family and friends. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Carol, and their daughter Felicia, a former CNN News correspondent.

“My dad loved his work. Being an actor was his passion – calling it an honorable art and something he couldn’t live without,” Felicia told the mag in a statement.

Taylor, born Rodney Stuart Taylor in Australia, was most known for saving Tippi Hedren in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “The Birds.”

Hedren told People.com in a statement: “There are so many incredible feelings I have for him. Rod was a great pal to me and a real strength, we were very, very good friends. He was one of the most fun people I have ever met, thoughtful and classy, there was everything good in that man.”

Rod appeared in more than 50 films throughout his career, including The Time Machine, 101 Dalmatians, Sunday in New York and Dark of the Sun. He also acted in shows such as Walker, Texas Ranger and Murder, She Wrote. Most recently, Taylor played Winston Churchill in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.

He will be missed.