Holland Taylor

“I never thought in terms of ‘I’m going to buck the system.’ I just thought from day to day, minute to minute, lily pad to lily pad, what am I interested in? And I very rarely thought about the entire pond.”                                         – Holland Taylor, episode 175 on Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Holland Taylor is an American playwright and actress best known for her television roles on The Practice and Hollywood, and films like Legally Blonde, Romancing the Stone, and The Truman Show. This week, she walks us through her storied career, from her days as a playpen baby (8:08) to the college experience that solidified her choice to place career ahead of motherhood (12:51). Having moved from coast to coast, she discusses her early years in New York with Anne Bancroft on Broadway (17:00), lessons learned from the great Stella Adler (22:50), and finding her footing in Los Angeles with Tom Hanks in Bosom Buddies (29:31). Finally, we reexamine the day she met Gov. Ann Richards (41:30), and why she felt compelled to write and star in a play about her (49:30).

Show-notes:

The final photograph of Gov. Ann Richards. By Platon.
  • To learn more about how and where to watch Ann, go here.
  • Watch the clip of Holland in Bosom Buddies.
  • You can follow Holland on Instagram. 
  • For more, visit Holland’s website.
  • Donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund here.
  • Learn more about the Black Visions Collective and donate here.
  • Learn more about the North Star Health Collective and donate here.

Illustrations by: Krishna Shenoi.

Music by: Dylan Peck and Jinsang.

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