A Home With ‘Women’

Meshach Taylor has a job many men would envy: the only man in the ensemble cast for CBS’ “Designing Women,” beginning its fourth season this fall.

And his character, Anthony Bouvier, is moving right along. “Well, you know, he’s gotten his contractor’s license now, so he’ll be doing a lot more work this season,” says Taylor. “But whether he’ll go out on his own or be a partner, I don’t know. The show’s writers have been giving me plenty to do.”

Looking back, how does he see the character of Anthony Bouvier, an ex-con, and how he’s been developed?

“When I auditioned for the role, it was open casting; it wasn’t just a black call,” says Taylor. “That’s a positive thing. I have nothing against playing a character with a checkered past, as long as their future is rosy; that they’re coming into their own and doing something with their life. There are lots of young black men out there who are incarcerated, and this is a strong role model for them.”

Taylor got his start in the national touring company of “Hair” and won an award for his role in the play “Sizwe Banzi Is Dead” in Chicago. He hopes to produce and star again in “Sizwe Banzi” next year, here and in Chicago.

But he doesn’t rule out film work. During “Designing Women’s” hiatus, he went to Peru to do a movie for Roger Corman called “Welcome to Oblivion.”

“I play Elijah, a guy who knows all about what’s going on in Oblivion, a post-nuclear holocaust site. Dack Rambo is the star and comes looking into Oblivion to find out what’s going on.

“I’ve had the opportunities to do a lot of different kind of roles. Comedy is something I just recently came to in the last five years, and I like it a lot. But I still would like to do the serious stuff. Next year I’m going to do a film with David Mamet (who will direct) and Joe Mantegna, a gangster film where I play a tough guy.”