At 84, Dub Taylor Finds Himself in Mellencamp’s State of Grace

“I want to tell you something about the business,” says Dub Taylor. “Acting is the most embarrassing business in the world. You never know when you’re going to eat.”

The former vaudeville performer hasn’t had to worry about his next meal since making his film debut 54 years ago in the late Frank Capra’s Oscar-winning classic “You Can’t Take It With You.”

“I have just been lucky and I like people,” explains Taylor, who has appeared in countless films, including “Bonnie & Clyde” and “The Wild Bunch.”

“I had one of the greatest directors start me off in the business and you know what? (He was) one of the nicest persons I ever met in my life. He was just a gentleman. I knew his whole family. I just loved him and I can’t say nothing but the greatest things.”

Taylor also has nothing but praise for rocker John Mellencamp, who directed and stars in Taylor’s latest film, “Falling From Grace.” Taylor plays Mellencamp’s foxy, skirt-chasing, 80-year-old grandfather.

The actor wasn’t familiar with Mellencamp when the two met. “He said, ‘Dub, I want you for this part. Nobody else can play it but you.’ I really liked him. He was a pretty down-to-earth guy, you know. He was always kidding with me. He let me do what I wanted to do. He didn’t try to stop me or anything--most directors are that way.”

Taylor, 84, has no plans to retire from acting: “I can’t retire, honey. I got too many damn bills.”

A widower--son Buck played Newly on “Gunsmoke”--Taylor says he will never remarry. “I don’t know if you know what a Canadian honker is, but it’s a wild goose. I’m just like a Canadian honker. They mate one time and that’s it. I enjoyed so much being with my wife. She was a great, great gal. We had a marriage of 56 years. I got pictures of her all over the house, so I guess I must have been in love.”