‘The Birds’ star Rod Taylor, a Hollywood hellion, enjoyed ‘hard drinking’ and ‘casual romances’: book

Rod Taylor was a pioneer of the Australian-New Zealand invasion of Hollywood that would come to include actors Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush and Russell Crowe.

"Rod Taylor was a hard-living, womanizing man," the Australian writer, who penned the book "Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood," told Fox News Digital. "He was a very good-looking guy. He took advantage of that in Hollywood. I think it’s fair to say he had a very, very active single life for a long time." Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com.

"The obituaries were correct," said Vagg. "He was a typical Australian of his generation. He liked to drink. He started on the radio and a lot of the actors would meet at the local bar while they were in between jobs… He was a very social person, and alcohol was a big part of that."