THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 11, 1994 TAG: 9409080205
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: John Harper
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
MARK CRAIG TAYLOR is the first Yale graduate I've interviewed - and the first Playgirl centerfold.
Taylor graduated from Yale in 1974 with a degree in psychology. After graduating, Taylor worked in a psychiatric hospital and later at a halfway house for felons.
Both jobs were stressful, so Taylor left his home in Connecticut for a six-month bicycle trip to California. Along the way, Taylor worked in a bike shop, a flower shop and a fast food restaurant.
``It didn't work out in the restaurant,'' says Taylor. ``If someone didn't want fries, I tried to figure out why.''
Freud might have been proud, but management wasn't. Taylor weaved across the heartland of America, finally landing in Santa Cruz, Calif. It was the perfect hippie community. Brown rice was served at every meal, and steady chants filled the air. Taylor was part of a collective theater group.
``It was real politically charged,'' says Taylor.
Taylor and a partner, Paddy Morrison, broke away to form a two-man comedy act, settling in San Francisco. The partnership was short-lived, and Taylor supported himself with radio commercial work, a bit part in the Jeff Bridges' movie ``Tucker,'' and a starring role in a film called ``Hard Act To Follow.''
Taylor says the movie didn't get wide distribution, although he says the video may be available in Bulgaria.
In l980, Taylor was voted one of San Francisco's 10 most eligible bachelors. A talent scout from Playgirl magazine saw his picture in the paper, and soon the Yale graduate was Mr. November, the Playgirl nude centerfold.
``It was good exposure,'' says Taylor.
The fold-out led to more auditions. One was for a super hero named ``Plasticman.'' Taylor won the part, and for two years Plasticman appeared in a 30-minute educational TV show for children.
The character also made promotional appearances around town, including a television trade show in the city. It was there that Taylor met Jane, a marketing specialist.
``She liked me,'' says Taylor. Jane knew that under all that plastic was a heart and soul. Jane saw Mark out-of-costume two weeks later, not realizing that most of the women in San Francisco had seen Mark without any costume a few months earlier.
Mark and Jane married. How soon after the marriage did Mark tell his bride the naked truth?
``I actually told her while we were dating,'' says Taylor. ``She accepted it pretty well.''
Plasticman melted after two years, and Taylor began working on a comedy act. He worked his way to Los Angeles, but Jane, and now a son and a daughter, felt a need for a change.
A North Carolina native, Jane wanted to move east. The Taylors arrived in Charlotte in June. Now Jane works as a marketing specialist for Carowinds theme park. Mark plays Mr. Mom two weeks a month; the other two are spent in comedy clubs.
Taylor says his material is observational comedy as opposed to non-sensical jokes. Taylor, 42, says comedians' material takes on more substance as they age.
``I've always liked comics with insight,'' says Taylor, ``guys like Richard Pryor and George Carlin. It's not just about being funny; it's what do I have to share.''
Taylor plays The Comedy Club at the Carolinian starting Sept. 12. Spend an hour with the Yalie egghead, Playgirl beefcake, husband, father, thinker . . . and maybe, Plasticman. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Mark Craig Taylor worked in a psychiatric hospital and a halfway
house for felons before becoming a comedian.
WHERE & WHEN
Who: Mark Craig Taylor
Where: Comedy Club at the Carolinian, N.C. Route 12, milepost
10.5
When: Monday-Saturday
For more information: 441-7171
by CNB