Rod Taylor, the Australian born American actor who is best remembered to this day for starring in the movie adaption of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine and in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, as well as in in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, passed away Wednesday at the age of 84.

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His death was confirmed by his daughter, former CNN correspondent Felicia Taylor, on Thursday.

Working as a designer and painter at a department store in Sydney, Taylor's career in show business began in earnest on radio and on stage until he debuted on film in the Australian movie, King of the Sea Coral (1954). He then landed roles in Hollywood, first on TV, where he appeared on Studio 57, before appearing on featured roles on Frisco Bay (1955) and Giant (1956).

In 1960, Taylor starred in the sci-fi feature, The Time Machine, an adaption of the novel by H.G. Wells, where he portrayed a rather fictionalized Wells inventing a time machine during the Victorian era and successfully transported himself to the future.

In 1963, he was cast as the lead star in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller, The Birds (1963). The story focused on Taylor's character, whose town and home was attacked by a group of menacing birds.

The same year joined the stellar cast of The V.I.P.s, which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and played the secondary lead in A Gathering of Eagles, Fate Is the Hunter and 36 Hours.

In 2010 made his swan song performance as Winston Churchill in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. The cast won the SAG Award for best ensemble.

Taylor is survived by his third wife Carol Kikumura, who he married in 1980 and his daughter from his second marriage, Felicia Taylor.

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