Laurie Taylor

Laurence John Taylor (born 1 August 1936) is an English sociologist and radio presenter, originally from Liverpool. Biography After attending Roman Catholic schools including St Mary's College, Crosby, Merseyside, then a direct grant grammar and now an independent school, Taylor trained as an actor at Rose Bruford College, Sidcup, associated with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in Stratford, London. He was also a teacher at the Forest Hill comprehensive school for boys. After earning degrees in sociology and psychology, as a mature student, at Birkbeck College and the University of Leicester, he joined the department of sociology at the University of York, eventually becoming a professor at that institution. He is retired from York. Taylor is sometimes thought to be the model for Howard Kirk in Malcolm Bradbury's novel The History Man although Bradbury and Taylor had not met at the time the book was written. Taylor was then a member of the Trotskyist political party International Socialists.