Chico >> Local country-western music entertainer Moriss Taylor of Chico has died.
Taylor, who was 93, died Monday. He will be remembered for his local television and radio shows from Chico.
The Moriss Taylor Show was one of the longest-running, locally produced television shows on KHSL-TV, and possibly in the nation.
Taylor began his radio career doing a 15-minute weekly country-western music show on KDAN Radio in Oroville in the 1940s , according to an Enterprise-Record news article.
Taylor learned to play the guitar as a small child in his hometown of Miami, Oklahoma. When he was 14, he moved to Butte County, living in Palermo. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, he organized a series of bands that performed in the north state.
The Moriss Taylor Show on KHSL-TV started in 1956, broadcasting until 1997.
Chico radio executive Dino Corbin worked with Taylor in both television and radio from 1972 to 2013, when Taylor retired.
“I’ll remember him for his incredible work ethic, the love of his family, the love of our business — that of broadcasting and entertainment,” Corbin said Wednesday.
“And he loved to make people smile,” said Corbin, who recalled Taylor’s love of corny jokes.
Asked about Taylor’s work ethic, Corbin said “Taylor was a musician in his own band, produced a weekly TV show, a daily radio show, and on top of that sold radio and TV advertisement. On top of that, he took care of his family.”
Having the distinction of hosting one of the longest running shows in KHSL’s history, Taylor may have captured that fame nationally as well, Corbin thought.
Newton-Bracewell Chico Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
