Robert Tayman was an actor that didn’t appear in too many horror films, but a few that are worth mentioning. He appeared in Pete Walker’s House of Whipcord (1974), and even Hammer’s strange Sci-Fi / Western Moon Zero Two (1969). But it really his performance as the vampire Count Mitterhaus in Hammer’s Vampire Circus (1972) that most Hammer and horror fans remember him by. While we haven’t seen anything official announced, I’ve seen a couple of posts from reliable sources that Mr. Tayman has recently passed away, at the age of 80 years old.
His performance as Mitterhaus is a bit over-the-top, but that is one of the reasons I’ve always enjoyed it, as well as the film itself. It’s a style that I’m not sure we’ll see anytime soon, but as a young horror fan, I thought the film, and the vampires throughout the story were just so damn slick and cool.
Our thoughts go out to his friends and family in this difficult time, but know that because of his performance in Vampire Circus, along with Count Mitterhaus, his life will go on for us fan.
kitleyskrypt.com 
Apparently he was also a rock guitarist
Can anyone shed more light on this ?
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Robert Tayman / Robert Taylor / Bobby Taylor
Yes, before Robert became an actor, he was a rock musician.
His name was Robert Taylor and, as a musician, he was known as Bobby Taylor. When he became an actor, he changed his name to Robert Tayman, because there already was another Robert Taylor.
You can listen to one of his records on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPp1mskzX8Y
Bobby Taylor, “Temptation”
Columbia DB 7282 (1964). Written by Nacio Herb Brown. A Robert Stigwood Production.
Among other things he played a lead guitar in “Chris Farlowe and The Thunderbirds”. When he was leaving the band to go into acting, he invited his friend Albert Lee to take his place.
Jimmy Page: “Their musical taste was fantastic, and I always thought they were an incredible band. They had an upright bass, drums, and this guy Bobby Taylor on guitar, and he was something special. I always had a thing for that band. “
[GuitarPlayer https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/jimmy-page-reflects-on-his-roots-as-a-guitarist-and-the-creative-drive-that-made-led-zeppelin-rocks-defining-force]
“Page first met Farlowe at a Thunderbirds gig and approached the band afterward to tell them how taken he was by Farlowe’s singing and guitarist Bobby Taylor’s playing. He then suggested that he produce a recording by the group.” [RollingStone Magazine https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/hear-jimmy-pages-shamanic-first-production-from-1961-117503/)
In 2017 Jimmy Page released that album, called “The Beginning…”, he recorded for The Thunderbirds (with Robert Bobby Taylor Tayman) in 1961: https://shop.jimmypage.com/products/588373
“In his liner notes accompanying “The Beginning…”, Farlowe summarized his first encounter with Page and the session by stating: “We would play anywhere just for the buzz and it was at one of these gigs that we met a very young boy called Jimmy Page, who liked my band and my guitarist Bobby Taylor. Jimmy suggested that he wanted to record a demo album of the band, so he booked the RG Jones studio in Morden, London, and now after 56 years, it is to see the light of day.” “ [Blabbermouth https://blabbermouth.net/news/jimmy-page-produced-demo-recording-by-chris-farlowe-and-the-thunderbirds-coming-in-april]
Jimmy Page writes in the linear notes:
“Bobby Taylor was, in my opinion, the coolest stylist, both in his image and his playing, that I had seen in a guitarist who was in an unsigned band. My first solid body electric guitar was the same as his. Bobby Taylor then bought the first Sunburst Fender Stratocaster for sale in a London music shop. This man clearly knew where he was going.”
“Chris Farlowe talks to Dave Lewis about the release of The Beginning… and his long association with Jimmy Page.
[…]
DL: So, let’s go right back to your early career. You formed TheThunderbirds after playing in a skiffle band – is that right?
CF: Yes, that’s right. It was after I had played in my skiffle band The John Henry Skiffle Group. We won the British Skiffle Group Championship at the Tottenham Royal. We were getting more into blues and had some great musicians involved, especially our guitarist of that time, Bobby Taylor. The Thunderbirds toured all over the country and began to build a good reputation.
DL: When did you first become aware of Jimmy Page?
CF: We used to play many of the places around London and one of them was the Evesham Hall near Epsom. Jimmy came from that neck of the woods and he just turned up one night. He really liked Bob Taylor and said he influenced his early playing. Jimmy liked the band and he liked me as a vocalist, too.
DL: So, it was his idea to produce a demo for the group?
CF: Yes, there he was, this 17 year old guy and he said ‘’Do you want to record an album?’’ We obviously said yes to that. I’d never recorded anything up to that point and now the rest is history. Jimmy knew about RG Jones studio in Morden in Surrey as it was near where he lived. NB The studios later relocated to Wimbledon).
[…]
DL: Did you consider that Jimmy might play on the demo or was his role solely as the producer?
CF: No, Jimmy was not on it. Like I said, he really admired our guitarist, Bob Taylor. His job was to make sure we got everything recorded right. Jimmy plugged us right into the console. He really understood the type of sound he wanted to capture – a real rawness in the playing and he really got that.
[…]
DL: Were you aware the tapes still existed?
CF: Yes. I had a copy of the acetate a couple of the boys in the band did. One of them has passed away. Bob Taylor is still around. He has an acting school over in Los Angeles. He is coming over in a few weeks and I know Jimmy wants to meet him to chat about the old days.“
[TBL 26 April 2017 http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/tbl-news/exclusive-tbl-chris-farlowe-interviewlz-newsthe-destroyer-40-years-gonersd-jimmy-the-black-crowes-reviewvip-record-fairsrsd-reportdl-diary-blog-update/ ]
Here is an obituary for Robert: https://www.elysiansociety.org/in-memory/robert-taylor/
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Photographs of “The Beginning…” record produced by Jimmy Page featuring Robert (Bobby) Taylor Tayman.
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