Leigh Taylor-Young is a film and television actress that is best known for her roles in
the 1973 science-fiction film Soylent Green and on the 1980s primetime soap opera Dallas.
Though Leigh never officially retired, she hasn’t had a screen credit in over a decade.
Instead, Leigh has been dedicating the majority of her time and energy lately to the spiritual
practice of her husband John Morton, which goes by the name of John Morton Ministries.
Though this organization seems innocent enough, it functions under the greater umbrella of
another organization by the name of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, which some people
seem to think is a cult!
Join Facts Verse as we explore how Leigh Taylor-Young is no longer an actress, not even close.
Leigh Taylor-Young Was a Diplomat’s Daughter Leigh Taylor-Young was born in Washington,
D.C., on January 25, 1945.
Though she was born in America’s capital, she would spend the majority of her early
childhood being raised in a fairly rural area of Michigan alongside her siblings.
Leigh’s two younger siblings would grow up to figure in the entertainment industry
in their own right.
In fact, younger brother Lance would even go on to direct Leigh in a feature film around
the turn of the century.
Meanwhile, Leigh’s younger sister in an actress named Dey Young.
Leigh’s father worked as a diplomat, and she grew up taking her education very seriously.
She studied classical ballet from an early age and decided to study economics upon making
it into Northwestern University.
While attending the academy, however, Leigh began to develop an interest in theater.
Soon, she was taking the pursuit of the theater just as seriously as she had taken any pursuit
before.
She became the youngest member of a local repertory theatre troupe and subsequently
moved out to New York City.
After making the move to the big apple, Leigh Taylor-Young found herself performing at the
Neighborhood Playhouse.
It seemed that the burgeoning star's dreams were coming true!
It wouldn’t be long before she’d receive the opportunity that would turn her into a
star.
This opportunity wouldn’t come by way of the stage, but by way of the television screen.
In the mid-1960s, a primetime soap opera by the name of Peyton Place became a big hit,
and Mia Farrow played one of its most popular characters.
After only one season, Mia Farrow decided to leave the show abruptly, which left a void
that needed to be filled.
Leigh Taylor-Young was brought on to fill that void, though she would ironically go
on to leave the series herself after only a season.
Being cast on Peyton Place made Leigh a big star, but her leaving the show abruptly slightly
decreased the amount of goodwill that she had built up with audiences.
Leigh Married Peyton Place’s Male Lead If audience members were rubbed the wrong
way by Leigh Taylor-Young leaving Peyton Place after only a season, the same can’t be said
about the show’s male lead.
Leigh got along with Peyton Place’s male lead so well that she married him!
That male lead was actor Ryan O’Neal.
Leigh and Ryan married in 1967, just after Ryan divorced previous wife Joanna Moore.
By the time that they finally tied the knot, Leigh was already pregnant with Ryan’s child.
That child would grow up to be actor/sportscaster Patrick O’Neal.
Over the course of the late 1960s, Leigh Taylor-Young flirted with prominence on the big screen.
She was nominated in the category of Best Newcomer at the Golden Globes thanks to her
performance alongside Peter Sellers in the 1968 comedy I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!
The following year, Leigh appeared alongside her then-husband in the cult comedy The Big
Bounce.
Sadly, none of these roles resulted in truly star-making turns.
She continued starring in films into the 1970s, with her most iconic film role to this day
being in the 1973 science-fiction classic Soylent Green.
In the film, Leigh played the romantic interest of Charlton Heston.
In 1971, Leigh Taylor-Young and Ryan O’Neal separated, though they would officially remain
married until 1974.
Towards the latter half of the 1970s, Leigh Taylor-Young was only heard from sporadically.
The actress’s given reason for this was because she was busy taking care of her aforementioned
son, Patrick.
She would emerge from the 1970s remarried and ready to return to work.
Leigh’s third husband was also her new agent, and his name was Guy McElwaine.
Though Guy would get Leigh back into acting, their marriage would only last for a little
over five years.
Upon making the decision to return to acting in the early 1980s after a brief hiatus, Leigh
Taylor-Young ended up finding more success on television than on the big screen.
This success included a new role in another primetime soap opera.
If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support!
Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more
Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Leigh Found Another Role on a Primetime Soap Opera
Though most of Leigh Taylor-Young’s success from the 1980s onwards has come via television,
the actress did appear in a few notable films during the early half of the 1980s.
These included the Albert Finney-starring 1981 thriller Looker, as well as the 1985
mystery Jagged Edge.
The latter film starred Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close.
In the late 1980s, Leigh Taylor-Young would return to television in a fairly big way by
taking on a recurring role on the primetime soap opera Dallas.
Once again, Leigh found major success via a relatively short-lived role on a primetime
soap opera, with her role on Dallas only lasting around 20 episodes.
To this day, Leigh Taylor-Young claims that her time on the series Dallas has been the
most fun that she’s had in the acting world.
She claims that this is due to the fact that she enjoyed the excess and camp of the series.
In the early 1990s, Leigh would receive a Best Supporting Actress award at the Emmys
thanks to her performance in the television series Picket Fences.
Later in the decade, she appeared in a film written and directed by her younger brother,
Lance Young.
In addition to all of this acting work on the screen that Leigh could be found doing
during the 1990s, she also started becoming a presence on the stage once again.
Around the turn of the millennium, Leigh Taylor-Young snagged a third recurring role on a soap opera.
This time, however, it was on the daytime soap opera Passions.
In 2002, she appeared in the comedy film Slackers.
That same year, she also appeared in a film directed by her third husband!
Leigh married third husband Craig Sheffer in 2003, the year after his film Ritual released.
Leigh had a small cameo in the film as herself.
Sadly, Leigh and Craig would only remain married for a year before divorcing in 2004.
Is Leigh Taylor-Young a New Age Cult Member?
In the 2010s, Leigh Taylor-Young seemingly took a break from the acting world to focus
on spiritual endeavors with her new husband.
Leigh Taylor-Young married fourth husband John Morton in 2013, and she now works for
John Morton Ministries.
From the name, one might assume that Leigh and her husband are some denominations of
Christian.
However, what they practice and preach is actually some form of New Age dogma.
Meditation is the name of the game when it comes to John Morton Ministries, and Leigh
Taylor-Young’s voice can be heard on many of the meditation tapes that can be purchased
by churchgoers.
While this endeavor might sound innocent enough, John Morton Ministries actually functions
under the umbrella of the greater Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness.
This latter organization isn’t all that controversial, but there are some who find
its practices a little too cultish for comfort.
Leigh Taylor-Young isn’t the only famous figure associated with the Movement of Spiritual
Inner Awareness.
Other notable figures associated with the possible cult include Beach Boys member Carl
Wilson.
The main practices of both John Morton Ministries and the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness
seem to involve special meditation mantras that you can only get if you become a member
of the church.
This is similar to the practice of Transcendental Meditation, which is also guarded by a significant
pay wall.
There are numerous organizations like these trading spiritual enlightenment for profit,
and there’s nothing wrong with selling it so long as there are people that want to buy!
The fact that those who purchase their mediation mantras from John Morton Ministries will get
the voice of Dallas star Leigh Taylor-Young on their recordings should definitely be seen
as an added bonus.
For now, it seems that Leigh Taylor-Young is satisfied with being a figurehead for her
husband’s suspect religious organization.
However, there have been hints of the 77-year-old actress getting back into the acting game.
Recently, it was announced that the actress had taken on an undisclosed role in a Showtime-series
remake of the classic Paul Schrader drama American Gigolo.
The series is being produced by Paul himself and is set to premiere towards the end of
2022.
It seems that Leigh has a small role in the series’ first episode, though it remains
to be seen what it entails.
If this role is a success, then it stands to reason that we may be seeing much more
of Leigh in the future!
Though Leigh Taylor-Young has been more interested in her New Age spiritual practices for the
past decade than she has been in her acting work, the 77-year-old actress has recently
flirted with coming back to the screen.
Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Leigh Taylor-Young may or may not
be a member of a New Age cult and that she’s possibly getting back into acting after over
a decade?
As always, like this video to show your support, subscribe, and hit the notification bell if
you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their
way!