LOS ANGELES Actor and director Don Taylor, whose directing credits include Escape from Planet of the Apes, has died at 78, his family said. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-born director, who made 15 films and more than 400 TV programs, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. In the 1940s and 1950s, Taylor appeared in a series of war films notably Stalag 17" directed by Billy Wilder. In 1950 he played in Father of the Bride alongside co-stars Elizabeth Taylor and Spencer Tracy. But in 1961, Taylor made his debut as a director with everything's ducky featuring Mickey Rooney. He went on to make Escape from Planet of the Apes, the third in the science-fiction series, The Island of Dr Moreau with Burt Lancaster in 1977 and The Final Countdown starring Kirk Douglas in 1980.