By Paul Bonnette
Actress, business owner, writer, and comedian, Tam Taylor does it all. You may know her from shows and films on networks such as TLC, Discovery+, and Lifetime or from headlining numerous comedy shows across the country, however, for Tam Taylor, Bay County is home. According to Taylor, being a business owner in Bay County goes back to her family roots.
“My grandparents had some of the first gas stations here in Panama City. I’ve got roots here as I was born in Fort Walton at Eglin Air Force Base. My grandparents had restaurants and gas stations here and in Alabama, so I was kind of bounced between here and Alabama my whole life,” remembers Taylor. “My mom and I, we wanted to open a restaurant here. It’s a beautiful place to live with great weather. It’s a great place to be and I’ve been here pretty much on and off my entire life.”
After graduating from the Springer Opera House School of Performing Arts, Taylor decided to continue performing as taking the stage has always come naturally. From Las Vegas to New York City, radio to stage, Taylor is all about entertaining. According to Taylor, being an entertainer is a career she has known she wanted from an early age.
“I graduated from a theater school. I’ve always been in theater and in front of crowds. For the past thirty years, I’ve been on stage or entertaining in some type of capacity. I really enjoy acting. If you are an actor, you’re just an actor. It’s in your blood.”
Taylor has been featured in shows on TLC such as Behind Closed Doors: The American Family, American Detective on Discovery+, and #Textmewhenyougethome on Lifetime. She has also been in several award-winning feature films showcased at numerous film fests.
For Taylor starting on in theater and television and being a comedian at heart, she decided to dive into the world of standup comedy. Fortunately, the comedy scene in Panama City was quickly developing which offered Taylor the chance to take the stage in an all-new way.
According to Taylor, progressing into the world of standup comedy was an easy transition.
“Being on stage and doing standup is so much fun for me. Acting in standup comedy is just a natural progression of theater work and the work that I’ve done. When I had a show, I would sing a few songs and tell a few jokes, so it was like I was already kind of doing it before. Then, the comedy scene in Panama City was getting started and I can write and work out my jokes and work out my set and travel and headline.”
Today, when Taylor isn’t filming, she travels the country headlining comedy shows and has no plans on slowing down anytime soon.
“I am not putting any limitations on myself,” she says. “I have dreams of doing more television and more movies and more comedy. People can do whatever they set their mind to. There are no expiration dates on your dreams. You can do so many things, you just have to put them in motion. You have to put in the work. I’m not putting any limitations on myself and I’m not setting any boundaries for myself. I’m just going into this next year with the gratitude that I’ve come this far in this business and the hopefulness and willingness to go further.”
