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* T A Y L O R O L O G Y *
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* A Continuing Exploration of the Life and Death of William Desmond Taylor *
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* *
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* Issue 64 -- April 1998 Editor: Bruce Long bruce@asu.edu *
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* TAYLOROLOGY may be freely distributed *
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CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
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Mabel Normand and "Goldwyn"
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Another Taylor Film on Home Video?
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In Print: "The Big Book of Scandal!"
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Reporting the Taylor Murder: Day Five
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Hollywood Studio Production During the Week of Taylor's Murder
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Photoplay Editions of Taylor's Films
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What is TAYLOROLOGY?
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TAYLOROLOGY is a newsletter focusing on the life and death of William Desmond
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Taylor, a top Paramount film director in early Hollywood who was shot to
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death on February 1, 1922. His unsolved murder was one of Hollywood's major
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scandals. This newsletter will deal with: (a) The facts of Taylor's life;
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(b) The facts and rumors of Taylor's murder; (c) The impact of the Taylor
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murder on Hollywood and the nation; (d) Taylor's associates and the Hollywood
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silent film industry in which Taylor worked. Primary emphasis will be given
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toward reprinting, referencing and analyzing source material, and sifting it
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for accuracy.
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Mabel Normand and "Goldwyn"
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We finally got around to reading GOLDWYN, by A. Scott Berg. It's a very
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nice book, but there is a major omission regarding the initial founding of
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Goldwyn Pictures.
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Samuel Goldfish was forced out of Famous Players-Lasky on September 14,
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1916. Goldwyn Pictures was incorporated two months later on November 19,
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1916. That was in Berg's book. But why would the Selwyns agree to
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Goldfish's plan and join with him to create Goldwyn Pictures? Goldfish
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needed the Selwyns, with their reputation and library of filmable plays; but
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why did the Selwyns need Goldfish? What did Goldfish have that the Selwyns
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couldn't get elsewhere?
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The primary answer: Mabel Normand.
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On September 16, 1916, two days after resigning from Famous Players-
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Lasky, Sam Goldfish signed Mabel Normand to a personal contract, to take
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effect after her current contract with Sennett would expire in 1917. A few
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months earlier, MOTION PICTURE MAGAZINE had a readers' poll and Mabel Normand
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was voted the favorite female comedian, with nearly two million votes. So at
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the time Goldfish was negotiating with the Selwyns, he had Mabel Normand's
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contract in his pocket; he had the top female comedy star, and if the Selwyns
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wanted her they would have to do business with him. Indeed, given the
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circumstances described in Berg's book surrounding the formation of Goldwyn
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Pictures, it seems unlikely that Goldfish would have been able to convince
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the Selwyns, had he not had Mabel Normand under contract. (See NEW YORK
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TELEGRAPH, July 8, 1917, reprinted in MABEL NORMAND: A SCOURCE BOOK TO HER
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LIFE AND FILMS, p. 56.)
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So Mabel Normand was not only the most successful star of Goldwyn
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Pictures, she was a major impetus for its very existence.
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Another Taylor Film on Home Video?
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The 1917 film "A Tale of Two Cities," starring William Farnum, is
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available on home video from Critics' Choice. Taylor seems to have had
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something to do with this film, based on the following:
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1. In several contemporary motion picture directories and items of
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personal publicity, it was stated that Taylor had either directed this film,
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or acted in it.
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2. Taylor joined Fox in December 1916, and was there when "A Tale of
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Two Cities" was being filmed.
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3. The film had a "cast of thousands" and likely utilized almost
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everyone on the Fox lot at the time.
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On the other hand: Taylor was not in the cast listing; the "director of
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record" was Frank Lloyd; and the star William Farnum stated that he had never
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worked with Taylor.
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Without firm proof, the following are some possibilities:
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1. Perhaps Taylor did some work on the film as a second unit director,
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to help with the big crowd scenes, or to direct some minor scenes while Frank
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Lloyd was directing the star.
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2. Perhaps Taylor acted in a small uncredited role.
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3. Perhaps Frank Lloyd was ill for a few days, and Taylor took over
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temporarily.
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The exact answer will probably never be known. But "A Tale of Two
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Cities," made while Taylor was on the Fox lot, probably contains a little of
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his work.
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In Print: "The Big Book of Scandal!"
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THE BIG BOOK OF SCANDAL! (Paradox Press, 1997) is a 191-page large paperback
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covering the major American scandals of the past century. Written by
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Jonathan Vankin and illustrated in a wide variety of comic book styles by
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"over 50 of the world's top artists," the book includes "Death of a Mystery
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Man," a four-page recap of the Taylor case illustrated by Alan Weiss. For a
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short, sensationalized recap of the case, it is fairly good--although, as
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would be expected, some rumors are stated as fact. The only major error in
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the recap was the path and distance of the fatal shot. The book's
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bibliography indicates that Vankin utilized three issues of TAYLOROLOGY
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(issues 15, 19, and 50) in addition to HOLLYWOOD BABYLON and the books by
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Kirkpatrick and Giroux. This is the first time we have seen electronic
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TAYLOROLOGY cited as a bibliographic source in print. Thanks Jonathan!
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Reporting the Taylor Murder: Day Five
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Below are some highlights of the press reports published in the fifth day
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after Taylor's body was discovered.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 6, 1922
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Wallace Smith
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DENVER POST
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Los Angeles, Feb. 6--...More and more the eyes of the detectives are
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turned to the haunts of the Hollywood drug peddlers, the smugglers of
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forbidden "dope" who cater to the depravities of the wild movie set. More
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and more they feel certain that sooner or later the secret of the shooting
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must come, directly or indirectly, from the dens of these human birds of
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prey.
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It was this theory that led to the apprehension of the three men rounded
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up last night as suspects. They were directed in their search for the trio
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by a mysterious, anonymous informant. One of the trio was an actor once
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employed by Taylor. He had given up the rather unprofitable business of the
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stage for bootlegging, and later gave this up for the infinitely more simple
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and profitable peddling of drugs.
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After Mrs. Douglas MacLean, wife of the picture star, had failed to
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identify either of the three as the man she asserts she saw leaving Taylor's
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home about the time of the murder and after they had supplied likely alibis,
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they were released.
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Make no mistake about the open handed operations of the drug ring in the
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wilds of Hollywood. It sounds melodramatic and perhaps smacks of an attempt
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at sensationalism. Regardless of sound or smack, it is an ever present and
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ever growing menace, almost unbelievable in the boldness with which it is
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carried on.
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One of the present theories of the police is that Taylor, alias William
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Deane-Tanner, the man of the double life and friend of many women, was
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receiving the "dope" for one of his feminine acquaintances. It was rather
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definitely reported that she was a star whose friends had sought to keep her
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favorite "dope," morphine, away from her and that she had found in Taylor a
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willing agent.
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One of her admirers, it was theorized, learning that Taylor had been
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secretly holding the young woman a slave to the drug--and perhaps to his
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fancies--confronted him with the fact and killed him.
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The actual developments in the past few hours of the sensational case
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were:
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The frantic search for letters written by Mabel Normand, with Taylor an
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hour before he was slain, to the director--letters which have disappeared
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from the bureau drawer in which he secreted them.
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The disappearance of a dainty, peach colored silk nightgown, frilled
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with lace, and said to bear the monogram of one of the leading stars of the
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profession. One report placed this in the possession of an investigator who
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was said to have a private use for it, another said that it had been
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recovered by some agent of the star.
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The discovery of other letters from other stars--including the notes of
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Blanche Sweet and Gloria Swanson; friendly little notes--among the private
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papers of the slain director.
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The fact that a rich ne-er-do-well of Los Angeles, a man of wealth and
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influence and an unsavory reputation, was being kept under surveillance by
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the detectives.
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The suspicion that a man recently risen to fame in the screen world,
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inspired by mad jealousy, had killed the director. He, too, was to be asked
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to account for his whereabouts the night of the slaying.
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In all their huntings and scurrying around the detectives did not for a
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moment lose sight of their theory that the killer may have been a
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blackmailer, who shot his victim when the payer of tribute finally turned and
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defied him. This, in consideration of Taylor's tangled past and his numerous
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affairs with women, still seemed the most likely theory...
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The search for the peach-hued "nighties" promised to become interesting.
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With blackmail already in the air, the owner of the garment might feel a bit
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apprehensive about having it fall into the hands of one who might find in it
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a weapon for levying tribute.
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That it had disappeared was revealed after Peavey, the house man, had
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spoken of putting it carefully away a few nights before his employer was
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slain.
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That it had been in Taylor's possession, at all, gave new color to the
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stories of the affairs with women conducted by the man who was known to his
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friends as "a man's man," and one who "always played a lone hand."
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These same friends, surprised as they were by the news that Taylor had
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been married, was a father and a wife-deserter, have with stubborn regard for
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the ethics of friendship, refused to discuss the private affairs of the man
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who is dead.
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Which may be fine for the ethics of friendship, but which is making it
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rather difficult for the police, who are seeking the friend's slayer.
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It is also giving rise to rumors about the abuse of strength being
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manifested by the moving picture interests in "hushing up" all tales which
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might in some way reflect on the actors and actresses--even those whose
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dissipations are notorious and matters of every-day gossip. It has even been
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hinted that if there is any money to be raised it will not be for the purpose
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of finding the man who killed Taylor, but for the purpose of "hushing up"
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those who might assist in capturing the assassin.
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Meanwhile, the mad "parties" in Hollywood continue. Some of the wilder
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ones may be a little quiet for a week, or so, but only rarely, they learned,
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is there any telling investigation. And so they will be at it again...
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 6, 1922
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DENVER POST
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...Mrs. Theodore Brown, of the Brown-Byers studio, knew William Desmond
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Taylor very well about six years ago in Los Angeles.
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"Billy Taylor was one of the finest men I ever met," Mrs. Brown said
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Monday. "He used to come to our house and call on Neva Gerber, a motion
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picture actress who was staying with us, and who now lives at 217 North
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Western avenue, Los Angeles. He and Miss Gerber were engaged to be married,
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but about two years ago they decided not to go on with their engagement..."
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 6, 1922
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MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
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Jealous Suitor Seen as Hand on Death Gun
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Los Angeles, Feb. 6--The little green-eyed monster, jealousy, police and
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private detectives say, has directed search for a prominent young New Yorker,
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formerly engaged to one of the beautiful stars of filmdom, in connection with
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the mystery murder last Wednesday night of William Desmond Taylor, widely
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known motion picture director, known in New York prior to 1908 as William
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Cunningham Deane-Tanner, art connoisseur.
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For sustained interest and thrilling denouement after denouement, the
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case continues to project itself farther and farther above any film mystery
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which the genius of the director ever developed for the theatergoer. Letters
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written by Mabel Normand to Taylor, reported missing following the murder,
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and evidence concerning presence for six months at least of a woman's silk
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pink nightgown, embroidered with a screen star's initials, in the luxuriously
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appointed bachelor apartment, and its disappearance after the slaying, add
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considerable interest to the case.
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The New Yorker suspected in connection with the murder is reported to
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have checked out of a hotel there on the day of the murder and to have left
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the city the following afternoon. He is believed by investigators to have
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headed for San Diego and possibly crossed the border into Mexico. His name
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is withheld by police.
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The actress to whom this suspect was once engaged, according to
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investigators, was a close friend to Taylor and in this friendship a possible
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motive of jealousy which would lead to murder is seen.
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The probe daily goes deeper and deeper into the motion picture colony
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here, and the great list of names of actresses and actors, as well as
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managers and employees, being questioned by the police begins to read like a
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list of those present at a great "movie" ball.
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One of the tangles in the Hollywood skein, police say, concerns a widely-
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known actress and a man said to be enamored of her. This actress, they say,
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was frank in expressing admiration of Taylor, and it is known he saw much of
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her. Here, police say, is one possible clew to the "jealousy" theory. They
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say, however, that while extremely anxious to question the man, they find it
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a delicate matter, owing to the resources and friends he possesses...
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With the tales came to the police of the alleged possession by Taylor of
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women's silken lingerie, one piece of which, a pink nightrobe, is reported
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missing from his apartments since his body was discovered. One witness is
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said to have stated, but not to the police, that this robe bore the
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embroidered initials of a motion picture actress.
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Close upon the heels of these declarations came the report that the
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police were searching for a drug peddler, who, it is pointed out, had sought
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through Taylor to make deliver of drugs to an actress, who found it difficult
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to make her purchases direct. The initials of the actress connected with
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this phase of the case were said to be the same as those on the night robe
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reported missing from the Taylor apartments.
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Police are looking for the silk nightgown, Captain of Detectives David
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L. Adams said.
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"We have never seen it," he said. "We have had a lot of reports about
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it, and if it existed it has disappeared. We have had no definite reports
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that it belonged to any actress or woman. We do not know that it had any
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initials upon it, or other marks of identification, but we are going to look
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for it."
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After the announcement of the search for the drug peddler, deputy
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sheriffs left for an unnamed destination on what they termed the "most
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definite clew thus far discovered in the Taylor murder mystery." They said
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they were going to interview "a certain party" and possibly make an arrest.
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This was the first active participation of the sheriff's forces in the
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case.
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Miss Mabel Normand, the motion picture actress, who was with Taylor
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shortly before he was shot and killed in his home here last Wednesday
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evening, Sunday stated that a package of letters written by her to Taylor at
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different times was missing from his home. Miss Normand said the letters
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were there a few weeks ago.
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The letters, she said, were friendly in tone and there was "nothing in
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them to be ashamed of," but she was unable to account for their
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disappearance.
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The detectives placed much weight on this development, saying it was the
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first real sign of an indication pointing to a possible motive for the
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shooting.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 6, 1922
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LOS ANGELES RECORD
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...The shot that killed William Desmond Taylor was fired from a distance
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of only three or four inches.
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This startling discovery in the murder mystery was announced following a
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conference at police headquarters today between the officers investigating
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the crime.
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It was revealed when Detective Sergeant Edward King, detailed to duty at
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the district attorney's office, brought to the conference the clothing of the
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murdered movie director.
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Powder burns on the tan gabardine coat indicated that the revolver was
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held by the assassin almost against Taylor's body.
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Experiments in the police shooting gallery, where shots were fired at a
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similar piece of cloth from varying distances, confirmed the surmise that the
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muzzle of the revolver could not have been more than 4 inches from Taylor's
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coat when the fatal shot was fired.
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This discovery leads to two speculations.
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Number One: (Which is not considered seriously by the police,) is that
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Taylor killed himself. But no weapon was found by the body. The only
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conclusion reconcilable with this hypothesis is that the body was discovered
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by a burglar, who had entered the apartment and who was frightened away after
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picking up the revolver.
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Number Two: Taylor might have engaged in a desperate struggle with his
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assassin before he was killed, and that they were at death grips when the
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murderer pulled out his weapon and fired.
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This speculation is born out by the overturned chair found across the
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|
|
dead man's feet. But nothing else in the room had been disturbed however.
|
||
|
|
If Taylor saw his slayer and grappled with him, it is believed that he
|
||
|
|
must have recognized him as an enemy. This belief leads to the abandonment
|
||
|
|
of the burglar theory and the concentration of every effort upon finding an
|
||
|
|
ancient enemy of the murdered picture director--some one perhaps who knew him
|
||
|
|
in the old days in New York, before he changed his name from Tanner to
|
||
|
|
Taylor.
|
||
|
|
...Today's activities by the police followed a night of fruitless
|
||
|
|
endeavor to solve the murder mystery by detectives and deputy sheriffs,
|
||
|
|
outstanding in the night's work was the detention and grilling of two well-
|
||
|
|
known movie actors.
|
||
|
|
In overcoat and muffler, with a cap pulled down over his forehead,
|
||
|
|
George Milo, picture actor, strode up and down the sidewalk last night in
|
||
|
|
front of 404-B South Alvarado street, the bungalow home of Taylor.
|
||
|
|
He was enacting, against his will, a role he had often played for profit
|
||
|
|
in the films--that of a "genteel heavy." Eyes unseen by him looked out from
|
||
|
|
the shuttered windows of the bungalow across the court from Taylor's. Mrs.
|
||
|
|
Douglas MacLean, wife of the movie star, was comparing Milo with the man she
|
||
|
|
saw leaving the bungalow where Taylor was murdered.
|
||
|
|
Meanwhile, in a closed automobile, parked a short distance away deputy
|
||
|
|
sheriffs were firing questions at Henri Reineque, actor and friend of Milo.
|
||
|
|
The questions concerned his whereabouts and that of the other film actor last
|
||
|
|
Wednesday night.
|
||
|
|
Milo and Reineque were taken into custody at 8 o'clock last night as
|
||
|
|
they were alighting from Milo's automobile in front of the Lobban apartments,
|
||
|
|
1030 West Eighth street, where both live.
|
||
|
|
Al Manning, chief deputy in charge of criminal investigations at the
|
||
|
|
sheriff's office, drove to the Lobban with Deputy Sheriff Harvey Bell. They
|
||
|
|
had traced Milo's automobile after a mysterious telephone message had been
|
||
|
|
received at the sheriff's office to the effect that a Maxwell sedan with a
|
||
|
|
certain number stood in front of Taylor's home the night of the murder.
|
||
|
|
The number given by the anonymous informant was that of Milo's closed
|
||
|
|
Maxwell.
|
||
|
|
"The boss wants to see you," explained Manning, accosting the men.
|
||
|
|
"Who's the boss?" asked one.
|
||
|
|
"The sheriff," replied Bell.
|
||
|
|
The two actors made no protest as they were escorted to the sheriff's
|
||
|
|
automobile and taken to the office. Here they were separated and both
|
||
|
|
subjected to a severe grilling on the question of their whereabouts Wednesday
|
||
|
|
night.
|
||
|
|
Milo at first seemed worried by the questions.
|
||
|
|
"You were a close acquaintance of Mabel Normand, weren't you?" demanded
|
||
|
|
one of the five or six deputies who surrounded him with a circle of accusing
|
||
|
|
eyes.
|
||
|
|
"No," replied Milo. "I worked with her in 'The Slim Princess.' Aside
|
||
|
|
from that I know nothing about her."
|
||
|
|
One of the deputies later ran up and shook an accusing finger in Milo's
|
||
|
|
face.
|
||
|
|
"Don't you know you are suspected of murdering William Taylor?" he
|
||
|
|
shouted at Milo.
|
||
|
|
The actor's face showed instant relief and he broke into a smile. Then
|
||
|
|
he reached over and shook hands with his questioner.
|
||
|
|
"That's a good joke," he said. "You really had me frightened for a
|
||
|
|
while. I didn't know what you wanted me for. But if that's it, why it's too
|
||
|
|
ridiculous to do anything about except laugh."
|
||
|
|
The officers were not satisfied with this denial and bundled Milo into
|
||
|
|
an automobile. He was taken to the South Alvarado street bungalow court,
|
||
|
|
where he was dressed as the mysterious stranger was supposed to have been and
|
||
|
|
made to promenade in front of the place.
|
||
|
|
Meanwhile Reineque was being subjected to an equally severe fire of
|
||
|
|
questions.
|
||
|
|
"Where were you Wednesday night?" iterated all of his questioners in
|
||
|
|
chorus.
|
||
|
|
"For heaven's sake! Give a man time to think," replied Reineque,
|
||
|
|
scratching his head. He came from Alsace-Lorraine and speaks with a slight
|
||
|
|
accent.
|
||
|
|
Finally, after Mrs. Douglas MacLean had failed to recognize Milo as the
|
||
|
|
muffled stranger whom she saw leaving Taylor's house and after continued
|
||
|
|
questioning had failed to elicit anything of importance from either of the
|
||
|
|
movie actors, they were driven home by the deputy sheriffs and dismissed with
|
||
|
|
apologies for the inconvenience caused them.
|
||
|
|
Both men were warned, however, that they were under surveillance and
|
||
|
|
told not to leave town.
|
||
|
|
Police Captain Adams and Detectives Cline, Cahill and Cato were with the
|
||
|
|
deputy sheriffs and assisted at the investigation last night.
|
||
|
|
Milo, a handsome chap of the movie leading man type, was still somewhat
|
||
|
|
staggered by his experience of last night, when he was seen today. He was
|
||
|
|
able to summon a smile, however, at what he characterized as the "ridiculous
|
||
|
|
charge that I killed Taylor."
|
||
|
|
His screen history in Los Angeles connects him as an actor with several
|
||
|
|
prominent women stars with whom he has worked in various pictures. These
|
||
|
|
include Pauline Frederick, Theda Bara, Clara Kimball Young, Ruth Roland and
|
||
|
|
Mabel Normand. Milo today reiterated the statement he made to the officers
|
||
|
|
that he only knew Miss Normand through working with her in one picture.
|
||
|
|
The actor is of French birth, but has spent most of his life in America.
|
||
|
|
Besides being an actor, he is an athlete of prowess. He formerly toured in
|
||
|
|
vaudeville with an acrobatic act, in which he was "understander" and also
|
||
|
|
posed in a leopard skin to show his unusual muscular development.
|
||
|
|
...The disappearance of a frilly diaphanous article of feminine apparel,
|
||
|
|
which Peavey said had reposed for months in a box in one of Taylor's dresser
|
||
|
|
drawers, was another grain of mystery in the case today. The valet happened
|
||
|
|
to remember about the missing garment and informed the police. It was in its
|
||
|
|
usual place up to the night of the murder. Peavey said he did not know who
|
||
|
|
the owner of the garment was or why Taylor kept it.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES RECORD
|
||
|
|
Mary Miles Minter Lays Rose on Dead Friend
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
...It was early Friday afternoon that Miss Minter came to view Desmond's
|
||
|
|
body. She carried a dozen Black Prince roses intertwined with fern. As she
|
||
|
|
saw the beloved form upon a couch she burst into tears and asked the friend
|
||
|
|
who was with her to leave the room. The door closed behind him and for a few
|
||
|
|
brief moments she was alone with Taylor.
|
||
|
|
When Ivy H. Overholtzer, funeral director, opened the door a little
|
||
|
|
later she was standing bowed over the body, her tears falling upon the gray
|
||
|
|
silk robe in which it was clothed.
|
||
|
|
Turning to the mantel upon which she had placed the roses she drew forth
|
||
|
|
a single bud and laid it across Taylor's chest. Then, sobbing her grief, she
|
||
|
|
left the room and was driven away in her car...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
||
|
|
Estelle Lawton Lindsey
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXPRESS
|
||
|
|
Denies Story of Love for Taylor
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"On my word of honor, on my word of honor. Get it straight, please."
|
||
|
|
Mabel Normand emphasized that phrase all the time that she talked to me
|
||
|
|
about William Desmond Taylor, the moving picture director who had been her
|
||
|
|
friend and who was mysteriously murdered shortly after he had placed her in
|
||
|
|
her auto Wednesday night.
|
||
|
|
Miss Normand, nervous and shaken, heavy-lidded from loss of sleep and
|
||
|
|
the grueling inquisition to which she has been subjected since the murder,
|
||
|
|
came into her delightful sitting-room this morning and talked freely of her
|
||
|
|
friendship with the dead man, and the rumors that since his death have arisen
|
||
|
|
about him.
|
||
|
|
"I was never in love with Mr. Taylor in the way one means when they use
|
||
|
|
the expression 'in love.' If he was in love with me, he never told me.
|
||
|
|
"There was no thought or talk of marriage between us. Our friendship
|
||
|
|
was based on comradeship and understanding. In many ways he was wonderful.
|
||
|
|
I loved to go out with him because he understood so well when my work forced
|
||
|
|
me to break engagements, and because we loved so many of the same things,
|
||
|
|
books, music, pictures."
|
||
|
|
"Do you know any woman who might have been jealous of you, who might
|
||
|
|
have loved Mr. Taylor?" I asked.
|
||
|
|
"On my word of honor, no," she cried, beating her tiny hands together.
|
||
|
|
"Or any man who might have been jealous of the place that he occupied in
|
||
|
|
your esteem?"
|
||
|
|
Again the emphatic denial and the movement of the slender hands.
|
||
|
|
"It has been hinted that he had dope parties," suggested another
|
||
|
|
reporter. "Did you ever hear of them?"
|
||
|
|
"Never, in God's world, never, on my word of honor. Billy was one of
|
||
|
|
the cleanest and most temperate men in all his habits. He was sick, and very
|
||
|
|
careful of his diet. He loved clean, simple pleasures, and he was a kind and
|
||
|
|
thoughtful friend.
|
||
|
|
"Flowers? Yes, he sent them to me three times a week. He knew that I
|
||
|
|
loved flowers. And--yes, he telegraphed me often when I was in New York, but
|
||
|
|
not every night. His telegrams were sometimes about things he wanted me to
|
||
|
|
get for him in New York, sometimes just efforts to keep me posted about
|
||
|
|
things here. I bought golf balls for him and he looked after the welfare of
|
||
|
|
my dog and often wired me that it was well.
|
||
|
|
"And, oh, please, say that I never heard of that pink nightgown, and
|
||
|
|
that I always went to Mr. Taylor's dinners with a crowd."
|
||
|
|
"Henry Peavey, the colored servant, said"--
|
||
|
|
"He ought to be ashamed to say that I asked him about other girls going
|
||
|
|
to Mr. Taylor's house," Miss Normand burst out. "Henry ought to be grateful
|
||
|
|
to me. I saved him his job when Mr. Taylor wanted to fire him. I begged
|
||
|
|
that Billy wouldn't fire him on a rumor which might be false.
|
||
|
|
"And say this, please, on my word of honor, I never spoke to Henry in my
|
||
|
|
life except in Mr. Taylor's presence, and can you imagine my asking before
|
||
|
|
Billy about other girls? Henry has told an awful big story.
|
||
|
|
"I hope they find my letters because they are just little messages about
|
||
|
|
everyday things. I never did go to the house to search for them. I only
|
||
|
|
went to show the police how the furniture had been arranged.
|
||
|
|
"I can't imagine anybody wanting to kill Billy. He was the kindest,
|
||
|
|
most patient and tactful man I ever knew. I never knew him to lose his
|
||
|
|
temper and, no, I never saw him show fear."
|
||
|
|
And so the little star rattled on, begging, explaining, replying to all
|
||
|
|
questions with the utmost frankness and detail.
|
||
|
|
"She's worn out, poor little thing," said A. McArthur, publicity manager
|
||
|
|
for the Sennett studios. "She wants to help clear up this mystery, but she
|
||
|
|
needs rest terribly. We can't take her out of town. If we do everybody will
|
||
|
|
say she ran away, and nobody will let her rest in town; the telephone goes
|
||
|
|
every minute and the doorbell, too.
|
||
|
|
"The poor kid lost a friend when Taylor died, but she knows nothing
|
||
|
|
about why or how he died. You can bet on that."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
||
|
|
LONG BEACH PRESS
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles--"Comb the dope dens of Hollywood!"
|
||
|
|
This terse order was issued today by Detective Captain David L. Adams,
|
||
|
|
following a conference at police headquarters of all agencies working on the
|
||
|
|
William Desmond Taylor murder mystery.
|
||
|
|
Although Adams would make no statement to the press, it was understood
|
||
|
|
that a new clue had been received connecting the supposed slayer of the famed
|
||
|
|
motion picture director with the operations of a well-organized Hollywood
|
||
|
|
"snowball" ring.
|
||
|
|
Detective Sergeants Mailheau and Yarrow of the narcotics squad,
|
||
|
|
immediately left Captain Adams' office to launch a rigid investigation of the
|
||
|
|
alleged dope peddlers and their operations.
|
||
|
|
Captain Adams denied a newspaper report that the police were looking for
|
||
|
|
a prominent Los Angeles man, formerly engaged to a film star. It was
|
||
|
|
reported that this man had checked out of his hotel here on the day after the
|
||
|
|
murder and crossed the border, presumably at Tiajuana.
|
||
|
|
"This report is erroneous," Adams said. "We've already traced the
|
||
|
|
'lead' and abandoned it."...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES HERALD
|
||
|
|
...There was some friction in the police probe of the slaying today and
|
||
|
|
it was reported that certain detectives had asked to be given other
|
||
|
|
assignments rather than continue investigating the murder with asserted
|
||
|
|
misunderstanding existing.
|
||
|
|
Several detectives were inclined to the theory that the person who slew
|
||
|
|
Taylor may have been mentally unbalanced, and qualified their remarks
|
||
|
|
regarding that phase of the probe by discussing confidential reports obtained
|
||
|
|
today from the mystery witness who called at detective headquarters and who
|
||
|
|
was said to have stated he saw Sands near the scene of the slaying late
|
||
|
|
Wednesday night.
|
||
|
|
A clew regarding what became of the letters and telegrams said to have
|
||
|
|
been in Taylor's dresser drawer, written by Mabel Normand, film actress and
|
||
|
|
friend of the slain director, was given to the police today while the slaying
|
||
|
|
was being investigated from the hour Taylor's dead body was found.
|
||
|
|
Investigation was made of a report that after Taylor's death Miss Normand's
|
||
|
|
letters were taken away by a visitor to the house.
|
||
|
|
Considerable time was devoted to reviewing the occurrences at Taylor's
|
||
|
|
residence following the finding of the body by Henry Peavey, negro valet-
|
||
|
|
cook. It was pointed out that when aid for Detective Sergeant Tom Zeigler
|
||
|
|
reached the bungalow court, fully a half hour after the report was received
|
||
|
|
that Taylor had presumably died of natural causes, the house was virtually
|
||
|
|
filled with strangers to the detectives who may have disturbed important
|
||
|
|
evidence.
|
||
|
|
The detectives who clung to the belief that Taylor was shot and killed
|
||
|
|
in a "love triangle" by a vengeance-seeking lover, or by a hired assassin,
|
||
|
|
continued to direct their investigation today into the realms of stardom and
|
||
|
|
several of the leading actors and actresses were questioned regarding the
|
||
|
|
slain director's recent activities, his intimates, his asserted affairs of
|
||
|
|
the heart and the source from which he obtained select liquors.
|
||
|
|
Detectives Theodore Mailheau and Lloyd Yarrow, members of the police
|
||
|
|
narcotic squad, investigated reports that Taylor was a close friend of
|
||
|
|
several film luminaries said to be addicted to the use of narcotics. Taylor
|
||
|
|
was not a drug addict, say the police, but may have had knowledge of drug
|
||
|
|
peddlers supplying the alleged addicts...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES HERALD
|
||
|
|
Another interesting picture of the past life of the slain director was
|
||
|
|
revealed today by Miss Neva Gerber, film actress, who was at one time engaged
|
||
|
|
to marry Taylor.
|
||
|
|
Miss Gerber declared that she had seen Taylor wrapped in spells of utter
|
||
|
|
despondency on many occasions and that on several of these period he had
|
||
|
|
expressed a wish to "end it all."
|
||
|
|
She said that Taylor often complained of ill health, declaring that he
|
||
|
|
could not eat anything, and that he was usually most despondent when he had
|
||
|
|
just completed a picture upon which he had been working extremely hard.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
||
|
|
LONG BEACH TELEGRAM
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles--Added impetus in the search for Sands was given yesterday
|
||
|
|
by Mrs. Douglas MacLean, wife of the screen actor, who occupies a bungalow
|
||
|
|
adjoining the one in which Taylor was murdered, exclaimed upon being shown a
|
||
|
|
picture of Sands:
|
||
|
|
"He looks very much like the man I saw leaving Taylor's house the night
|
||
|
|
of the murder."...
|
||
|
|
Throughout the unceasing investigation of the baffling case detectives
|
||
|
|
are advancing on the theory that some place in the solution of the mystery
|
||
|
|
will be found the hand of a woman. That the murder was committed at the
|
||
|
|
direction of some woman whose life has touched Taylor's is the opinion held
|
||
|
|
by many investigators. Further support was given this theory late last night
|
||
|
|
when Mrs. MacLean told officials that the person she saw leaving the Taylor
|
||
|
|
home "might have been a woman dressed in man's clothes."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7,.1922
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES
|
||
|
|
Chauffeur Gives Fresh Lead in Taylor Case
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
A chauffeur employed by the Yellow Taxicab Company last night gave
|
||
|
|
officers investigating the murder of William Desmond Taylor, slain film
|
||
|
|
director, what was regarded as one of the hottest leads thus far uncovered in
|
||
|
|
the attempts to solve the mystery of the fatal shooting last Wednesday night.
|
||
|
|
This chauffeur, who was taken in tow at once by Detective Sergeants
|
||
|
|
King, Cato and Cahill, is named Meister and is reported to have taken a party
|
||
|
|
from the vicinity of the shooting soon after the slaying. He was accompanied
|
||
|
|
on his trip to the detective bureau by Sidney Glover, an official of the
|
||
|
|
taxicab company.
|
||
|
|
Captain of Detective Adams declined to discuss the new phase of the
|
||
|
|
case. Earlier in the day he talked with the two new witnesses. They were
|
||
|
|
not to be found last night, and were declared to be with the two detective
|
||
|
|
sergeants.
|
||
|
|
Several new angles in the investigation were opened up yesterday by
|
||
|
|
deputy sheriffs working under the personal direction of Sheriff Traeger,
|
||
|
|
Undersheriff Biscailuz and Criminal Superintendent Al Manning.
|
||
|
|
While Mr. Manning refused to disclose what lines the Sheriff's
|
||
|
|
investigation is taken, he admitted his officers, Deputies Harvey Bell and
|
||
|
|
Fox and Nolan, were following leads that have developed new aspects of the
|
||
|
|
murder mystery.
|
||
|
|
"I cannot state at this time what we are working on, but the information
|
||
|
|
uncovered by this office is very significant and is vital to the solution of
|
||
|
|
the crime," Mr. Manning said late last night.
|
||
|
|
Centering their efforts on finding Edward F. Sands, suspect in the
|
||
|
|
investigation of the murder, detectives on the case yesterday followed
|
||
|
|
several clews while Captain of Detective Adams held secret conferences with
|
||
|
|
at least four important witnesses...
|
||
|
|
Twice during the day all the detectives working on the case were called
|
||
|
|
together in conference with Capt. Adams. They all declared they are
|
||
|
|
concentrating their efforts toward finding Sands, the former employee of Mr.
|
||
|
|
Taylor and an asserted robber and forger for whose arrest Mr. Taylor swore
|
||
|
|
out a warrant.
|
||
|
|
Few definite concrete developments were noticeable as a result of the
|
||
|
|
day's activities. Further facts concerning the past and mysterious life of
|
||
|
|
the slain man were uncovered. Many supposed clews were checked by the
|
||
|
|
officers and found valueless.
|
||
|
|
Charles Eyton, manager for the Famous Players-Lasky studio, where Mr.
|
||
|
|
Taylor, a director of international reputation, was under contract, held a
|
||
|
|
long talk with Capt. Adams. Henry Peavey, negro houseman who discovered the
|
||
|
|
body of his employer, also was a visitor at the police station.
|
||
|
|
Late in the day it was declared by the officers that missing letters
|
||
|
|
known to have been kept by Mr. Taylor shortly before his death have an
|
||
|
|
important bearing, in their belief, on the case.
|
||
|
|
Among these letters were several written by Mabel Normand, film star, to
|
||
|
|
Mr. Taylor. Everyone questioned by Capt. Adams concerning the letters has
|
||
|
|
denied having them or removing them from the Taylor apartment on South
|
||
|
|
Alvarado street, where his body was found last Thursday morning.
|
||
|
|
Mr. Eyton, who was one of the first outsiders called to the scene, again
|
||
|
|
yesterday said he had not seen them.
|
||
|
|
Miss Normand last Saturday called at the house for her letters. She has
|
||
|
|
not seen those which she wrote.
|
||
|
|
Public Administrator Bryson, who has charge of the estate, says he has
|
||
|
|
not seen them.
|
||
|
|
The District Attorney's Office makes similar avowal.
|
||
|
|
The visit of Mr. Eyton to the Detective Bureau was for the purpose of
|
||
|
|
aiding in the search for Sands. Several witnesses who know the fugitive say
|
||
|
|
they saw him in Los Angeles about the time of the shooting. At least two
|
||
|
|
persons believe they saw him on the night of the shooting. One woman saw
|
||
|
|
Sands within a block of the Taylor home within less than two hours of the
|
||
|
|
time set for the murder...
|
||
|
|
The investigation has simmered down to a process of elimination, with
|
||
|
|
the finding of Sands as the first obstacle. Hundreds of theories, tips and
|
||
|
|
clews have been investigated, weighed and discarded or added to the chain of
|
||
|
|
circumstances being assembled by the detectives.
|
||
|
|
During the day, representatives of Mabel Normand, who was the last
|
||
|
|
friend who saw Mr. Taylor alive last Wednesday, called at the police station
|
||
|
|
to tell the detectives that Miss Normand was going to have her telephone
|
||
|
|
number changed to avoid the continual stream of calls made for her recently.
|
||
|
|
The pink silk nightgown--a delicate, lacy piece of woman's lingerie--
|
||
|
|
that was found in the bachelor apartments of the slain man yesterday held
|
||
|
|
attention of many persons. The garment was one of several formerly at the
|
||
|
|
house, according to the statement of a former employee, and was there during
|
||
|
|
the six months Peavey worked there.
|
||
|
|
Employees preceding Peavey declared that the silken things so strange to
|
||
|
|
a man's wardrobe were used occasionally, or at least were taken from their
|
||
|
|
accustomed places, unfolded and replaced. Reports were circulated during the
|
||
|
|
day that the owner of the night dress had been identified as an actress
|
||
|
|
friend of the dead man.
|
||
|
|
No official confirmation of this could be obtained. The garment, known
|
||
|
|
to have been at the home on the morning the body was found, was not available
|
||
|
|
for public scrutiny.
|
||
|
|
The comment made by Mr. Eyton regarding the missing letters was as
|
||
|
|
follows:
|
||
|
|
"I have taken no letters from Mr. Taylor's home the day the body was
|
||
|
|
found, nor have I taken any, or had any letters given me by anyone since.
|
||
|
|
There were a number of papers and documents there. I watched the
|
||
|
|
representative of the Public Administrator's office sort the papers. It was
|
||
|
|
more than a half-hour after the body was found that I arrived there. In the
|
||
|
|
meantime scores of persons went through the house."
|
||
|
|
Mr. Eyton joined Capt. Adams and Public Administrator Bryson in the
|
||
|
|
opinion that if any of Mabel Normand's letters were taken away from the
|
||
|
|
Taylor home, they were taken by the man who killed Taylor or by some friend
|
||
|
|
of Miss Normand who wanted to return them to the comedy star.
|
||
|
|
"I have no interest in any of these letters," Mr. Eyton continued. "If
|
||
|
|
I had them I would turn them over to the police, because I am interested only
|
||
|
|
in one thing, and that is the capture of the man who murdered 'Bill' Taylor,
|
||
|
|
my friend. I hardly think, however, that there was anything in the missing
|
||
|
|
letters that would be of any assistance in the search for the slayer."...
|
||
|
|
Several women and three men, all of whom knew Sands by sight, say that
|
||
|
|
they saw him on the streets of the city during the last month. None of them
|
||
|
|
spoke to him and several of them under close questioning by the police admit
|
||
|
|
that they may have been mistaken...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES
|
||
|
|
Hands in Air When Shot
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Bullet Marks Found in Clothing Give Detectives New Theory About Taylor Murder
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
When William Desmond Taylor, noted film director, was shot to death in
|
||
|
|
his South Alvarado street apartment last Wednesday night, he was standing
|
||
|
|
with his arms lifted over his head and a .38-caliber revolver pressed against
|
||
|
|
his side, some six inches below his left armpit and toward the back. Such is
|
||
|
|
the new theory of the police advanced yesterday for the first time.
|
||
|
|
They base their belief on a careful examination made yesterday of the
|
||
|
|
clothing worn by the noted motion picture man when he fell, mortally wounded,
|
||
|
|
to the floor of his living-room, about 8 o'clock Wednesday night.
|
||
|
|
In a conference of the detectives working on the case, including Police
|
||
|
|
Detective King of the District Attorney's office as well as the officers
|
||
|
|
detailed from the detective bureau, a minute inspection of the garments was
|
||
|
|
made.
|
||
|
|
The hole through which the bullet entered was powder-marked. The
|
||
|
|
marking was of such a nature that they decided conclusively he was shot by a
|
||
|
|
revolver held pressed against his coat.
|
||
|
|
By comparing the entrance of the bullet in the coat, and in the vest, a
|
||
|
|
remarkable new fact was disclosed. The holes do not correspond in location
|
||
|
|
when the coat is adjusted normally about the wearer.
|
||
|
|
But when the arm was raised the hole in the coat was brought up to the
|
||
|
|
corresponding hole in the vest. This fact led to the definite conclusion of
|
||
|
|
the investigators that when Mr. Taylor was shot down he knew he was being
|
||
|
|
attacked, that he was compelled to hold his arms overhead by the assailant.
|
||
|
|
The discovery of the new-found facts did not change the police theory
|
||
|
|
that the slayer slipped into the house by the front door while Mr. Taylor was
|
||
|
|
absent for a few minutes. At that time he was escorting Miss Mabel Normand,
|
||
|
|
celebrated film actress, to her automobile, after she had made a short call
|
||
|
|
for the purpose of getting a book. During the temporary absence of Mr.
|
||
|
|
Taylor, the assassin stepped quickly into the house and crouched behind the
|
||
|
|
door, the police believe. From this position he had the drop on the film
|
||
|
|
director when the latter re-entered and closed the door.
|
||
|
|
That he ordered Mr. Taylor to put up his hands is now the belief of the
|
||
|
|
officers. And while the victim was standing in this position he was shot to
|
||
|
|
death, probably after a conversation, if the slaying was done for revenge.
|
||
|
|
Some of the officers believe the shot could have made the same entrance
|
||
|
|
holes in the coat and vest if Mr. Taylor was bending over to seize a chair at
|
||
|
|
his writing desk in order to defend himself against the intruder. To support
|
||
|
|
this belief they point to the overturned chair found in the apartment--the
|
||
|
|
only suspicion that an attempted struggle was staged.
|
||
|
|
To verify the belief the revolver was pressed against the coat when
|
||
|
|
fired, Detective King took some of the clothing and experimented with shots
|
||
|
|
fired from various distances. This confirmed the theory, he said.
|
||
|
|
The piece of lead which penetrated Mr. Taylor's lung and all but went
|
||
|
|
completely through his body was positively identified as having been fired
|
||
|
|
from a .38-caliber, short, soft-nosed cartridge. This type of shell is
|
||
|
|
commonly used, although it will not fit an automatic weapon.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES
|
||
|
|
Missing Link is Welded
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Slain Director Took Dancing Lesson Between
|
||
|
|
Five and Six o'Clock on Fateful Day
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The mystery of the missing hour in the last day of William Desmond
|
||
|
|
Taylor's life, before he was murdered, was accounted for last night, after a
|
||
|
|
diligent search and investigation of all the slain director's movements and
|
||
|
|
activities.
|
||
|
|
Since the discovery of Taylor's body last Thursday morning, Detective
|
||
|
|
Sergeants Herman Cline, Cahill and Cato have been endeavoring to account for
|
||
|
|
every hour of his movements on the day of the murder. From the minute he
|
||
|
|
arose from his bed in the morning to the time of Mabel Normand's departure
|
||
|
|
from his apartment a few minutes before the fatal shot was fired, every hour
|
||
|
|
of his movements during that day had been checked over--but there was one
|
||
|
|
hour enveloped in mystery for which nobody could account, yet uncovered
|
||
|
|
through scores of persons were questioned.
|
||
|
|
That hour was between 5 and 6 p.m., two hours before he was killed.
|
||
|
|
Henry Peavey, the colored valet, stated that Mr. Taylor had left the house at
|
||
|
|
5 p.m., after announcing he was going for a walk. He left instructions with
|
||
|
|
Peavey to inform Miss Normand if she called that he would return at 6 p.m.
|
||
|
|
He returned at that hour.
|
||
|
|
Where had Taylor spent that hour?
|
||
|
|
The Times learned last night where Taylor had spent every minute of the
|
||
|
|
missing hour, and the identity of the young woman with whom he spent it.
|
||
|
|
Taylor, after leaving his apartment at 5 p.m., walked south on Alvarado
|
||
|
|
street, remaining on the east side of the street. He walked two blocks to
|
||
|
|
Orange street, crossed Orange street and turned east. Half a block east of
|
||
|
|
Alvarado street he entered a large building, conversed briefly with a young
|
||
|
|
man seated at a desk, met a young woman who knew him and for the next hour
|
||
|
|
danced with her.
|
||
|
|
He was taking his regular dancing lesson at the Payne Dancing Academy.
|
||
|
|
The young woman was Mrs. Waybright, his dancing instructor.
|
||
|
|
"He was just brushing up on some of the old steps," Mrs. Waybright
|
||
|
|
stated last night. "He had always taken private lessons. His previous
|
||
|
|
lesson was taken on the preceding Monday night. On Wednesday night I noticed
|
||
|
|
nothing unusual about his actions. He was as jolly, though quiet and
|
||
|
|
reticent to talk, as on his preceding visits. He never discussed his
|
||
|
|
personal affairs with me while we danced. We only talked of his progress in
|
||
|
|
dancing. Had there been any worry on his mind on his last visit I would have
|
||
|
|
noticed it.
|
||
|
|
"He had completed one course, and before his departure purchased a new
|
||
|
|
set of tickets. he said he wanted to take up a tango step the following
|
||
|
|
evening, which would have been Thursday. He added that he possibly would be
|
||
|
|
on location Thursday, and that if he did not appear that evening he would
|
||
|
|
surely come back on Friday. He did not come to the academy in his car on
|
||
|
|
Wednesday night."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
||
|
|
In William D. Taylor's effects two love letters, written in a school-
|
||
|
|
girl code, were found. One of them is reproduced above. It is a code
|
||
|
|
familiar to thousands of youngsters. The letter reads as follows.
|
||
|
|
"I love you--oh, I love you so.
|
||
|
|
"I had to come down because mama remarked that I always seemed to feel
|
||
|
|
rather happy after being out with you. So here I am. Camouflage.
|
||
|
|
"Furthermore, I am feeling unusually fine (more camouflage). I will see
|
||
|
|
you later. God love you as I do."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
||
|
|
Mary Minter's Note Tells Love of Taylor
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The story of a wonderful love.
|
||
|
|
A young girls' adoration beating its timorous wings under the shadow of
|
||
|
|
impending calamity.
|
||
|
|
When a carefully treasured letter fluttered from the pages of a book,
|
||
|
|
Thursday, it revealed a love idyll charming in its conception, dramatic in
|
||
|
|
its development, peculiarly sad in its unfullfilment.
|
||
|
|
The love story of Mary Miles Minter and William Desmond Taylor.
|
||
|
|
Out of the cloud of circumstances brought to light by the murder of the
|
||
|
|
famous director shines the clear ray of this remarkable romance between the
|
||
|
|
cultured, dignified man of 50 and the beautiful ingenue of 19.
|
||
|
|
In the search of Mr. Taylor's effects, conducted the morning after he
|
||
|
|
met his mysterious death, chance played a freakish role. The examination
|
||
|
|
virtually had been concluded. One of the investigators, selecting a book
|
||
|
|
from the case at random, idly fluttered the pages.
|
||
|
|
Out dropped a letter.
|
||
|
|
He picked it up and found it to be an ingenuous love letter written on
|
||
|
|
heavily embossed stationery.
|
||
|
|
"Dearest: I love you--I love you--I love you," it read. And below this
|
||
|
|
reiterated sentence appeared a line of crosses followed by a single cross,
|
||
|
|
heroic in size. At the end it said, "Yours always. Mary."
|
||
|
|
And on the wings and body of the butterfly crest appeared the words,
|
||
|
|
"Mary Miles Minter."
|
||
|
|
Miss Minter did not deny the authorship of the letter.
|
||
|
|
"I did love William Taylor," she said. "I loved him deeply and
|
||
|
|
tenderly, with all the admiration and respect a young girl gives to a man
|
||
|
|
with the poise and culture of Mr. Taylor."...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
||
|
|
Detective Sergeants Cato and Cahill last night were questioning one of
|
||
|
|
the most widely known motion picture actresses in the entire profession,
|
||
|
|
expecting to secure vital information upon what several of the investigators
|
||
|
|
believe to be the overshadowing theory in the William D. Taylor case.
|
||
|
|
This theory is that a man who was in love with the actress in question,
|
||
|
|
having the motive of jealousy, may have acted in response to the promptings
|
||
|
|
of a wounded heart.
|
||
|
|
Six headquarters men spent more than two yours late yesterday afternoon
|
||
|
|
receiving the details of a story believed to be of great possible
|
||
|
|
significance from C. M. Meister, a driver for the Yellow Taxicab Company.
|
||
|
|
Meister was brought to police headquarters by S. Cooper, assistant
|
||
|
|
general manager of the company. The narrative was, in substance, as follows:
|
||
|
|
"On last Wednesday night at 10:55 o'clock I picked up four passengers at
|
||
|
|
620 South Broadway--two men and two women.
|
||
|
|
"Upon entering the cab one of the men pulled up the window between
|
||
|
|
themselves and me, apparently, so that I might not overhear their
|
||
|
|
conversation.
|
||
|
|
"I drove them to a number in the Wilshire district. (The Examiner is in
|
||
|
|
possession of this number, but is withholding it for the present at the
|
||
|
|
request of the police.)
|
||
|
|
"One of the men and the two women left the cab and went into the
|
||
|
|
apartment house. I afterwards learned that their apartment was on the second
|
||
|
|
floor.
|
||
|
|
"The other man remained in the cab and asked me to drive him to the
|
||
|
|
Ambassador Hotel. I did so. He was in the hotel about fifteen minutes. He
|
||
|
|
came out, carrying a leather brief case.
|
||
|
|
"Shortly after entering the cab he appeared to show the greatest anxiety
|
||
|
|
concerning this brief case. He handed it to me and said, 'I want you to
|
||
|
|
deliver that. For God's sake, don't lose it.'
|
||
|
|
"His order to me was, 'Drive to 400 Alvarado street. At least, that was
|
||
|
|
the number I caught. There was a 400 in it, but I am not sure whether it was
|
||
|
|
the even number."
|
||
|
|
Taylor, it will be recalled, lived at 404-B South Alvarado.
|
||
|
|
"I said to him," continued Meister, "'Don't you mean 400 ------ street,'
|
||
|
|
naming it.
|
||
|
|
"'Sure,' he said; 'I made a mistake.'
|
||
|
|
"He asked me several times if the brief case was safe. I said it was.
|
||
|
|
But he was very uneasy. 'Give it to me,' he said, and he took it and put it
|
||
|
|
beside him.
|
||
|
|
"When we reached the Santa Monica carline--at Santa Monica boulevard and
|
||
|
|
Western avenue, I think it was, he asked me to stop.
|
||
|
|
"'I'm going to take the car here,' he said. 'You will please deliver
|
||
|
|
this,' and he handed me the brief case.
|
||
|
|
"'There'll be a woman looking out the upstairs window waiting for it,'
|
||
|
|
he told me.
|
||
|
|
"I drove directly to the number on ----- street. Immediately upon my
|
||
|
|
arrival a woman rushed out and asked, 'Have you got it? Did he put it in a
|
||
|
|
box?"
|
||
|
|
"I said, 'I guess this is what you mean,' and I gave her the brief case.
|
||
|
|
"Just then a man came running from the side of the house; he was the man
|
||
|
|
I had let out there with the two women.
|
||
|
|
"He got into the cab. 'Drive me around,' he said--'just keep going
|
||
|
|
around the block!
|
||
|
|
"I drove him around three or four blocks and then returned to the
|
||
|
|
apartment house. There was a car--a roadster in front.
|
||
|
|
"When he saw this he became very much excited. 'Don't let them see me,'
|
||
|
|
he said. 'Drive around again.'
|
||
|
|
"So I drove him around several blocks the second time. The car was
|
||
|
|
still there when we returned, and in even greater excitement he said, 'Don't
|
||
|
|
let them see me. Keep on driving until that car is gone.'
|
||
|
|
"Upon coming back the third time he asked, 'Is the car still there?'
|
||
|
|
"'Yes,' I said, 'but they are turning on the light. I guess they are
|
||
|
|
getting ready to leave.'
|
||
|
|
"Just then a street car passed us. 'Keep behind this car,' he said, 'so
|
||
|
|
they won't see me.'
|
||
|
|
"But the street car went farther on than I had counted on and when we
|
||
|
|
came opposite the roadster, which was then leaving, we were in plain view.
|
||
|
|
"Upon seeing this my passenger gave an exclamation of alarm, fell to the
|
||
|
|
floor and pulled down the curtain on the side towards the roadster.
|
||
|
|
"When we stopped at the apartment house he got out and said, 'I was a
|
||
|
|
----- fool to do this thing'"
|
||
|
|
The police last night were preparing to go to this house and question
|
||
|
|
the occupants.
|
||
|
|
What strikes them with greatest force is that the man who figured in the
|
||
|
|
dramatic attempt at concealment wore a muffler around his neck. It was the
|
||
|
|
man in the muffler whom Mrs. Douglas MacLean saw leaving Taylor's house the
|
||
|
|
night of the murder.
|
||
|
|
If this man had anything to do with the crime, a new theory enters.
|
||
|
|
This is that the murder may have been committed between the time Meister took
|
||
|
|
the four persons to the Wilshire street address and the time the man wearing
|
||
|
|
the muffler rushed out and asked to be driven around the block--in other
|
||
|
|
words while the first man was away on his errand to the Ambassador Hotel.
|
||
|
|
Taylor's house is four blocks west of the home mentioned by the taxi
|
||
|
|
driver. It would be possible to go from Taylor's apartment to this one
|
||
|
|
through alleys, thus eluding detection.
|
||
|
|
If Meister's passenger had anything to do with the crime, then, the
|
||
|
|
police say, he must have called on Taylor soon after Mabel Normand left,
|
||
|
|
probably had a talk with the film director and went away.
|
||
|
|
Then came the episode of the brief case, which is supposed to have
|
||
|
|
contained letters once possessed by Taylor and now missing.
|
||
|
|
There was sufficient time while the first man had gone to the Ambassador
|
||
|
|
for a person to have walked from the Wilshire street address to Taylor's
|
||
|
|
house, committed the crime and returned.
|
||
|
|
The only apparent discrepancy is as to the time the shot was fired.
|
||
|
|
The police yesterday were taking a new view of this subject. Testimony
|
||
|
|
that a shot was heard about 8 o'clock was so uncertain, they said, that no
|
||
|
|
great reliance could be placed in it.
|
||
|
|
On the other hand, a person has been found who heard a shot somewhere
|
||
|
|
near 11 o'clock.
|
||
|
|
The man with the muffler, it was learned yesterday, left for San
|
||
|
|
Francisco the day following the murder.
|
||
|
|
The police were greatly impressed with Meister's story, particularly
|
||
|
|
those parts describing the actors in this mysterious drama as exceedingly
|
||
|
|
nervous.
|
||
|
|
First, the man who went to the hotel was excited and nervous over the
|
||
|
|
brief case.
|
||
|
|
The woman who rushed out to receive it was excited to the point of
|
||
|
|
agitation.
|
||
|
|
The man with the muffler was in a state of frenzy almost about being
|
||
|
|
seen by the person or persons in the roadster.
|
||
|
|
The woman who took the brief case is described as about 30. Meister
|
||
|
|
took her to be a motion picture actress.
|
||
|
|
The man who went to the Ambassador was about 30, of the business man
|
||
|
|
type.
|
||
|
|
The tall man in the muffler was about 35 and Meister supposed he was a
|
||
|
|
motion picture actor.
|
||
|
|
None of the Sheriff's officers seriously entertains the opinion that
|
||
|
|
Edward F. Sands, discharged secretary-valet of Taylor, was the assassin.
|
||
|
|
This is in contradiction to the strongly expressed opinion yesterday of
|
||
|
|
Captain of Detectives David L. Adams.
|
||
|
|
"I am now completely convinced," said Captain Adams, "that Sands is the
|
||
|
|
man we want. I believe it was he who committed the crime.
|
||
|
|
"We have today established important facts which enable us to
|
||
|
|
reconstruct the crime with what we believe is absolute accuracy.
|
||
|
|
"Experiments made by our own and outside gun experts demonstrate beyond
|
||
|
|
question that the shot which killed Taylor was fired from a distance of not
|
||
|
|
more than an inch or two from his body.
|
||
|
|
"We have made many tests with the coat which he wore when the shot
|
||
|
|
struck him down. In the test which produces a hole similar to that already
|
||
|
|
appearing in the coat the muzzle of the revolver was held an inch from the
|
||
|
|
garment.
|
||
|
|
"When Taylor was shot he had his left arm up.
|
||
|
|
"We believe that the murderer ordered 'Hands up!' and shot him when he
|
||
|
|
obeyed that command.
|
||
|
|
"The way I re-frame the picture is this: Sands was lurking around
|
||
|
|
waiting for an opportunity to enter the house, possibly for robbery, and it
|
||
|
|
may have been for some deeper purpose which we have not fathomed.
|
||
|
|
"The known facts concerning the attitude of this man towards Taylor
|
||
|
|
convince me that we do not know the whole story; we are still far from
|
||
|
|
explaining, for instance, why Sands sent Taylor the pawn ticket and the
|
||
|
|
letter signed 'Alias Jimmy V.' We are also in the dark as to why Sands used
|
||
|
|
Taylor's old name, 'Deane-Tanner,' when he pawned the stolen jewelry.
|
||
|
|
"Either when or after Taylor accompanied Miss Normand to her car,
|
||
|
|
leaving the front door open, this man slipped into the house. And when the
|
||
|
|
director entered he was there, covering Taylor with his revolver.
|
||
|
|
"It is possible that Sands went there to secure something--a letter or a
|
||
|
|
document, perhaps--and that he actually did carry away something.
|
||
|
|
"It is urged against the Sands theory that he would have robbed the dead
|
||
|
|
body, would have stripped off the diamond ring, extracted the money from the
|
||
|
|
pockets and taken the platinum watch.
|
||
|
|
"I have no doubt he would have done so under ordinary circumstances, as
|
||
|
|
his whole career proves him to be a thief, but this situation was
|
||
|
|
extraordinary. Without having purposed to do so, it may be, he murdered his
|
||
|
|
former master.
|
||
|
|
"And then, panic-stricken, he hurried from the house, his terror
|
||
|
|
overcoming for the moment his natural instinct to rob."
|
||
|
|
Although Captain Adams urges his theory with great earnestness, a number
|
||
|
|
of the men working under him do not accept his view of the crime.
|
||
|
|
They cannot conceive that Sands, if he were the man, would have passed
|
||
|
|
over jewelry and money worth nearly $2000 and to be had for the stooping down
|
||
|
|
and taking.
|
||
|
|
However, Captain Adams yesterday issued this instruction: "Find Edward
|
||
|
|
F. Sands. Whether he is the murderer or not, he must be eliminated."
|
||
|
|
The identity of the person who extracted the Mabel Normand letters from
|
||
|
|
Taylor's effects remained as much of a mystery yesterday as on the first day
|
||
|
|
of the investigation.
|
||
|
|
It is believed that a man of high position and great influence in the
|
||
|
|
motion picture world found and took these, and others, thinking their
|
||
|
|
discovery would injure the fortunes of actresses in whom he has a business
|
||
|
|
interest.
|
||
|
|
Public Administrator Frank Bryson yesterday admitted that he did not
|
||
|
|
know where they were nor who took them.
|
||
|
|
"When our representative arrived at the Taylor home Thursday morning,"
|
||
|
|
said Mr. Bryson, "the room was filled with detectives, motion picture people
|
||
|
|
and reporters, and the premises were swarming with them.
|
||
|
|
"This office took over all property, effects and documents involved in
|
||
|
|
the estate. Naturally all letters he left belonged to the estate and it was
|
||
|
|
illegal to remove anything. However, I do not understand that anything of
|
||
|
|
money value was taken."
|
||
|
|
Several letters received yesterday by the police department and the
|
||
|
|
Sheriff's office relating to the record of Henry Peavey, Taylor's colored
|
||
|
|
valet, led Captain Adams to question the negro at greater length regarding
|
||
|
|
his possible knowledge.
|
||
|
|
Peavey is the man who found Taylor's body and gave the alarm. According
|
||
|
|
to Captain Adams, Peavey said nothing new of importance.
|
||
|
|
It is the natural assumption of the detectives and Sheriff's officers
|
||
|
|
that Peavey must have known the persons who called on Taylor. He has stated,
|
||
|
|
however, that only four or five persons called during his six month's service
|
||
|
|
with the director. Among these were Mr. and Mrs. Douglas MacLean and Mabel
|
||
|
|
Normand.
|
||
|
|
In trying to learn what persons were entertained, Sheriff's officers
|
||
|
|
have made a widespread investigation. Yesterday, it is reported, they
|
||
|
|
learned from a source what may or not be authentic--that is something being
|
||
|
|
investigated--that a noted film actress who has been mentioned frequently in
|
||
|
|
stories relating to the case, made several calls at Taylor's apartment at
|
||
|
|
night.
|
||
|
|
It is also asserted by this same person that the actress said she was
|
||
|
|
engaged to marry Taylor; that, in fact, they were to be married within a few
|
||
|
|
weeks.
|
||
|
|
But about New Year's Taylor and the woman had a violent quarrel and the
|
||
|
|
director returned home under stress to such great emotion that he broke down
|
||
|
|
and cried.
|
||
|
|
This actress is one of those who wrote many letters to the picture
|
||
|
|
director, and it is her letters particularly about the disappearance of which
|
||
|
|
the police are so curious.
|
||
|
|
Following yesterday's discovery that the bullet was fired at short
|
||
|
|
range, the theory of suicide was advanced. The absence of a weapon would
|
||
|
|
appear to make this entirely untenable. Also, according to the findings of
|
||
|
|
Dr. A. F. Wagner, county autopsy surgeon, it would have been practically
|
||
|
|
impossible for Taylor to have shot himself in the manner employed.
|
||
|
|
It is only by a wild flight of imagination that one could picture him as
|
||
|
|
a suicide, the police say, because there would have to be discovered in this
|
||
|
|
theory some person who entered the apartment after the tragedy and took the
|
||
|
|
revolver away.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
W. W. Kane
|
||
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
||
|
|
Mabel Scouts Jealousy as Crime Motive
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"There can be no girl who was jealous of Mr. Taylor's attentions to me.
|
||
|
|
His attitude toward me was only that of a friend who fostered my interest in
|
||
|
|
the better things of life--music, painting and books.
|
||
|
|
"We never spoke of love, neither of us was interested in the other in
|
||
|
|
that way. If there was a girl with whom he was infatuated it surely was
|
||
|
|
someone else, not I."
|
||
|
|
Mabel Normand, famous motion picture star, ill from the persistent
|
||
|
|
questioning by those who are seeking to find some one who might have taken
|
||
|
|
the life of William D. Taylor in a spirit of frenzied jealousy, vehemently
|
||
|
|
denied yesterday any love element that existed between her and the slain
|
||
|
|
director.
|
||
|
|
"Shortly after the inquest Saturday detectives investigating the case
|
||
|
|
came to me and thanked me for my cooperation in aiding in the solving of this
|
||
|
|
terrible tragedy," she said. "They told me they are thoroughly convinced it
|
||
|
|
was an unfortunate coincidence that I was seen with him a short time before
|
||
|
|
his murder.
|
||
|
|
"Everything that I know that might lead to detection of the murderer I
|
||
|
|
have told them. And no one would welcome the apprehension of the culprit
|
||
|
|
that committed that foul deed more than I.
|
||
|
|
"There have been insinuations made that I went to Mr. Taylor's house
|
||
|
|
after the inquest Saturday to seek some of my letters to him. That is
|
||
|
|
grossly erroneous. I went to the bungalow at the request of the detectives
|
||
|
|
and in their company and solely for the purpose of showing to them the exact
|
||
|
|
location of the furniture as it was placed in the room before I left. It was
|
||
|
|
to show how disordered the place had become after the intrusion of the
|
||
|
|
murderer.
|
||
|
|
"If Peavey, his colored servant, says that I had asked him about any
|
||
|
|
girls that Mr. Taylor had ever been interested in, it is a venomous
|
||
|
|
fabrication. Never in my life have I spoken to this man directly, and never
|
||
|
|
have I talked to him in any way except in the presence of others, including
|
||
|
|
Mr. Taylor. And as for the subject of girls--the question never entered my
|
||
|
|
mind."
|
||
|
|
Miss Normand, heavy-lidded from lack of sleep, and worn from the
|
||
|
|
grueling inquisitions to which she has been subjected since the murder,
|
||
|
|
reiterated that no one welcomed the apprehension of the culprit more than
|
||
|
|
she.
|
||
|
|
As for the insinuations that Mr. Taylor had been an attendant at so-
|
||
|
|
called "dope" parties, she added another vehement denial.
|
||
|
|
"He loved clean, simple pleasures, not this sordid type," she said. He
|
||
|
|
was one of the most temperate men in his habits I have ever known.
|
||
|
|
"He sent me flowers, occasionally, yes. But it was only because he knew
|
||
|
|
I loved them and like to have them about my house. But there never was an
|
||
|
|
expression of love sent with them. He knew our friendship didn't extend to
|
||
|
|
that--it was purely platonic, and like that of an older man interested in a
|
||
|
|
girl who sought mental improvement, and the things that better one in the
|
||
|
|
cultural world."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
NEW YORK TELEGRAPH
|
||
|
|
Pink Silk "Nightie" From Taylor Home Traced To Actress
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 6--A pale pink nightgown of filmy silk, trimmed with
|
||
|
|
lace, positively identified as the property of a certain famous motion
|
||
|
|
picture star--whose name has already been mentioned in connection with the
|
||
|
|
murder at his home here last Wednesday night of William Desmond Taylor, photo-
|
||
|
|
play director--is now in the possession of the police and may play a dominant
|
||
|
|
part in a solution of the mystery of Taylor's death.
|
||
|
|
Other developments of the day were an assertion by Taylor's valet that
|
||
|
|
Mabel Normand had told him she was going to marry the picture director, and
|
||
|
|
renewed search for a young New York man now supposed to be at the Mexican
|
||
|
|
border.
|
||
|
|
The nightgown, previously described to the police by servants of the
|
||
|
|
slain director, disappeared from Taylor's apartment on the day after the
|
||
|
|
murder, but was found today after a diligent search by the authorities
|
||
|
|
investigating the tragedy...
|
||
|
|
In this case, it is said, the star to whom the nightgown is believed to
|
||
|
|
belong is not a comedienne. The police do say the article has been
|
||
|
|
identified positively as the property of a "celebrated motion picture star,"
|
||
|
|
however.
|
||
|
|
A laundry mark of three letters gave police their clues to the ownership
|
||
|
|
of the dainty garment.
|
||
|
|
It had been kept in a box in a drawer of Taylor's dresser, Henry Peavey,
|
||
|
|
negro valet of the murdered director, admitted. Peavey told the police,
|
||
|
|
under pressure, that the gown had mysteriously disappeared the day after the
|
||
|
|
murder. It was not until late today that it turned up, in the hands of a
|
||
|
|
police detective who had been working independently on the case.
|
||
|
|
This detective obtained what he declared to be positive identification
|
||
|
|
of the nightgown.
|
||
|
|
The injection of the woman film star into the mystery gives rise to more
|
||
|
|
speculation about the identity of the assassin, as it enlarges the field of
|
||
|
|
suspects to include all of the many men admirers of the girl, for at the
|
||
|
|
present time the police view every intimate friend of the women who were
|
||
|
|
known to be close associates of Taylor as a potential enemy and possible
|
||
|
|
murderer through the jealousy which Taylor's attachment may have aroused...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
NEW YORK TRIBUNE
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 6--...Miss Normand was wrapped in one of those vampish
|
||
|
|
kimonos that was seen in a recent film production this afternoon when The
|
||
|
|
Tribune correspondent attempted to obtain from her some inkling of the
|
||
|
|
contents of her letters. Her eyes, minus the magic of the make-up box,
|
||
|
|
showed signs of worry, and her hair had not benefited by the treatment of the
|
||
|
|
experts who beautify film stars before they make their appearance before the
|
||
|
|
camera.
|
||
|
|
"Positively Mr. Taylor and I were not engaged to be married, and neither
|
||
|
|
of us thought of such a thing," she said in a voice that carried conviction.
|
||
|
|
"But, in the event that others might have mistaken your intimate
|
||
|
|
friendship for Mr. Taylor for something more serious, do you know who might
|
||
|
|
have been expected to be jealous?" was asked.
|
||
|
|
"No, on my honor, I know of no woman who might have been jealous of our
|
||
|
|
friendship," said Miss Normand. "Neither is there any man who would have had
|
||
|
|
the slightest reason for resenting our friendship.
|
||
|
|
"Right here I want to add that I did not return to Mr. Taylor's house to
|
||
|
|
find these letters and telegrams. They were of too innocent a nature to
|
||
|
|
warrant such action. I am mighty sorry they are lost, however, as they would
|
||
|
|
have proved everything I have said concerning them.
|
||
|
|
"I had known Mr. Taylor for a long time. We were interested in the same
|
||
|
|
things, went to dinners together and made many mutual friends. But that does
|
||
|
|
not necessarily mean anything, even among the much discussed picture people
|
||
|
|
about whom one hears so much these days."
|
||
|
|
"But Henry Peavey (Taylor's valet) says that you"--
|
||
|
|
"Well, Peavey may have said that I talked of marrying Mr. Taylor, or
|
||
|
|
not, but it positively isn't true. I said nothing of the sort. We were just
|
||
|
|
friends, that is all."
|
||
|
|
"Would you care to explain why friends would make use of the terms of
|
||
|
|
endearment that are declared to have had their place in your letters and
|
||
|
|
telegrams?"
|
||
|
|
"Such terms--if you care to call them endearing ones--were used in their
|
||
|
|
lighter sense only," she said. "They did not apply to either of us. You can
|
||
|
|
readily understand that nobody would seriously call a big, strong man like
|
||
|
|
Taylor, a soldier and man of the world, baby, except in jest, and"--this with
|
||
|
|
a demure shrug of her shoulder--"you wouldn't think he would seriously call
|
||
|
|
me 'Blessed Baby,' would you?"...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 6--...Mabel Normand, cinema star, talked freely with a
|
||
|
|
representative of Universal Service late today in her luxurious apartments in
|
||
|
|
a fashionable Los Angeles neighborhood.
|
||
|
|
Miss Normand was one of the last persons to see Taylor alive. She said:
|
||
|
|
"Mr. Taylor never attended a 'dope' party in his life. And I feel sure
|
||
|
|
from my knowledge of the man that he certainly would never have tolerated the
|
||
|
|
use of narcotics at a party in his home.
|
||
|
|
"As for the mysterious pink nightie which the valet says was found in
|
||
|
|
his house, I have not the slightest idea to whom it could have belonged.
|
||
|
|
"While Mr. Taylor and I were pals and while I was a dear friend of his,
|
||
|
|
I believe it really is a little unfair to me that my name should be so
|
||
|
|
prominently connected with his. Mr. Taylor had many women friends besides
|
||
|
|
myself.
|
||
|
|
"I can say with perfect candor that I know of no woman who could
|
||
|
|
possibly have been jealous of my friendship with Mr. Taylor, no do I know of
|
||
|
|
any man who could have been jealous of me.
|
||
|
|
"Please tell your millions of readers that I did not return to Mr.
|
||
|
|
Taylor's home after the tragedy to get back my letters. I returned there
|
||
|
|
with three detectives, at their request, to describe the appearance of the
|
||
|
|
room when I left there early in the evening prior to Mr. Taylor's murder.
|
||
|
|
"There is nothing of any interest in the letters. I only wish that they
|
||
|
|
could be found and published, too, so that people could see how uninteresting
|
||
|
|
they were.
|
||
|
|
"As for Mr. Taylor having a violent temper, which might have won him
|
||
|
|
enemies--well, that is absurd to anyone who knew him. Mr. Taylor was the
|
||
|
|
most tactful and diplomatic man in the world.
|
||
|
|
"And I am sure that he was never afraid of anyone.
|
||
|
|
"Mr. Taylor's home for some time had been a center for the motion
|
||
|
|
picture people.
|
||
|
|
"They used to step in and see him at all hours. We went with the same
|
||
|
|
people and were excellent friends. But we never discussed getting married.
|
||
|
|
"In fact, I was rarely alone with Mr. Taylor. We were usually together
|
||
|
|
in a crowd.
|
||
|
|
"It is certainly most unfortunate that I should have stopped by his home
|
||
|
|
for a book the night he was murdered, but there is no more reason for trying
|
||
|
|
to connect my name with Mr. Taylor's than there would be with any number of
|
||
|
|
other picture stars.
|
||
|
|
"Mr. Taylor used to send me flowers three times a week and when I was
|
||
|
|
back in New York he used to frequently send me telegrams. But that was all
|
||
|
|
there was to it--just a lovely friendship.
|
||
|
|
"As for the valet saying that I inquired if Mr. Taylor took other girls,
|
||
|
|
that is too ridiculous to require a reply.
|
||
|
|
"I was fond of Mr. Taylor because he was so sympathetic and when I was
|
||
|
|
hard at work on a picture he understood how it was and never insisted that I
|
||
|
|
go out to dinners and theatres and neglect my work.
|
||
|
|
"I only wish that I did know something that would help the police to
|
||
|
|
find his murderer. I am eager to help."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
|
||
|
|
Pretty Actress Sought in Case
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
New York, Feb. 6--Lila Wylie, the beautiful actress who entered the
|
||
|
|
limelight in New York last spring in connection with the "international
|
||
|
|
blackmail ring" expose following the shooting of John Reid, wealthy
|
||
|
|
manufacturer, is sought for questioning in the Taylor murder case in Los
|
||
|
|
Angeles, it was learned today.
|
||
|
|
Miss Wylie's possible connection with the mystery is said to be linked
|
||
|
|
with that of "Dapper Don" Collins, also sought by the Los Angeles police.
|
||
|
|
The authorities expect her to shed considerable light on her own activities
|
||
|
|
as they concerned William Desmond Taylor during the weeks just preceding the
|
||
|
|
murder.
|
||
|
|
Miss Wylie disappeared from Los Angeles on the day the Taylor murder was
|
||
|
|
discovered. She is not suspected of the crime, but the police expect her
|
||
|
|
knowledge of Taylor to aid them. The police say they have traced her
|
||
|
|
movements to Miami, Fla., where she is supposed to be registered at a
|
||
|
|
fashionable resort hotel...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
ST. LOUIS GLOBE DEMOCRAT
|
||
|
|
Actress Given Third Degree After Silk Nightdress is Found
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 6--A motion picture actress was subjected to what the
|
||
|
|
police termed a "long and grueling" questioning at her home here tonight, in
|
||
|
|
an attempt to obtain a clew to the murder of William Desmond Taylor,
|
||
|
|
director.
|
||
|
|
The actress was said to be widely known, but her name was withheld by
|
||
|
|
the police. Two detective sergeants questioned her.
|
||
|
|
What they learned, they kept to themselves, but they admitted they were
|
||
|
|
seeking to develop the previously advanced theory that Taylor had been slain
|
||
|
|
by a jealous rival for the affections of the actress.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
SHEREVEPORT TIMES
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 6--...A remarkable feature of Mrs. MacLean's statement
|
||
|
|
is her uncertainty as to whether the murderer, assuming she saw the man who
|
||
|
|
committed the crime, was a man or a woman. She admitted that the one she saw
|
||
|
|
might have been a tall woman.
|
||
|
|
Now it is a known fact that Taylor himself was not addicted to any drug,
|
||
|
|
but is reported that he attended two or three "hop" parties in order to get
|
||
|
|
"atmosphere" and local color for pictures.
|
||
|
|
A number of Taylor's close friends, however, and these numbered several
|
||
|
|
women, were addicts.
|
||
|
|
"We are going to dig deep in this phase," said one of the detectives,
|
||
|
|
"because the whole scene of the crime may be laid in a setting in which the
|
||
|
|
sale of drugs was the main spring."
|
||
|
|
Henry Peavey, the film director's valet, said, however, that he had
|
||
|
|
never seen any form of narcotics in the Taylor home...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
DES MOINES REGISTER
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 6--A dainty pink silk nightgown, bearing three
|
||
|
|
initials of a motion picture star of the first magnitude, is held at police
|
||
|
|
headquarters tonight as the latest clew in the William Desmond Taylor murder
|
||
|
|
case.
|
||
|
|
The delicate garment disappeared from its customary receptacle, a locked
|
||
|
|
box in a bureau drawer at Taylor's home, on the night of the tragedy, his
|
||
|
|
valet, Henry Peavey, admitted to police.
|
||
|
|
"I didn't know where it was," Henry explained, "so I didn't say anything
|
||
|
|
about it."
|
||
|
|
Tonight it transpired that the gown had been in possession of a police
|
||
|
|
detective who has been quietly working lines of his own. The detective
|
||
|
|
informed his superior, Capt. David Adams, that he had verified the ownership
|
||
|
|
as indicated by the initials. A small laundry mark also checked, he said.
|
||
|
|
The little star to whom the garment is said to belong is not a
|
||
|
|
comedienne who has been mentioned prominently in connection with the Taylor
|
||
|
|
murder. She has gained much publicity during the last year because of
|
||
|
|
numerous wealthy and prominent young men who have been seen in her company
|
||
|
|
and to whom she was variously reported as engaged.
|
||
|
|
Finding the nightgown in Taylor's possession, according to the police,
|
||
|
|
widens the scope of possible suspects in the murder case to take in the wide
|
||
|
|
circle of admirers of its owner--who is known to the police.
|
||
|
|
The names of young men of national prominence and great wealth are on
|
||
|
|
the list. Some are now in Los Angeles and others in New York.
|
||
|
|
Hollywood was shocked by the disclosure. The name of the star involved
|
||
|
|
was on every tongue. Taylor's closest friends professed amazement. They
|
||
|
|
were utterly confused, they said, by the discovery and by the facts now
|
||
|
|
coming to light which indicate the complexity of the dead man's past.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
Edward Doherty
|
||
|
|
NEW YORK NEWS
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 6--Those letters written by Miss Mabel Normand to
|
||
|
|
William Desmond Taylor, murdered movie director, letters signed "Your Baby"
|
||
|
|
and "Blessed Baby," letters which disappeared after the slaying, have
|
||
|
|
cluttered up the investigation of the crime and given the police another
|
||
|
|
puzzle.
|
||
|
|
One contingent of the detectives working on the mystery questioned a big
|
||
|
|
director today in his studio.
|
||
|
|
They had learned, they say, that two weeks ago this man endeavored to
|
||
|
|
make Taylor give him the letters that are missing. They questioned this
|
||
|
|
director for a long time. He denied that he knew anything about the letters.
|
||
|
|
He denied that he had ever asked Taylor for them. He said he had no
|
||
|
|
reason for wishing to recover them, and would not have asked for them even if
|
||
|
|
he knew they were in existence...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
CHICAGO HERALD-EXAMINER
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 6--The investigation into the murder of William
|
||
|
|
Desmond Taylor switched this afternoon to another prominent movie director.
|
||
|
|
Detectives were hurried to a Hollywood motion picture studio to question
|
||
|
|
him.
|
||
|
|
It was said that two weeks ago he endeavored to obtain from Mr. Taylor
|
||
|
|
letters and telegrams written to him by Mabel Normand.
|
||
|
|
The director was reported to have visited the Taylor home within an hour
|
||
|
|
after the body of the slain director was found...
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
||
|
|
Edward Doherty
|
||
|
|
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
|
||
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 6--...Capt. Adams' conference in his office late today
|
||
|
|
with Charles Eyton, referred to the scenes at the bungalow. And eventually
|
||
|
|
they got back to Mabel's letters.
|
||
|
|
"I had heard about those letters," the captain said. "I looked for them
|
||
|
|
when I went to the house Thursday noon, some time after Taylor's body had
|
||
|
|
been found. They were gone."
|
||
|
|
"It is possible some of Taylor's friends who got there first took the
|
||
|
|
letters," Eyton said. "I would have taken them if I had been there in time."
|
||
|
|
There were perhaps a dozen film stars at the house before the police
|
||
|
|
arrived. One of the first to get there was Arthur Hoyt, a friend of long
|
||
|
|
standing.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
||
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Hollywood Studio Production During the Week of Taylor's Murder
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The following studio activity in Southern California was taking place
|
||
|
|
during the week that Taylor was murdered in 1922, according to the trade
|
||
|
|
publication CAMERA!. The working title of a film was sometimes changed prior
|
||
|
|
to the film's release. Of course "all-star" usually means "no star." Some
|
||
|
|
of the films were "cutting" (in the editing room), which would mean that the
|
||
|
|
actual filming had been completed.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
DIRECTOR STAR TYPE OR TITLE
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
APOLLO PRODUCTIONS, Astra Studio
|
||
|
|
Arthur Delmar Jack Pollo "The Live Man"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
BELASCO STUDIOS
|
||
|
|
F. H. MacQuarrie All-Star Dramatic Feature
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
BLANCHARD FILM CO., Cosmoart Studios
|
||
|
|
J. E. Bowen Non-Star Educational
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
CAMPBELL COMEDIES, Fine Arts Studio
|
||
|
|
W. S. Campbell All-Star Educational Comedies
|
||
|
|
Jas Clemens All-Star Educational Comedies
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
CENTURY FILM CORP., 6100 Sunset Blvd.
|
||
|
|
Alf Goulding Lee Moran Comedy
|
||
|
|
Fred Fishback Brownie Comedy
|
||
|
|
A. Gilstrom Baby Peggy Comedy
|
||
|
|
Tom Buckingham Harry Sweet Comedy
|
||
|
|
Jesse Robbins Trained Horse Comedy
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
CHARLIE CHAPLIN STUDIO., 1416 La Brea Ave.
|
||
|
|
Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin 3-reel Comedy
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
CHRISTIE COMEDIES, 6101 Sunset Blvd.
|
||
|
|
H. Beaudine B. Vernon 2-reel Comedy
|
||
|
|
Scott Sidney Neal Burns 2-reel Comedy
|
||
|
|
Al Christie Viorel Daniel 2-reel Comedy
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
CINAL FILMS, Cosmoart Studios
|
||
|
|
J. E. Bowew J. G. Payton Science of Jiu-Jitsu
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
COMMONWEALTH MOTION PICTURE PRODUCERS, 829 E. Windsor Rd., Glendale
|
||
|
|
F. Caldwell All-Star Western Drama
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
CUMMINGS, IRVING, PRODUCTION COMPANY, Universal Studios
|
||
|
|
Irving Cummings Irving Cummings "The Man From Hell's River"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
THE CRUELLYWED COMEDIES
|
||
|
|
Herzig Paul Weigel & Lila Leslie 2-Reel Comedies
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
FAIRBANKS, CHESTER, PRODUCTIONS, Fine Arts Studio
|
||
|
|
Chester Fairbanks Chester Fairbanks & June Dawn 1-Reel Comedy
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
FINE ARTS STUDIO, 4500 Sunset Blvd.
|
||
|
|
Edwin Carewe All-Star Northwest
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
FOX STUDIO, N. Western Ave.
|
||
|
|
Reeves Eason Buck Jones "Heart of the Range"
|
||
|
|
Rosson Tom Mix "Free Range Lanning"
|
||
|
|
Durning Dustin Farnum "When Iron Turns to Gold"
|
||
|
|
Edgar Lewis William Farnum Western Drama
|
||
|
|
Harry Beaumont Shirley Mason "Up the Back Stairs"
|
||
|
|
Jerome Storm John Gilbert "In the Land of Beginning Again"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
GARSON STUDIO
|
||
|
|
Harry Garson C. K. Young "The Modern Madonna"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
GOLDWYN STUDIO
|
||
|
|
E. M. Hopper All-Star "Brothers Under the Skin"
|
||
|
|
Rowland Lee All-Star "The Dust Flower"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
HAMILTON-WHITE COMEDIES, United Studios
|
||
|
|
Bob Kerr Lloyd Hamilton 2-Reel Comedies
|
||
|
|
Jack White Conley & Bowes 2-Reel Comedies
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
HARTER-WALL PRODUCTIONS, Bakersfield
|
||
|
|
L. E. Wall Vera Glynn 2-Reel Comedies
|
||
|
|
L. H. Daves Cartoon Comedies
|
||
|
|
E. Le Veque Jim Baker Educational & Novelties
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
INCE, THOMAS H., Culver City
|
||
|
|
Horne MacLean Farce Comedy
|
||
|
|
L. Hillyer All-Star "The Brotherhood of Hate"
|
||
|
|
Maurice Tourneur All-Star "Lorna Doone"
|
||
|
|
Scardon Leah Baird "When the Devil Drives"
|
||
|
|
John Griffith Wray All-Star "Finding Home"
|
||
|
|
Irvin Willatt All-Star "The Indian Drum"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
HAMPTON, BENJAMIN B., PRODUCTIONS, United Studios
|
||
|
|
Hersholt-Peterson All-Star "Golden Dreams"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
KLUMB, ROY H., PRODUCTIONS, 5107 Hollywood Blvd.
|
||
|
|
Klumb-Thompson All-Star Drama
|
||
|
|
Klumb- All-Star Western Drama
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
KING VIDOR, 7200 Santa Monica Blvd.
|
||
|
|
King Vidor Florence Vidor "The Real Adventure"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
LASKY STUDIOS, 1520 Vine Street
|
||
|
|
Sam Wood Gloria Swanson "Beyond the Rocks"
|
||
|
|
Al Green Tom Meighan "The Proxy Daddy"
|
||
|
|
Joseph Henaberry Jack Holt "While Satan Sleeps"
|
||
|
|
Philip Rosen Wallace Reid "Across the Continent"
|
||
|
|
Paul Powell Dorothy Dalton Drama
|
||
|
|
William de Mille All-Star "Bought and Paid For"
|
||
|
|
Penrhyn Stanlaws Betty Compson "Over the Border"
|
||
|
|
George Melford All-Star "The Cat That Walked Alone"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
LUDDY, EDWARD I., PRODUCTIONS, 2435 Wilshire Blvd.
|
||
|
|
I. E. Luddy All-Star 5-Reel Westerns
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
LYONS, EDDIE, PRODUCTIONS, Berwilla Studios
|
||
|
|
Eddie Lyons Eddie Lyons Comedies
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
MAYER, LOUIS B. STUDIOS, 3800 Mission Blvd.
|
||
|
|
John Stahl All-Star "One Clear Call"
|
||
|
|
Fred Niblo Anita Stewart "Rose O' the Sea"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
METRO STUDIO, Romaine and Cahuenga Ave.
|
||
|
|
Rex Ingram All-Star "Prisoner of Zenda"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
McFADDEN IVOR PRODUCTIONS, Francis Ford Studio
|
||
|
|
Norbert Myles Robert Gordon "Small Town"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
MISSION FILM CORPORATION, Jesse D. Hampyon Studio
|
||
|
|
Clarence Geldert All-Star "Carry on the Race"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
MORANTE PRODUCING COMPANY, Balboa Studio, Long Beach
|
||
|
|
Morante George Chesebro "N. W. Mounted"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
MORRIS, REGGIE, PRDOCUTIONS, Jesse D. Hampton Studio
|
||
|
|
Reggie Morris All-Star 2-Reel Comedy
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
NEILAN, MARSHALL, PRODUCTIONS
|
||
|
|
Marshall Neilan All-Star "Fools First"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
O'CONNOR PRODUCTIONS
|
||
|
|
Thomas La Rose O'Connor Franey 2-Reel Comedies
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
ORNDORFF, JESSE W., PRODUCTIONS, Mayer Studio
|
||
|
|
Delmar Whitson George Foley "Scoring One on Newton"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
PARAGON PRODUCTIONS, Universal Studios
|
||
|
|
Bruce Mitchell Jack Richardson Feature Comedy
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
PREFERRED PICTURES CORP.
|
||
|
|
Chet Withey Katherine MacDonald Untitled Comedy Drama
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
PROTEAN ARTS, Fine Arts Studio
|
||
|
|
Raymond Cannon Cecil Holland Novelties
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
RAY, CHARLES, PRODUCTIONS, Charles Ray Studios
|
||
|
|
Charles Ray Charles Ray Comedy Drama
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
ROBERTSON-COLE STUDIO, Melrose and Gower
|
||
|
|
W. A. Seiter Doris May "Gay and Devilish"
|
||
|
|
Norman Dawn Hayakawa "The Vermillion Pencil"
|
||
|
|
Colin Campbell Pauline Frederick "Two Kinds of Women"
|
||
|
|
Louis Gasnier All-Star "The Call of Home"
|
||
|
|
Emile Chautard Pauline Frederick "The Glory of Clementina"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
ROGELL-HALPERIN PRODUCTIONS, 4530 Hollywood Blvd.
|
||
|
|
Albert Rogell Reeves-Aye "Phantom of the Hills"
|
||
|
|
"When West Meets East"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
ROACH, HAL E., STUDIO, Culver City
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F. Newmeyer Harold Lloyd 2-Reel Comedy
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Charles Parrott Snub Pollard Comedies
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"Paul" Parrott Comedies
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F. W. Jackman Ruth Roland Serial
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SCHLANK STUDIO, 6050 Sunset Blvd.
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Harry Burns Animal Comedies
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SELIG-RORK, 3800 Mission Road
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James Conway Field-Van Dyke "The Jungle Goddess"
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SUNSHINE COMEDIES, Fox Studios
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Al St. John Al St. John "Hold Your Hat"
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Summerville Clyde Cook "The Explorer"
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Marshall Harry Depp
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E. Kenton Chester Conklin "The Gas Tank"
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Del Lord Morton "The Barnstormers
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SEELING PRODUCTIONS
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Seeling All-Star 5-Reel Drama
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UNITED STUDIOS, 5341 Melrose
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Chester Bennett Jane Novak Untitled
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Al Austin Jackie Coogan "Lost and Found"
|
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|
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Charles Bryant Nazimova "Salome"
|
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Emory Johnson All-Star "The Midnight Call"
|
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Sidney Franklin Constance Talmadge "The Divorcee"
|
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|
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James Young Guy Bates Post Drama
|
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|
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Allan Holubar Dorothy Phillips Drama
|
||
|
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Frank Lloyd Norma Talmadge "The Duchess de Langeais"
|
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|
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UNIVERSAL STUDIO, Universal City
|
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|
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Edward Laemmle Art Acord "Buffalo Bill"
|
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|
|
Albert Russell Western
|
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|
|
Tod Browning Herbert Rawlinson "Peter Man"
|
||
|
|
Scardon Miss Dupont "Thy Servant's Wife"
|
||
|
|
Jack Conway Harry Carey "The Land of the Lost"
|
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|
|
W. Crafft Hoot Gibson
|
||
|
|
Hobart Henley Priscilla Dean "The Lass O' Lowrie"
|
||
|
|
King Baggot Prevost "Kissed"
|
||
|
|
King Baggot All-Star "Human Hearts"
|
||
|
|
Ed Kull Lorraine-Walsh "With Stanley in Africa"
|
||
|
|
Reginald Barker All-Star "The Storm"
|
||
|
|
Stuart Payton Frank Mayo "The Way Back"
|
||
|
|
Lloyd Ingram Gladys Walton "Second-Hand Rose"
|
||
|
|
Joseph Sedgwick "The Singin' Kid"
|
||
|
|
Craig Hutchinson All-Star Comedies
|
||
|
|
Bob Hill "Adventures of Robinson Crusoe"
|
||
|
|
Gil Pratt Neely Edwards "His Inheritance"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
VITAGRAPH STUDIOS, 1708 Talmadge
|
||
|
|
David Smith All-Star "The Shanghraun"
|
||
|
|
William Duncan William Duncan "Man Hunters"
|
||
|
|
Semon-Taurog Larry Semon Special Comedy
|
||
|
|
B. Ensminger Earle Williams "Parkinton's Widow"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
WARNER BROS. STUDIO, Sunset and Bronson
|
||
|
|
Jack Warner Monte Banks 2-Reel Comedies
|
||
|
|
Louis W. Chandet All-Star Serial
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
WESTERN CLASSIC FILM CO., 1339 Gordon St.
|
||
|
|
Bob Horner Monty Montague "Neath Western Skies"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
WILSHIRE STUDIO, 201 N. Occidental
|
||
|
|
Thomas Heffron Wanda Hawley Untitled
|
||
|
|
Maurice Campbell May McAvoy Untitled
|
||
|
|
Edward Le Saint Constance Binney Untitled
|
||
|
|
Frank Urson Mary Miles Minter Untitled Comedy Drama
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
WILLIAMS, CYRUS J., CO., 4811 Fountain Ave.
|
||
|
|
Robert Bradbury "Bill and Bob" Educational
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
WINTHER-REYNOLDS PROD., Meyer Studio
|
||
|
|
J. P. Winther J. B. Warner Drama
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
||
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Photoplay Editions of Taylor's Films
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
During the silent film era, hundreds of books were published as "photoplay
|
||
|
|
editions"--novels with a few pictures from the film inside. Either the film
|
||
|
|
was an adaptation of the novel, in which case the book was a special movie
|
||
|
|
edition of the novel, or else the book was a novelized adaptation of the film
|
||
|
|
story. Four films directed by William Desmond Taylor became photoplay
|
||
|
|
editions. Unfortunately, there were evidently no photoplay editions of his
|
||
|
|
most literary film adaptations--neither "Tom Sawyer," "Huckleberry Finn," nor
|
||
|
|
"Anne of Green Gables" were published as photoplay editions of Taylor's
|
||
|
|
films, although there were later photoplay editions of remakes during the
|
||
|
|
sound era. The four photoplay editions of films directed by William Desmond
|
||
|
|
Taylor are:
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"The High Hand" by Jacques Futrelle (Grosset and Dunlap), with eight pictures
|
||
|
|
from the 1915 film featuring Carlyle Blackwell and Neva Gerber. If you are
|
||
|
|
seeking this book, be sure to obtain the movie edition, as the original 1911
|
||
|
|
edition without film stills is far more common.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"The Diamond From the Sky" by Roy McCardell (Dillingham), with 16 pictures
|
||
|
|
from the 1915 serial featuring Irving Cummings, William Russell, and Lottie
|
||
|
|
Pickford. The first 1/3 of the serial was directed by Jacques Jaccard; the
|
||
|
|
final 2/3 was directed by William Desmond Taylor.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"How Could You, Jean?" by Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd (Grosset and Dunlap). With
|
||
|
|
eight pictures from the 1918 film featuring Mary Pickford.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"Jenny Be Good" by Wilbur Finley Fauley (Grosset and Dunlap). With four
|
||
|
|
pictures from the 1920 film featuring Mary Miles Minter.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
||
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
||
|
|
Back issues of Taylorology are available on the Web at any of the following:
|
||
|
|
http://www.angelfire.com/az/Taylorology/
|
||
|
|
http://www.etext.org/Zines/ASCII/Taylorology/
|
||
|
|
http://www.uno.edu/~drcom/Taylorology
|
||
|
|
Full text searches of back issues can be done at http://www.etext.org/Zines/
|
||
|
|
For more information about Taylor, see
|
||
|
|
WILLIAM DESMOND TAYLOR: A DOSSIER (Scarecrow Press, 1991)
|
||
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|