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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 22 -- October 1994 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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The 1937 Grand Jury Investigation
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Statements by Carl Stockdale
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Where was Adolph Zukor on February 2, 1922?
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Interviews with Julia Crawford Ivers
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Who was the Drug-Addicted Scenario Writer?
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What was the Real Name of Mary Miles Minter?
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The Path of the Fatal Bullet
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Wallace Smith: February 20, 1922
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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. Primary emphasis will be given toward
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reprinting, referencing and analyzing source material, and sifting it for
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accuracy.
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The 1937 Grand Jury Investigation
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In May 1937, the Los Angeles County Grand Jury investigated the Taylor
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murder. No indictments were handed down, and all testimony was eventually
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destroyed. (There is nothing conspiratorial here; it is standard procedure to
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destroy all grand jury testimony if no indictments are handed down.) Despite
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the fact that the official records are not extant, it is possible to
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reconstruct some of the proceedings, based on newspaper reports, the Sanderson
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letter, and public testimony presented elsewhere.
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The spark that triggered the investigation was the April 3, 1937
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testimony of Margaret Shelby Fillmore, given at a deposition for a civil
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lawsuit she had filed against her mother, Charlotte Shelby. Margaret
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testified that "I protected her [Charlotte] against the Taylor murder
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case." [1] She also testified that Mary Miles Minter had "two diaries that
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were so diabolical and so pathetic that they made Mary Astor's diaries look
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like a postscript." (There had recently been a lot of publicity about actress
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Mary Astor's diaries.)
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Shortly after that testimony was given, the following letter was sent
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from Charlotte Shelby's Attorney, Clyde Murphy, to Los Angeles County District
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Attorney Buron Fitts:
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"I am attorney of record for the defendant, Mrs. Charlotte Shelby, in a
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certain civil action entitled 'Margaret Fillmore, also known as Alma M.
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Fillmore, plaintiff vs. Pearl Miles Reilly, also known as Charlotte Shelby,
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defendant' in the Superior Court.
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"On Saturday, April 3, 1937, I took a deposition (which has not yet been
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transcribed, corrected and signed) of Margaret Fillmore under the provisions
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of Sections 2021 and 2055 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Mrs. Fillmore,
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during the course of the deposition, testified in effect that her mother, in
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the year 1923, agreed to give her all the proceeds of the sale of a certain
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piece of real estate in Laughlin Park over and above the amount paid by Mrs.
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Shelby for the property when she (Mrs. Shelby) purchased it. I asked Mrs.
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Fillmore what she had given to her mother in return for this agreement on her
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mother's part, and she testified as follows:
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" 'I protected her against the Taylor murder case.'
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"Further efforts on my part to get an explanation of this testimony were
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met by objections from her attorney, Mr. Richard Cantillon, to whom,
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I believe, the testimony was as surprising as it was to me. This testimony in
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my judgment is unusual enough to warrant an investigation on your part.
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"My client, Mrs. Charlotte Shelby, was not present when the deposition
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was taken. When I advised her of the testimony given by her daughter, she
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instructed me instantly to lay the matter before you and request an immediate
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investigation if you deem an investigation advisable. This request I most
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respectfully make of you.
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"If there is any assistance which either Mrs. Shelby or I may render your
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office, please feel perfectly free in requesting it of us.
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"Yours very truly,
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"Clyde F. Murphy"
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"I have requested my attorney, Clyde F. Murphy, to write the foregoing
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letter, and I join most heartily in the request made by him.
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"Charlotte Shelby" [2]
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On May 6, 1937, District Attorney Buron Fitts made the following
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statement:
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"I have ordered Mrs. Shelby and her two daughters, Miss Minter and
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Mrs. Fillmore, to be before the grand jury today. Subpenas were served on them
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last night. Two diaries, believed at first to contain highly important facts
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and so-called 'clues' in respect to the Taylor murder, were seized by my
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officers and have been examined.
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"It had been previously reported to my office that these diaries held
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the secret of the Taylor killing. On perusal, we find them to be of utterly
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no value in this case. They contain no information of any sort that would aid
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the officers in this inquiry. Both diaries were filled with routine, intimate
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details of a day-to-day life, and I do not feel free to allow their contents
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to be made public at this time. However, I feel it is my duty to present such
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information to the grand jury, and therefore I am doing so." [3]
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MARGARET SHELBY FILLMORE
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The first witness to testify before the grand jury was Margaret
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Fillmore. She made no statements to reporters concerning the specific details
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of her testimony. However, on May 5 she made a statement to the official
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investigators in the district attorney's office, and that statement was
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summarized in Sanderson's 1941 letter. [4] It is reasonable to assume that
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Margaret's grand jury testimony was essentially similar to her statement made
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on the previous day. Margaret stated:
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1. On the night of the murder Charlotte Shelby was not at home and she
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feared that Mary was going to run away with Taylor.
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2. On the day of the murder Mary Miles Minter left early in the evening
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and return later in tears.
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3. Mary stated to her that she thought her mother killed Taylor or was
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present when he was killed.
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4. During August 1922, Julia Miles (Charlotte Shelby's mother) took
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Shelby's gun to Louisiana and disposed of it.
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5. For many years after the murder, Charlotte Shelby was afraid that Mary
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would implicate her in the Taylor murder.
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6. In 1916, Mary's director, James Kirkwood, took Mary into the woods and
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performed a "mock marriage ceremony", declaring that they were married in the
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eyes of God. Sexual relations followed, Mary became pregnant, and Charlotte
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Shelby arranged for an abortion.
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7. Letters written from Kirkwood to Mary were intercepted by Charlotte
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Shelby and held for many years.
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MARY MILES MINTER
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The second witness to testify before the grand jury was Mary Miles
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Minter. It was reported:
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"In her appearance before the grand jury Thursday Miss Minter read into
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the record a letter written by her attorney, Eugene Marcus, and sent to
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Fitts, declaring she considered the diaries seized from 'her own personal
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property.' She warned the District Attorney that any use of them for
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'purposes other than that of a legitimate investigation' would be considered
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by her an invasion of her personal rights." [5]
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Mary talked a great deal with reporters before entering the grand jury
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room, but not afterwards. She was undoubtedly asked details of her romance
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with Kirkwood and the abortion. "When Miss Minter left the grand jury room
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she was asked by reporters if she told the jurors about the romance with
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Kirkwood. Her reply, also dramatic, was: 'Wouldn't you like to know.' " [6]
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(In the newspaper reports of the time, there was no mention whatsoever of the
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abortion.)
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"Concerning this romance, Attorney Eugene Marcus, representing
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Miss Minter, said: 'It is true that there was an unfortunate affair with
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Mr. Kirkwood when Mary Minter was only 14 or 15 years old. There was a motor
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trip to Santa Barbara and a sort of marriage ceremony while she stood on a
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rock in a field of wild flowers and he knelt at her feet." [7]
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Minter was undoubtedly asked whether she thought her mother killed
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Taylor, and she undoubtedly replied that in her opinion, Charlotte Shelby
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was completely innocent of Taylor's murder and had nothing whatsoever to do
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with it. (That is what she said to reporters at the time and later.)
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CHARLOTTE SHELBY
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Charlotte Shelby was the final witness called before the grand jury. Prior
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to entering the grand jury room, she spoke with reporters and gave a prepared
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statement:
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"I am delighted that Mr. Fitts responded so quickly to my request to
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reopen the investigation of the Taylor murder case. For the past fifteen years
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there have been many rumors circulated, innumerable threats used against me
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and now practically a formal charge by my own daughter, Mrs. Margaret Shelby
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Fillmore, to the effect that I withheld important facts and she assisted me in
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withholding them from the authorities.
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"If she or any other person has any facts concerning the murder of
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William Desmond Taylor I demand that they be disclosed immediately.
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"Unfortunately, my daughter, Mrs. Fillmore, is very bitter toward me
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because circumstances last summer forced me to take rather drastic steps for
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my daughter's own good." [8] (A reference to Margaret's commitment to a
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sanitarium for alcoholism.)
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After her appearance before the grand jury, Charlotte Shelby spoke with
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reporters, who wrote: "in answer to questions whether she had been asked if
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she killed Taylor or knew who did: 'I said "No," to both questions. They
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didn't even question me about what Margaret told them, whatever that was.' "
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[9]
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" 'They asked me if I had a gun in 1920 or thereabouts and I testified
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that about that time Harry Eaves, a Santa Barbara jeweler, from whom I had
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purchased many expensive gifts for Mary and others, gave me a pearl-handled
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gun. I did not know whether it was an automatic or a revolver. I fired this
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gun once out in the woods and do not know what became of it." [10]
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"She said she had the gun when Taylor was slain and also said she once
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had gone to his home in search of Miss Minter, whose return home from a film
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studio was overdue." [11]
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WRAP-UP
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After the three women testified, grand jury foreman John Bauer made the
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following statement: "The jury was satisfied with the demeanor of the
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witnesses, all of whom appeared cooperative. The grand jury has no knowledge
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of anyone to call for more data at this time. However, the investigation is
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pending." [12] No further action was taken by the grand jury.
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Several days later, Charlotte Shelby made public the following written
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statement:
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"For more than ten years malicious innuendoes and rumors against me have
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been circulated in the William Desmond Taylor murder case.
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"Even in the grand jury hearing last week, I was asked whether I knew
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that these statements that I had killed William Desmond Taylor were being
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made.
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"Recently, my daughter, Margaret Shelby Fillmore, in a civil suit, which
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she has filed against me, made a statement in a deposition to the effect that
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she had 'protected' me in the Taylor murder case. When my attorney, Clyde F.
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Murphy, advised me of this statement by my daughter, I notified District
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Attorney Buron Fitts immediately and requested the investigation which is now
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in progress.
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"I have been questioned about my ownership of a gun. The person who gave
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me the gun has been questioned. There is a story that I hired Sands,
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Mr. Taylor's butler, to kill him. Another story is that I procured his murder
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by hiring some professional murderer to do the job.
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"I demand a complete exoneration in this case or an indictment for the
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murder of William Desmond Taylor, which I will regard as an opportunity to
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exonerate myself in the public mind.
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"I did not kill William Desmond Taylor. I do not know the person who did
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kill him. I do not know any person who would have the slightest reason or
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motive to kill him. I know that no member of my family or anyone in close
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relationship to me killed him or had a reason or motive to kill him.
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"I have my own life to live. One of the worst tortures for any person,
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particularly to a woman, to endure is, to go through life with a cloud of
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malicious innuendo constantly hovering over her like a spectre.
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"Why must William Desmond Taylor's murder follow me through the years?
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I want to live the rest of my life in happiness and peace, if I may be
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permitted to do so.
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"Charlotte Shelby" [13]
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Statements by Carl Stockdale
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June 10, 1937
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LOS ANGELES NEWS
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It was divulged that Carl Stockdale, veteran character actor and close
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friend of Mrs. Charlotte Shelby, mother of Mary Miles Minter, screen star who
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collapsed at news of Taylor's death, had admitted that he was in the company
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of Mrs. Shelby at the time Taylor is believed to have been murdered.
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Stockdale, interviewed at his home, 6325 Fountain Avenue, chuckled when
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asked for his own conclusions on the long unsolved murder.
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"So Fitts thinks I killed William Desmond Taylor," he remarked. "I'll
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tell you this, I was never in Bill Taylor's home. I met him at a big party
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thrown by Mrs. Shelby."
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Pressed for his own suspicions of the killer's identity, Stockdale
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promptly answered, "Sands." He referred to Taylor's one-time chauffeur [sic],
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Edward Sands, whose mysterious disappearance immediately after the murder and
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before authorities could question him, has caused his name to be listed among
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those "wanted for questioning" by police.
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The veteran actor, now 63, declared he was with Mrs. Charlotte Shelby at
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her home the night Taylor was murdered February 1, 1922. He fixed the time of
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his visit from 7 to 9 p.m. Police have set the hour of the shooting at
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7:45 p.m.
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"I told my brother, Frank," Stockdale said, "that I was droppin' in on
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Mrs. Shelby that night."
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Stockdale said he first met Mrs. Shelby in Santa Barbara at the time
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when her daughter, Mary Miles Minter was working for the old American Film
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Company.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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June 10, 1937
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LOS ANGELES TIMES
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While authorities deferred definite action yesterday in the
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investigation into the fifteen-year-old murder of William Desmond Taylor, a
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63-year-old film character actor stepped forward to make the most important
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statement to be added recently to the mazes of California's most famous
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murder mystery.
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The new figure in the case is Carl Stockdale, for years well known as an
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actor in Hollywood and who now lives at 6325 Fountain Avenue.
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Disclosing that he had been a close friend of Mrs. Charlotte Shelby,
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mother of Mary Miles Minter, the latter, who admitted she was in love with
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Taylor at the time of his slaying, Stockdale had this to say yesterday:
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"I have expected the authorities to question me for some time and have
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made no effort to evade such interrogation despite the fact that no one
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welcomes publicity of the sort.
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"I was with Mrs. Shelby on the night that Taylor was murdered at about
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the time fixed by the authorities that the fatal bullet was fired. That may
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be considered of importance to the authorities and is information I am quite
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willing to give."
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Stockdale indicated that he is in complete sympathy with a statement
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recently issued by Mrs. Shelby in which she declared that, sick of the
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innuendoes which have followed in the wake of the Taylor murder, she wanted
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action to clear up the case once and for all.
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Although apparently unwilling to move at once, the District Attorney's
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office yesterday stated that Stockdale is scheduled to be questioned before
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the present investigation is concluded.
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"I am willing to tell all I know to the District Attorney or anyone
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else," commented the actor. "I have known Mrs. Shelby and her family for
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approximately twenty years. I was living on Winona Boulevard with my brother
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Frank, and my mother and father on the day of the shooting of Taylor.
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"In the evening I left my home and went to pay a visit to Mrs. Shelby in
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the new house she had purchased at Seventh street and New Hampshire avenue.
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I arrived shortly before 7 o'clock in the evening and left about 9 o'clock."
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Taylor, as near as authorities could fix the time, was shot about
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7:45 p.m. on February 1, 1922. Several persons in the neighborhood of his
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bungalow at 404-B South Alvarado street reported hearing a shot at that time.
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"I was the first person," went on Stockdale, "to inform Mrs. Shelby that
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Taylor had been killed. That was about 9 o'clock the next morning. I had gone
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to the studio where I was working on a picture with Mabel Normand and some
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one told me that Taylor had been found dead. I telephoned Mrs. Shelby at once
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because I knew that he had been Mary's director and that the whole family
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knew him well."
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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August 26, 1937
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LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
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When a bullet snuffed out the life of William Desmond Taylor, noted
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picture director, in 1922, Mrs. Charlotte Shelby was at home.
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Carl Stockdale, veteran actor and friend of Mrs. Shelby, so testified in
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Superior Judge Parker Wood's court yesterday.
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He appeared as a defense witness in trial of the civil suit by which
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Margaret Shelby Fillmore, Mrs. Shelby's daughter, is seeking to regain
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$48,750 in bonds, which she contends her mother removed from a joint safety
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deposit box.
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"I was with Mrs. Shelby from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in her apartment at
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Seventh street and New Hampshire avenue the night of the murder," Stockdale
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stated.
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"I did not know of the tragedy until the following morning when I
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arrived for work at the Mack Sennett Studios.
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"I immediately called Mrs. Shelby and told her to prepare herself for a
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shock. Then I told her Mr. Taylor had been slain.
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"She screamed: 'Impossible!' "
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The actor's testimony, while perhaps not strictly pertinent to the
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present suit, was introduced to answer certain pointed intimations made
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during its trial, attorneys explained.
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Mary Miles Minter and the late Mabel Normand frequently were mentioned
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in gossip concerning the Taylor mystery, Stockdale said. But at no time had
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he heard rumors that Mrs. Shelby might be involved as a suspect, he added.
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The actor also testified that he had seen Mrs. Fillmore under the
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influence of liquor four times between 1925 and 1931.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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August 26, 1937
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LOS ANGELES NEWS
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...Stockdale's testimony was in the nature of a reply to that of Mrs.
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Fillmore two days ago when she said she did not know her mother's whereabouts
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at the hour of the murder.
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Cross-examined as to whether he had ever heard that Mrs. Shelby was a
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suspect in the murder, the veteran actor replied, "I did not hear any such
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rumors, but I did hear rumors that Mary (Miss Minter) and Mabel Normand were
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suspected of the murder."
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Where was Adolph Zukor on February 2, 1922?
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Adolph Zukor was the head of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
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(Paramount Pictures). Some later recaps of the Taylor case stated that on
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February 2, 1922, soon after Taylor's body was found, Adolph Zukor was at
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Taylor's bungalow, destroying evidence and burning compromising papers in
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Taylor's fireplace. In truth, Taylor's home had no fireplace.
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But was Zukor even there that morning? There are no contemporary press
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reports or official records which indicated his presence at the scene. Still,
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could he possibly have been there?
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No, it was not possible.
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The executive headquarters of Famous Players-Lasky was in New York City;
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that was where Zukor's office was located. Zukor was interviewed in New York
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by Louella Parsons on February 1, 1922. [14] Two days later, on February 3,
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Cecil B. DeMille returned from Europe and press reports indicated that he was
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met at the New York pier by Adolph Zukor. [15]
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So at the time of the Taylor murder, and on the morning the body was
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discovered, Zukor was in New York. He was nowhere near the Los Angeles murder
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scene.
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The scandal caused by the Taylor murder did indeed bring Zukor to Los
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Angeles, but he did not arrive until 11 days after the murder, as reported in
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the LOS ANGELES EXAMINER on February 13, 1922:
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"Adolph Zukor, president of Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, by whom
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Taylor was employed, arrived in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon [February 12,
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1922]. Zukor immediately went into seclusion and refused to be interviewed on
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any subject yesterday."
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Zukor was en route back to New York on February 24. [16]
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*****************************************************************************
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*****************************************************************************
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Interviews with Julia Crawford Ivers
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Julia Crawford Ivers was closely associated with Taylor for over six years
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and wrote the scenarios for most of his Paramount films. After Taylor's
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murder, her career soon faded.
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When Mary Miles Minter was interrogated by Deputy District Attorney
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William Doran, on February 7, 1922, Minter recalled a conversation with
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Marshall Neilan in which Minter stated that the only person she could think
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of who might have killed Taylor was Julia Crawford Ivers. But Ivers was never
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seriously considered a suspect.
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Reticent and shy of personal publicity, she gave very few interviews
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throughout her career. [17] The following are some isolated exceptions:
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October 16, 1920
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Giebler
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MOVING PICTURE WORLD
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I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Julia Crawford Ivers, of
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the scenario department, a lady who occupies a large and closely written page
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|
in the "Who's Who and Why, and What and When, and Where, and How Come" of
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Filmland.
|
|
Miss Ivers says she has done almost everything around a studio but sweep
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the floor. She was six years at the Morosco studio before coming to the Lasky
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plant, where she held every position from film cutter and editor to
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superintendent of the plant. [Ivers also directed several films.]
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Miss Ivers has a large number of original stories and adaptations to her
|
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credit, including Tom Sawyer, Huck and Tom, The Furnace, The Soul of Youth,
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two stories as yet unnamed to be produced by Mary Miles Minter, and The
|
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Witching Hour, now being made by William D. Taylor; and in addition to this,
|
|
she has published stories and articles in many of the leading magazines.
|
|
She is a person of decided opinions as to the writer and his relation to
|
|
the finished film.
|
|
"The writer is only a helper," she says, "and sometimes very poor help.
|
|
More stories have been spoiled than made by writers who tried to put them in
|
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picture form, and if many of the writers who are yelping for credit on the
|
|
screen should be debited with the lack of imagination and lack of vision they
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display, they would have no more to say."
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 7, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
|
Julia Crawford Ivers, scenarist for the late William D. Taylor, yesterday
|
|
gave out the following statement:
|
|
"Today the friends of William D. Taylor, and they are legion, will gather
|
|
to pay the last tribute to the man they love, to one who as man, director and
|
|
friend measured 100 per cent.
|
|
"I have worked side by side with this man for seven years. We have solved
|
|
many difficult problems together, sometimes pleasant, sometimes unpleasant:
|
|
always hard, trying nerve-wracking. And during all these years of close
|
|
association I have never known him to do one unkind, one ungenerous act, but I
|
|
have known hundreds of instances of open-handed generosity and in most cases
|
|
the beneficiary never knew whom to thank.
|
|
"This man whose loyalty and honor were without question, who takes with
|
|
him the undying gratitude of the thousands to whom he has lent a helping
|
|
hand--this man who stood for everything that was fine and clean in pictures,
|
|
who is known to have declared that if it were necessary to his success to
|
|
produce unclean pictures he would go back to the white, clean snows of Alaska
|
|
and dig his living out of the ground--this man was shot in the back by a
|
|
cowardly assassin. He was given no opportunity to defend himself and William
|
|
D. Taylor would have defended himself, for he did not know the meaning of the
|
|
word fear. And more cowardly than the assassin's bullet, lodged in the heart
|
|
of this dear man, is the tongue of scandal, which safely sheltered behind his
|
|
dead body, is striking at his reputation--more cowardly for he is powerless to
|
|
defend himself.
|
|
"His friends know that when it is all over the character of Mr. Taylor
|
|
will stand, as it always has stood, for everything that is fine and worth
|
|
while.
|
|
"The good book says, 'Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.'
|
|
And it is recorded that no stones were cast."
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
April 29, 1922
|
|
HONOLULU ADVERTISER
|
|
Scenario Writer is Seeking Material from Old Hawaiian Legends
|
|
Hawaii may really find favor in the big motion picture studios and its
|
|
wealth of legendary lore form the subject of a play or two to be presented to
|
|
millions of movie fans under the name of Jesse Lasky, providing Miss Julia
|
|
Crawford Ivers, his foremost scenario writer, find the legends and myths
|
|
appropriate for filming.
|
|
Miss Ivers arrived on the Matsonia from Los Angeles, accompanied by her
|
|
secretary, Miss Aldrich, and although here but three days, she is already
|
|
delving deep into legends and also the history of Hawaii, particularly that
|
|
relating to old feudal Hawaii.
|
|
Whether her readings, her conversations with Island folk acquainted with
|
|
legends, and her observations, will lead her into the path that will
|
|
eventually open out into the appropriate theme, she does not know, but she has
|
|
hopes.
|
|
To further acquaint herself with the Islands and to absorb the atmosphere
|
|
of old and new Hawaii, she will visit Kauai next week, leaving here Monday or
|
|
Tuesday night and remaining a few days on the Garden Island.
|
|
The following week she will go to Hilo, taking her car, and will motor
|
|
over to Kalapana, all through Puna, thence to the Volcano, and then around to
|
|
Kona, where she will learn all she can of Kealakekua Bay, the scene of Captain
|
|
Cook's discovery and tragedy; the city of refuge at Honaunau and may possibly
|
|
go into Kohala, which abounds in historic wealth.
|
|
Miss Ivers says she has been a scenario writer with the Lasky interest
|
|
for about eight years and during seven years of that time was closely
|
|
associated in motion picture production with William D. Taylor, whose tragic
|
|
death caused a temporary suspension of much work planned.
|
|
"Mr. Taylor was a splendid picture director," said Miss Ivers. "He was a
|
|
man of fine attainments. He was sympathetic and those who worked with and
|
|
under his direction regarded him as one with whom it was a pleasure to be
|
|
associated.
|
|
"My own work as a scenario writer was pleasurable from the fact that
|
|
there was co-operation. He wanted the best and we desired to give him only the
|
|
best. He was a credit to the motion picture service and will be a loss to it,
|
|
for he was of a constructive type, doing the best with the highest class of
|
|
material."
|
|
It was partly because of his death that Miss Ivers dropped her own
|
|
activities for a time, superinduced by a cold, resulting in the end in a
|
|
determination to visit Hawaii, with Mr. Lasky's injunction that she delve into
|
|
Hawaiian legends and find whether any of them can be filmed.
|
|
Miss Ivers is at the Seaside hotel. She makes no promises, but is reading
|
|
much about Hawaii. She is dictating morning and afternoon. She is going here
|
|
and there where details of Hawaiian life may be learned.
|
|
If such a motion picture play is to be written it may not deal entirely
|
|
with legends, but legends may be woven into a modern type of play.
|
|
The story of the Goddess Pele, who dwells in Kilauea volcano, has
|
|
attracted much of her attention and her own visit to the volcano in a week or
|
|
so will have that much more interest for her. There is a dramatic, tragic,
|
|
firey element in Pele which may be converted to the screen, in her opinion.
|
|
Much of Miss Ivers' work at the studio in Los Angeles is associated
|
|
directly with literary folk, writers of books whose names are known throughout
|
|
the reading world--Sir Gilbert Parker, Sydney [sic] Maugham, Elinor Glyn and
|
|
many others. It is Miss Ivers who takes their books and prepares or directs
|
|
the preparation of scenarios for the director.
|
|
It is this contact between the scenario writer and the authors that
|
|
counts for success or failure in the motion picture product. If the scenario
|
|
writer is sympathetic and endeavors to get the soul of the author's intent,
|
|
there are exceptional possibilities. If not, there is more likely to be a
|
|
failure in the interpretation.
|
|
Many books to be screened must be ripped to pieces. As the story is
|
|
written it can seldom be filmed. The change is the task of the scenario
|
|
writer.
|
|
Life must have been lived by scenario writers to really interpret a story
|
|
for the screen for the eyes of the millions of theater patrons. Phases of life
|
|
that are near the raw edge of actuality and realism may not be interpreted by
|
|
the old maid who has not seen life and whose first impulse, and probably her
|
|
last, is to eliminate that particular phase. A man of sensual thought may
|
|
regard that particular phase as one to work into a maudlin interpretation
|
|
which would be offensive.
|
|
Between these two extremes there is the middle course and that path must
|
|
be taken by the writer who understands life and understands the multiplicity
|
|
of types and characters that patronize the theaters.
|
|
Miss Ivers is a hard worker. She maintains high ideals as to picture
|
|
production. Hers is a constant study of human nature. Philosophy and
|
|
psychology are tangible factors with her, for both play important parts in
|
|
decisions as to the worth of stories and the filmed product.
|
|
"I must necessarily write in dashes where authors employ sentences and
|
|
paragraphs," said Miss Ivers discussing her method of writing. "I cull and
|
|
cut, where book writers must enlarge and pad."
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
October 3, 1922
|
|
HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN
|
|
A dramatic love story with all the gripping beauty of the Hawaiian
|
|
islands as a background is what Mrs. Julia Crawford Ivers, scenario writer and
|
|
director for the Lasky corporation, has come to Honolulu to film.
|
|
The beaches, mountains, gardens and palm trees of Oahu and Hawaii are to
|
|
provide the setting for the story, which Mrs. Ivers says could be produced
|
|
nowhere else in the world. "I wrote the scenario here," she told a
|
|
representative of the Star-Bulletin at the Moana today, "and this is the only
|
|
spot in the universe where it can be filmed as it should be. It is imbued with
|
|
the breath of the islands. When I returned to Los Angeles after my visit here
|
|
last spring, at which time I gathered material for the scenario, Mr. Lasky
|
|
asked me if the picture could not be produced on the mainland. 'I'll read you
|
|
the story,' I replied, and I did. He had nothing more to say, and here we are
|
|
ready to work.
|
|
While the picture was not planned with the specific idea of giving
|
|
publicity to the islands, it still will be of tremendous benefit in portraying
|
|
to mainland people the marvels of this section of the globe. It will be a true
|
|
mirror in which those of the outer world may see life as it is lived in the
|
|
Paradise of the Pacific.
|
|
"I wrote the story," Mrs. Ivers said, "with a genuine love and affection
|
|
for the islands, and I will produce it in the same way. No 'roughneck' of a
|
|
director will have a chance to squeeze the fragrance out of the plot, for I am
|
|
going to direct the action myself. It is some time since I did that sort of
|
|
work, but I have chosen my cast and staff myself. I know something of the
|
|
atmosphere of Hawaii and I wrote the story myself. I am just sure that if we
|
|
can get things into film as we see them here the island will owe us a very
|
|
great deal of gratitude.
|
|
"One scene will be taken showing the departure of a steamer and including
|
|
that lovable custom of giving leis, which is to me most touching. When I left
|
|
Honolulu last spring returning to Los Angeles I cried as the boat pulled away
|
|
from the dock. I was not leaving a host of friends either, but there is
|
|
something about the strains of 'Aloha Oe' which brings the moisture to the
|
|
eyes and a catch to the throat. This atmosphere is what we hope to catch in
|
|
our picture, and we hope that when it comes back to Honolulu as a finished
|
|
product the people will think that we have done full justice to our theme."
|
|
Mrs. Ivers is a pioneer in the moving picture profession, having been
|
|
identified with it in every sort of a capacity for the last nine years. She
|
|
knows the game from A to Z. "I will have no one to blame if I fail to get a
|
|
good picture," she says. "Mr. Lasky permitted me to select my own cast and to
|
|
choose my technical force, camera man, art director and all. I am in full
|
|
charge and I have every confidence in my company. There is not a person in it
|
|
who will not go the limit to do as he or she is told. I know they will all
|
|
give their very best to make the picture a success."
|
|
Mrs. Ivers believes she is especially fortunate in her choice of her art
|
|
director, George Hopkins. "He is really very superior," she said, "and has
|
|
done some wonderful work on interiors. He has a weird touch which makes his
|
|
work stand out."
|
|
While a number of locations have been chosen, Mrs. Ivers said that they
|
|
may not be used. "You see," she said, "the art director, the camera man, and
|
|
electrician always inspect a location before we begin to 'shoot.' If any one
|
|
of them has a fault to find I simply give up the location and seek something
|
|
else that will be suitable. The art director and the camera man have to
|
|
produce the artistic part of the film. I have my company in the center of the
|
|
location and I am often called upon to move the actors to one side or another
|
|
in order that the camera may register striking features that may be at one
|
|
side or the other of those of the cast. It would never do to have the film
|
|
unbalanced."
|
|
The very newest in motion picture cameras will be used by the company
|
|
here. The "Mitchell," a machine which combines all of the good points of all
|
|
other cameras with none of their bad points, is included in the equipment
|
|
brought from the mainland. There also are two other older style cameras to be
|
|
used.
|
|
It is possible that work of filming may start before Friday, Mrs. Ivers
|
|
said.
|
|
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
Who was the Drug-Addicted Scenario Writer?
|
|
|
|
In the aftermath of the Taylor murder, there were several press reports
|
|
concerning an unnamed "drug-addicted scenario writer" who was wanted for
|
|
questioning in connection with the Taylor murder. Who was this individual?
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 13, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES RECORD
|
|
...Unavailing search was made Monday for a scenario writer and his wife,
|
|
wanted in connection with the Taylor murder...
|
|
Search of the studios failed to reveal the whereabouts of a scenarist, a
|
|
writer of "gags" for movie comedies.
|
|
This man, formerly a well-known song writer, is sought, together with
|
|
his wife, because they are believed to know the whereabouts of a certain dope
|
|
peddler who may be able to explain the slaying...
|
|
The husband and wife, who are both scenario writers, are known to most
|
|
of the prominent figures in the Los Angeles movie colony. Nobody, however,
|
|
was able to tell where they now live.
|
|
At the house where the couple was formerly made their home it was said
|
|
their present address was unknown.
|
|
The husband is a writer of "gags," as the funny situations in slapstick
|
|
comedies are called. He has worked for nearly all of the leading film
|
|
comedians, including Charlie Chaplin and "Fatty" Arbuckle.
|
|
Deputy Sheriff Frank Dewar, who dug up the clue involving the dope ring,
|
|
was systematically combing the studios Monday in search of someone who might
|
|
tell him where the scenarists might be found.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 13, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXPRESS
|
|
The angle on which Deputy Sheriff Dewar is working is considered one of
|
|
the most important since the probe was opened. The former song writer and
|
|
scenarist, whose name is known to the Express, but is withheld at the request
|
|
of the sheriff's office, is alleged to have been active in the operations of
|
|
the narcotic ring in question, and is asserted to have certain knowledge in
|
|
his possession which would prove of material value to the investigation.
|
|
This man is known to have been extremely friendly with a well known
|
|
actress whose name has already been mentioned in connection with the case.
|
|
Dewar expected today to interview the song writer, if his alleged hiding
|
|
place was located. An arrest may follow, it is said.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 13, 1922
|
|
SEATTLE-UNION RECORD
|
|
(Los Angeles)...The search for the couple was actuated by a belief that
|
|
they could give information concerning a gang of "dope" peddlers who, it was
|
|
suspected, may have plotted against the murdered director...
|
|
"The scenarist whom we have been watching was formerly a song writer in
|
|
New York," Deputy Sheriff Dewar said further. "Some time ago he went to
|
|
Hollywood where he obtained work as a writer of humorous movie sketches. We
|
|
believe he knows more about the sale of 'dope' to narcotic fiends than
|
|
possibly anyone outside of the peddlers themselves."
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 14, 1922
|
|
SHREVEPORT TIMES
|
|
(Los Angeles)--...Deputy Sheriff Dewar is working on the drug ring
|
|
angle. He has positive information, he says, that the man he is seeking was
|
|
intimate with members of the film colony, and has acted as agent for the
|
|
narcotic ring. One person to whom he is alleged to have delivered a quantity
|
|
of a certain drug is said to be a star. Both the man and his wife are alleged
|
|
addicts to narcotics.
|
|
...The fact that Captain Adams reiterated his statement that an arrest
|
|
was imminent led to the belief that this man was the missing link in the
|
|
chain which will bind beyond doubt evidence warranting the arrest.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 14, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES RECORD
|
|
The scene of one phase of importance shifted to Santa Barbara today. The
|
|
prominent scenario writer and his wife, wanted because they are believed to
|
|
have known the identity of a missing dope peddler who may have slain Taylor,
|
|
are sought in the seaside city.
|
|
They are reported to have gone to Santa Barbara, where the husband
|
|
expected to work at some of the new studios opening there.
|
|
Tuesday's developments in the still unsolved murder drew a well-known
|
|
movie actress closer into the net being spread by county detectives.
|
|
"She is not telling all she knows about the murder," was the statement
|
|
of one deputy sheriff who has been active on this angle of the investigation.
|
|
"This actress is known to have been an intimate of the scenario writer
|
|
and his wife. The three would take long trips together."
|
|
Since the desired information is not forthcoming from the movie actress,
|
|
the sheriff's office hopes to get it if the scenarist and his wife can be
|
|
found.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 14, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXPRESS
|
|
Search for a missing former song writer well known in moving picture
|
|
circles extended north of Los Angeles today on a "tip" that the man wanted
|
|
for what he may known of the Taylor murder mystery has been seen passing
|
|
through Santa Barbara.
|
|
The sudden disappearance of the man has redoubled the interest of the
|
|
police in his story, and steps have been taken to have him picked up at the
|
|
earliest moment. The man's description and characteristics are such,
|
|
according to the police, that it will be impossible for him to conceal
|
|
himself for any length of time.
|
|
Strengthening the suspicion that the man has information vital to the
|
|
solution of the murder mystery, it was learned today that the man suddenly
|
|
dropped from sight, leaving no trace of his whereabouts.
|
|
Undersheriff Eugene Biscailuz and Deputy Sheriff Frank Dewar, working
|
|
under the personal direction of Sheriff William I. Traeger, have been buy for
|
|
several days attempting to trace this man. According to their report he has
|
|
changed his address several times during the past few months and it has been
|
|
impossible to locate him.
|
|
The last effort to find him was made by Biscailuz and Dewar on a secret
|
|
tip giving them a Hollywood address. On their arrival it was found that he
|
|
had disappeared some days previous.
|
|
As a result a widespread search was instituted by the sheriff's office
|
|
today. It is alleged that if the man is found the activities of a large
|
|
narcotic ring, alleged to have plotted Taylor's death, will come to light and
|
|
that eventually still another man suspected of the crime will be apprehended.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 15, 1922
|
|
NEW YORK JOURNAL
|
|
(Los Angeles) ...Search was continued today for the scenarist and his
|
|
wife, reported to be connected with a drug ring, who disappeared several days
|
|
ago. The man was in Los Angeles for two or three days following the murder,
|
|
and then left town. He has been traced to Santa Barbara. He was questioned
|
|
briefly before his departure, and it was assumed knew nothing about the case.
|
|
But a more recent inquiry into his life and habits has revealed that he
|
|
is a drug addict, and the suspicion is strong that he has connections with
|
|
dope peddlers. Although Taylor was not an addict, it was known that a number
|
|
of his close friends, including two or three very well known women, were
|
|
patrons of dope peddlers.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 24, 1922
|
|
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION
|
|
(Los Angeles) ...One of the most tangible proofs of the connection of
|
|
the drug peddlers with the crime is their almost complete desertion of Los
|
|
Angeles. Characters known to the police as dope peddling suspects, have
|
|
dropped out of sight, from the cheap "alley" peddlers to the pair, one an
|
|
actress formerly employed by the Lasky corporation and the other a song
|
|
writer, who are alleged to have made a small fortune from their opium den and
|
|
"snow" traffic.
|
|
They have fled this city like rats from a sinking ship. All of them
|
|
could not have been involved in the murder, the police know, but they all
|
|
knew of the crime and their disappearance is regarded as significant.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
April 1922
|
|
THE SINS OF HOLLYWOOD
|
|
A once noted song writer, now a movie scribbler, spends the greater part
|
|
of his income for drugs.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
So who was this individual? It is reasonable to conclude that he was Harry
|
|
Williams, who died just a few months after the murder.
|
|
|
|
May 17, 1922
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
|
|
Telegrams of condolence from artists, actors and musicians in all parts
|
|
of the country poured in yesterday when funeral services were held at Oakland
|
|
for Harry H. Williams, perhaps America's best known writer of popular songs,
|
|
composer of "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree," "I'm Afraid to Go Home in
|
|
the Dark, " "Mickey" and other numbers.
|
|
Williams died at Merritt hospital, Oakland, Monday, at the age of 46,
|
|
and was buried yesterday afternoon at a quiet ceremony attended by relatives
|
|
and the few friends he knew in this part of the state. He was taken ill with
|
|
influenza in New York, but appeared convalescent. On the way to the coast he
|
|
suffered a relapse and upon arrival in Oakland developed pneumonia, which
|
|
caused his death. [The obituary in the NEW YORK CLIPPER (May 24, 1922) stated
|
|
that Williams had been in ill health and suffering from tuberculosis for some
|
|
time.]
|
|
...Williams wrote 600 songs, in addition to many light operas and plays
|
|
which were highly successful. "The Broken Idol" ran six months in New York
|
|
and "The Belle of Avenue A" was a great musical comedy success.
|
|
Several years ago he moved to Los Angeles, where the motion pictures
|
|
engaged much of his attention. He directed comedies for Mack Sennett,
|
|
handling such stars as Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle, Mack Swain and others.
|
|
However, he never abandoned the writing of songs.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
The following were some of the statements reportedly describing the "drug-
|
|
addicted scenario writer," followed by the applicability to Harry Williams:
|
|
|
|
* He was a noted song writer.
|
|
Williams wrote "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree", "Mickey" and
|
|
several other popular songs.
|
|
|
|
* He was formerly from New York.
|
|
Williams was formerly from New York and was a member of the Lambs Club.
|
|
|
|
* He was a "gag" writer for movie comedies.
|
|
Williams was usually described as a comedy director. However he was
|
|
initially hired by Keystone as a "gag" writer and an item published in the
|
|
LOS ANGELES HERALD on September 1, 1919, indicates he was doing "gag" writing
|
|
for Arbuckle at that time.
|
|
|
|
* He wrote for Chaplin and Arbuckle.
|
|
Williams wrote for Keystone while Arbuckle was there (it is uncertain
|
|
whether Chaplin had departed Keystone prior to Williams' arrival), and
|
|
Williams also wrote for Arbuckle producing independently.
|
|
|
|
* He was friends with Mabel Normand.
|
|
Williams worked for Keystone at the same time as Mabel Normand, and
|
|
wrote the highly-popular song for her most successful film, "Mickey." So
|
|
they were certainly acquaintances, and probably friends.
|
|
|
|
* It was reported that "The man's description and characteristics are such,
|
|
according to the police, that it will be impossible for him to conceal
|
|
himself for any length of time."
|
|
Williams was reportedly suffering from tuberculosis; possibly this was a
|
|
reference to his physical symptoms and need for continuing medical treatment.
|
|
|
|
* He was married.
|
|
Williams was survived by his wife, Caroline.
|
|
|
|
* He was a drug addict.
|
|
Since Williams was reportedly suffering from tuberculosis, it is
|
|
possible that he had originally turned to drugs for pain relief. The fact
|
|
that Mabel Normand also had tuberculosis, and also had reportedly turned to
|
|
drugs for pain relief, would possibly be a common bond between them.
|
|
|
|
Conclusion: Harry Williams was the individual referred to by the press as
|
|
the "drug-addicted scenario writer."
|
|
|
|
Williams was also one of three Taylor case suspects or witnesses who were
|
|
dead within four months after the murder (the other two were Earl Tiffany and
|
|
Walter Kirby).
|
|
|
|
Note: The following item, published a few months earlier in the aftermath of
|
|
the Arbuckle scandal, may or may not pertain to Harry Williams, but is worth
|
|
mentioning in light of the material presented above. Certainly there were
|
|
several dozen other members of the Lambs Club who were in the Los Angeles
|
|
movie colony, so there is no confirmation of identity here:
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
September 23, 1921
|
|
VARIETY
|
|
The use of narcotics in the profession is the subject of an
|
|
investigation in Los Angeles at present...
|
|
There is a week-end [drug] orgy establishment in Beverly Hills, the most
|
|
exclusive residential section of Hollywood. The place is maintained by a
|
|
former well-known member of the Lambs in New York who married on the coast.
|
|
Here the parties last from Friday to Monday with usually all of the guests
|
|
"charged up" during that period...
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
(Other Hollywood members of the Lambs Club include Cecil B. and William
|
|
DeMille, Dustin and William Farnum, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart, James
|
|
Kirkwood, Antonio Moreno, Fred Niblo, and Milton Sills. See LOS ANGELES
|
|
HERALD, March 26, 1919.)
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
What was the Real Name of Mary Miles Minter?
|
|
|
|
Mary Miles Minter. Juliet Shelby. Juliet Reilly. Mary M. Reilly. What
|
|
WAS her true name?
|
|
The actress known as Mary Miles Minter began using that name of a dead
|
|
relative in order to legally appear older than she was; several states had
|
|
laws prohibiting children under 16 from appearing on stage. She continued
|
|
using the name of Mary Miles Minter when she began her big silent movie
|
|
career.
|
|
The early fan magazine stories stated that Minter's real name was Juliet
|
|
Shelby, which she had initially used as her stage name when her stage career
|
|
began.
|
|
Most serious film historians have reported that her real name was Juliet
|
|
Reilly, and that she was born on April 1, 1902 in Shreveport, Louisiana. [18]
|
|
But in 1985, an article appeared stating that the birth certificate on
|
|
file with the State of Louisiana has her name as Mary M. Reilly, with the
|
|
date of birth listed as April 25, 1902. [19]
|
|
Sure enough, that is what the Louisiana birth certificate says: Mary M.
|
|
Reilly. So her real name, therefore, was Mary M. Reilly? After all, how could
|
|
the State birth certificate possibly be wrong?
|
|
The problem is, that the State of Louisiana did not begin maintaining
|
|
birth records until 1914. Prior to that time, the individual parishes
|
|
(counties) maintained their own birth records. The State birth certificate was
|
|
reconstructed at some later date from the parish records. Indeed, it is
|
|
stated on the upper right hand corner of the birth certificate: "Taken from
|
|
Caddo Records, Book A Page 97."
|
|
So the State birth certificate is only second-hand information. The real
|
|
question is: what do the Caddo Records state?
|
|
We have examined a photocopy of the offical Caddo Records. The page of
|
|
the Caddo parish records containing her birth entry indicates that originally
|
|
no first name was listed for the child and the last name was misspelled;
|
|
then the record was changed. Indeed, the word "corrected" has been written
|
|
in the margin and two items have been altered, as follows:
|
|
|
|
original entry: Name of Child: "J. H. Riley's Child"
|
|
"corrected" entry Name of Child: "Mary M. Reilly"
|
|
|
|
original entry: Name of Father: "J. H. Riley"
|
|
"corrected" entry Name of Father: "J. Homer Reilly"
|
|
|
|
When were these changes made? If they were made a few days after the
|
|
original entry, then the corrections are probably correct, and her name would
|
|
indeed be Mary M. Reilly.
|
|
But the changes were NOT made a few days, or months, or even a few years
|
|
after the original entry. It can be firmly proven that the record was still
|
|
uncorrected two decades after the original entry.
|
|
In August 1923 there was a public verbal battle between Mary Miles Minter
|
|
and Charlotte Shelby (see TAYLOROLOGY #11). During that time, a false report
|
|
surfaced regarding Minter's age. Reporters went looking for the original Caddo
|
|
parish birth record, and the following was reported:
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
August 16, 1923
|
|
SHREVEPORT TIMES
|
|
...According to the birth certificate, her father was J. H. Riley and her
|
|
mother was Pearl Miles Riley. The birth record shows no name for the girl,
|
|
merely stating the fact of the birth of a girl baby to the Riley family.
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
August 17, 1923
|
|
LOS ANGELES HERALD
|
|
...The Shreveport birth record may add an element of mystery to the whole
|
|
question because of one notation on that document. According to advices from
|
|
the Louisiana city, in the blank reserved for the name of the baby is merely
|
|
the information, "J. H. Riley's child."
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
So, clearly, 21 years after her birth the record was still uncorrected; no
|
|
first name had yet been entered and the last name was still misspelled as
|
|
"Riley."
|
|
It is uncertain when the "corrections" were later made. Possibly shortly
|
|
after those items were published, since the fact that no name was entered had
|
|
just been brought to the attention of the record keeper. Or possibly not until
|
|
the individual State birth certificate was reconstructed years later from the
|
|
parish records. If the change was indeed made at that time, the "correction"
|
|
may have been done by a clerk who needed a first name to put on the State
|
|
birth certificate and who remembered that she had become a famous actress
|
|
named Mary Miles Minter.
|
|
In any event, there is no contemporary indication that her name was truly
|
|
Mary M. Reilly.
|
|
On the other hand, Minter was involved in many legal battles. Her true
|
|
legal name was always given as Juliet Reilly (see, for example, TAYLOROLOGY
|
|
#9).
|
|
Based on all the information at hand, it is reasonable to conclude that
|
|
the birth certificate on file with the State of Louisiana indicating "Mary M.
|
|
Reilly" is incorrect. Mary Miles Minter's true and correct legal name was
|
|
Juliet Reilly.
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
|
|
The Path of the Fatal Bullet
|
|
|
|
The strange path of the bullet must be accounted for, somehow. (Neither
|
|
Kirkpatrick nor Giroux even attempt to account for it.) The fatal shot was
|
|
fired at close range; the powder burns on the coat indicated the gun was only
|
|
a few inches away when fired. The bullet entered Taylor's left side, about
|
|
where his elbow would be if he were standing naturally, and the bullet angled
|
|
steeply upward, ending up at the right side of the base of his neck. (The
|
|
bullet did not strike any bones, so it was not deflected.) The holes in his
|
|
jacket and vest would only align if his left arm was raised somewhat.
|
|
The following were mentioned in the press as possible explanations by
|
|
the detectives:
|
|
|
|
1. Taylor was sitting at his desk, working on his taxes, his left arm on the
|
|
desk, leaning forward slightly. The killer approached from behind, brought
|
|
the gun close to Taylor's left side, and fired.
|
|
|
|
Analysis: By this scenario, the killer must have been left-handed. But why
|
|
bring the gun around to Taylor's left side and fire upward? Why not simply
|
|
fire directly into the center of his back, or his head? Although this
|
|
scenario is possible, it is awkward. And when the body was found, why was
|
|
the chair--which was not the chair he was sitting on--astride his leg?
|
|
|
|
2. The killer was crouched low behind Taylor's door. When Taylor walked in,
|
|
the killer stuck the gun in his side and fired upwards.
|
|
|
|
Analysis: By this scenario, the killer was probably right-handed. In support
|
|
of this scenario is the fact that the chair found astride his leg is the
|
|
chair which was next to the door--not the chair at the desk. This seems to be
|
|
the most probable scenario (it was favored by Detective Cline), but if true
|
|
it would virtually eliminate Shelby as the suspect--would she have crouched
|
|
down like that? She doesn't appear to have been that agile.
|
|
|
|
3. The killer was embracing Taylor in a "kiss of death," brought the gun
|
|
close to Taylor's side and fired upward, aiming toward Taylor's heart.
|
|
|
|
Analysis: By this scenario, the killer must have been right-handed. The
|
|
path of the bullet and Taylor's raised arm (in the embrace) would seem very
|
|
natural in this position. Indeed, it is the only scenario which does not
|
|
require the killer to be in an awkward position. It could also account for
|
|
the blonde hairs reportedly found on Taylor's collar.
|
|
|
|
In addition to these theories, I would suggest the following possibility:
|
|
|
|
4. The killer hid himself until Taylor returned. Then the killer revealed
|
|
himself and ordered Taylor to stand still. Perhaps the killer walked over
|
|
to the door and closed it. (Taylor's door was normally open. Would the
|
|
killer have wanted to fire with the door open? Wouldn't it be better to
|
|
close the door so the sound of the shot would not travel so far? Yet under
|
|
scenarios #1 and #2 above, Taylor's door was certainly open.) Then the
|
|
killer told Taylor to turn around so that Taylor's back was towards the
|
|
killer. The killer was now standing close to Taylor's back. Perhaps there
|
|
were some words spoken at this point. Suddenly Taylor half-turned to his
|
|
left and grabbed at the gun with his left hand. The gun discharged upward
|
|
into Taylor's side.
|
|
|
|
Any other plausible scenarios would be welcome!
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
|
|
Wallace Smith: February 20, 1922
|
|
|
|
The following is another of Wallace Smith's sensationalizing dispatches on
|
|
the Taylor case.
|
|
|
|
February 20, 1922
|
|
Wallace Smith
|
|
CHICAGO AMERICAN
|
|
In the dusty back room of a jewelry shop this afternoon an expert
|
|
watchmaker bent over the frail mechanism of a fine-jeweled timepiece.
|
|
At his side detectives stood anxiously waiting the words that would come
|
|
from the man who hummed a tuneless little song as he peered through his
|
|
microscope into the delicate workings of the watch.
|
|
For upon his words depended the fate and fortune of one of screenland's
|
|
reigning queens, confessedly the "very dear friend" of William Desmond Taylor,
|
|
who was named as his murderess by Henry Peavey, houseman for the slain film
|
|
director.
|
|
The watch -- it was the one Taylor carried when he was shot to death --
|
|
was seized by detectives and rushed to the jeweler's as Peavey's sensational
|
|
charge became public through the dispatches of the Chicago Evening American.
|
|
At the same time, Under Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz announced that the
|
|
watchmaker's verdict, if it bore out this theory, would result in the
|
|
immediate arrest of the woman named by Peavey, the one person beside Taylor
|
|
himself who knew best the life lived in the house in Alvarado St.
|
|
Under Sheriff Biscailuz declared her arrest would make petty incidents of
|
|
the scandals which already have developed in the mysterious slaying.
|
|
Much depended on the mute testimony of the watch.
|
|
It was the thin modeled one that Taylor carried in his breast pocked. At
|
|
the other end of the platinum chain was the golden locket bearing the picture
|
|
of Mabel Normand and the inscription "to my dearest."
|
|
Taylor always carried this watch, although he had a wrist watch as well.
|
|
The watch was not running when his body was found. It had stopped at a
|
|
fateful hour. It might be unfair to the actress to reveal this hour but it is
|
|
known, and has been since the start, that she was in Taylor's study at this
|
|
time.
|
|
The theory of Under Sheriff Biscailuz, who has always clung to the theory
|
|
that a woman did the crime and that jealousy pressed the trigger that wiped
|
|
out Taylor's eccentric life, is that the watch was stopped by the impact when
|
|
Taylor's body fell.
|
|
That was what the expert watchmaker was called upon to decide.
|
|
That was the secret for which he probed the superfine anatomy of the
|
|
watch. It was of such delicate construction it was stated that the hit of
|
|
Taylor's fall certainly must have stopped it.
|
|
The defensive theory advanced by some of the officials -- and many of
|
|
them surprisingly enough, seem to be acting on the defensive in this amazing
|
|
case, is that the watch ran down.
|
|
To them the reply was made that it was not likely a man of Taylor's
|
|
methodical habits would allow a watch of such value, both intrinsically and
|
|
sentimentally to go without attention. Also that the watch, if it did run
|
|
down, chose a remarkably significant hour for the purpose.
|
|
And the investigation awaited the verdict of the expert in the jeweler's
|
|
back room, the man who hummed a tuneless little song and saw before him only a
|
|
very fine watch -- and not the tremendous mystery that has tangled a dozen
|
|
lives in tragedy.
|
|
The name of the actress involved by Henry Peavey's story may not be made
|
|
public. It would be more unfair perhaps than revealing the time the watch
|
|
stopped.
|
|
But it may be conservatively stated that her name is familiar wherever
|
|
the projecting machine throws its flickering shaft of light and that she has
|
|
been under suspicion by the sheriff's office since Peavey found the body of
|
|
his employer.
|
|
The detailed story told by Peavey, as it was told first to the police,
|
|
then to the prosecutor and again to the sheriff, has been hidden under the
|
|
screen of mystery that has been thrown about the investigation by Los Angeles
|
|
officials.
|
|
But it must be recalled that for six months Peavey had been about
|
|
Taylor's house daily, and had been the sort of petted servant who was
|
|
permitted to exchange pleasantries with guests. He was the custodian of the
|
|
Taylor cellar, too, and mixed drinks for his "boss" and the frequent women
|
|
visitors.
|
|
He served them as he served Taylor and Mabel Normand when she called at
|
|
Taylor's home the night of the murder. Gin and orange juice and vermouth it
|
|
was that night.
|
|
He knew to whom Taylor telephoned and from whom calls were received. He
|
|
may not have eavesdropped intentionally, but it is rather difficult in the
|
|
ordinary tiny Los Angeles bungalow to avoid a whisper in the next room.
|
|
Taylor may have been no hero to his valet, Edward F. Sands, but to Peavey he
|
|
was quite a fellow.
|
|
He permitted Peavey to use his guest room upstairs as a sewing room. Oh,
|
|
yes, Henry Peavey does the neatest crochet work and embroidery. They do say
|
|
his Irish crochet --
|
|
But to get on. It must be remembered, too, that Henry Peavey was the man
|
|
who told the police where to find the dainty night gown of peach-hued silk --
|
|
the night dress that since has disappeared. He told the police, too, about
|
|
how Taylor took from a hiding place a woman's handkerchief and pressed it to
|
|
his lips.
|
|
Quite a good deal Henry Peavey knows about what was going on in Taylor's
|
|
home in Alvarado St. for six months before the tragedy that shocked the
|
|
nation.
|
|
It was Peavey who would come to work just before 8 a.m. to arouse Taylor
|
|
as he came the morning he found Taylor's body and ran gibbering into the
|
|
street. There were mornings, it was said, when he found Taylor not alone.
|
|
There were mornings when strange, nocturnal visitors had glided swiftly
|
|
through the shadows of graceful palms in Alvarado St.
|
|
Peavey was a good servant. He went right along with his work and his
|
|
sewing.
|
|
When they first questioned this man there was an inclination to belittle
|
|
his testimony. At the inquest, where Henry became quite hysterical, they were
|
|
satisfied merely to ask about details of finding the body and pass on to
|
|
witnesses whose names were known -- Miss Normand among them.
|
|
Not until Peavey had been called in for a second time did the discreet
|
|
detectives fling a real question at him and get in reply a swift answer -- the
|
|
name of the woman Peavey is certain murdered Taylor.
|
|
The name was one mentioned form the beginning -- from the time the
|
|
finding of the body led to the exposure of Taylor's mysterious past, a past he
|
|
had himself draped with fanciful yarns.
|
|
But the officials did not even breathe a suspicion. It is known that she
|
|
was questioned secretly. She is a woman who wields considerable power and who
|
|
has many mighty friends.
|
|
That is, no official permitted the falling of a suspicious shadow until
|
|
the sheriff began his investigation. It went straight to the one target in
|
|
sight, one that must be convincing to the unbiased layman's eye in reviewing
|
|
what little is known of the killing itself. [20]
|
|
Extra strength was given to the theory of the sheriff's office and the
|
|
accusation of Peavey when District Attorney Woolwine, generally accepted as
|
|
chief of the campaign of investigation, declared that he was not convinced
|
|
that the man seen slipping from Taylor's home was any one but Taylor's
|
|
chauffeur.
|
|
That chauffeur, Howard Fellows, had stated to the district attorney that
|
|
he called shortly after 8 o'clock that night to see if Taylor wanted him to
|
|
drive any more. Taylor did not answer his knock, and he left, he has stated.
|
|
Mrs. Douglas MacLean, wife of a screen actor, was the witness who told of
|
|
seeing the mysterious exit from the premises after hearing what she thought
|
|
was a shot. But she admitted that her view of the man was most brief and her
|
|
impression quite vague.
|
|
It was known, too, that Peavey had been ordered to remain in the
|
|
jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County authorities. The houseman, carrying
|
|
his knitting and apparently quite broken by the tragic end of his employer,
|
|
had asked permission to go elsewhere.
|
|
Undersheriff Biscailuz, in announcing the vital test to be made today,
|
|
left no doubt of the importance he placed in it.
|
|
"But it can't go wrong," he stated. "If it discloses what I expect, we
|
|
will have a clue that will be as near perfect as we could expect. It will at
|
|
once involve the woman we have been watching for some time and she will be
|
|
arrested at once.
|
|
"It will bring about a scandal that will make all the other stories
|
|
growing out of this murder appear tame by comparison. It will take only a
|
|
step or two more, once we have the result of this scientific test, to bring
|
|
out the motives of jealousy.
|
|
"What I expect it to show is that there was a woman in the house when
|
|
the shot was fired. Either she fired the shot herself or she knows who did
|
|
it and perhaps helped that person in the killing. [21]
|
|
"Waiting for some such clue as we now believe may be in our hands in a
|
|
few hours, we have checked up this actress' career and we will be ready to
|
|
handle her."
|
|
The woman known to be under suspicion is one who has carried on one of
|
|
the wildest careers that ever streaked across the firmament of filmland. They
|
|
talk about these escapades even in the gayer set of Hollywood, where such
|
|
distinction is not lightly won.
|
|
It was considered probable that William Davis, chauffeur for Miss
|
|
Normand, would be brought into the district attorney's office for questioning.
|
|
Several times he has been questioned and each time, it was reported, he had
|
|
corroborated Miss Normand's story of the ride to Taylor's home, and her
|
|
departure after the director had escorted her to her car.
|
|
Davis, it was reported, was at Miss Normand's place of seclusion in
|
|
Altadena, near Pasadena. It was said that he drove Miss Normand to the place
|
|
when she fled from Hollywood and the scandals that have been revealed since
|
|
Taylor's slaying. She was suffering, too, her manager announced, from the
|
|
shock of Taylor's death and a very serious case of grippe.
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
NOTES:
|
|
[1] See Taylorology #17.
|
|
[2] This letter was reprinted in LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (May 7, 1937).
|
|
[3] LOS ANGELES HERALD-EXPRESS (May 6, 1937).
|
|
[4] See WDT:DOSSIER, p. 324-5.
|
|
[5] LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (May 9, 1937).
|
|
[6] LOS ANGELES TIMES (May 7, 1937).
|
|
[7] LOS ANGELES HERALD-EXPRESS (May 7, 1937).
|
|
[8] LOS ANGELES TIMES (May 7, 1937).
|
|
[9] LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (May 7, 1937).
|
|
[10] LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (May 8, 1937).
|
|
[11] LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (May 7, 1937).
|
|
[12] LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (May 7, 1937).
|
|
[13] LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (May 11, 1937).
|
|
[14] See NEW YORK TELEGRAPH (February 5, 1922). Although the interview was
|
|
published on the 5th (in the Sunday paper), she reports that the interview
|
|
took place on the previous Wednesday, which was the 1st.
|
|
[15] See NEW YORK TELEGRAPH (February 4, 1922).
|
|
[16] See DESERET NEWS (February 24, 1922).
|
|
[17]See WDT:DOSSIER, pp. 73-75, 257-258, for two other interviews with Julia
|
|
Crawford Ivers.
|
|
[18]See, for example, Aydelott Ames, "Mary Miles Minter," in FILMS IN REVIEW
|
|
(October 1969), pp. 473+.
|
|
[19]See Ken DuMain, "Correcting Mis-Information about Miss Mary Miles Minter,"
|
|
in FILMS IN REVIEW (May 1985), pp. 271+.
|
|
[20]The woman suspected by Peavey is Mabel Normand. See TAYLOROLOGY #6.
|
|
Peavey's suspicions became public after his abduction by Hearst reporters.
|
|
[21]Taylor's watch stopped at 7:20. If it could be shown that the watch
|
|
stopped due to impact (when Taylor fell after being shot) then it would
|
|
indicate that Mabel Normand must have been present at the time, since she was
|
|
admittedly present between 7:05-7:45. However, the tests on the watch
|
|
reportedly did not indicate it had stopped due to impact.
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
For more information about Taylor, see
|
|
WILLIAM DESMOND TAYLOR: A DOSSIER (Scarecrow Press, 1991)
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Back issues of Taylorology are available via Gopher or FTP at
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etext.archive.umich.edu
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in the directory pub/Zines/Taylorology
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