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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 56 -- August 1997 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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Taylor/Minter Film Available on Home Video
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Reporting the Taylor Murder: Day One
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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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Taylor/Minter Film Available on Home Video
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At long last, a film directed by William Desmond Taylor and starring Mary
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Miles Minter is available on home video. "Nurse Marjorie" (1920) is now
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available from Grapevine Video, P.O. Box 46161, Phoenix, AZ 85063, phone
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(602) 973-3661. This film is interesting because of who the director is,
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and because of the substantial footage of Mary Miles Minter. Anyone with
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a deep interest in the Taylor murder case will want to own this video.
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Many silent films hold up well and are still very entertaining today.
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Unfortunately, "Nurse Marjorie" is not one of those films. The story is
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extremely stupid (see the contemporary reviews in TAYLOROLOGY 24), but the
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film does have a few humorous moments, and Mary Miles Minter looks
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appealing. In the film, Minter's father is played by Arthur Hoyt, who
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was one of Taylor's close friends.
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By a strange coincidence there is a scene in the film where Minter's
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beloved has been shot. She wants to rush to his home, but her mother
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tries to prevent her from going.
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Reporting the Taylor Murder: Day One
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William Desmond Taylor was shot to death at approximately 7:50 p.m. on
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February 1, 1922. His body was discovered at about 7:30 a.m. on the morning
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of February 2. The following are press reports published in the first 24
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hours after the body was discovered, excluding eulogies and recaps of
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Taylor's film career. Some of the original press reports are now lost; each
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Los Angeles newspaper had many editions that day, but only one edition
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survives in library microfilm. So out-of-town newspapers have also been
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utilized, to recapture as much as possible of that first day's reporting.
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Some commentary at the end attempts to correct some misinformation. In
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general, the reporting in the LOS ANGELES TIMES appears to have been the most
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accurate, although it too contains some misinformation.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 2, 1922
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DESERET NEWS
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Movie Director Shot and Killed at Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, Feb. 2--William D. Taylor, director in chief for one of the
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largest film companies operating here and nationally known in the motion
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picture industry was found dead at his home here today under circumstances
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that the police say indicated murder. He had been shot through the neck.
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After the first investigation, it was thought he had suffered a hemorrhage
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but closer examination disclosed the bullet wound.
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The body was found near a desk in Taylor's room, upon which there was a
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canceled check. The wound, according to the police, indicated that it was
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fired from behind Taylor by some person who was standing up, while Taylor,
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apparently, was seated before the desk, examining the check. The bullet went
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through the neck, ranging downward, and penetrating the heart.
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Several months ago Taylor informed the police that he had discharged a
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butler for making irregular use of Taylor's bank checking account, and police
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are conducting an inquiry along these lines seeking a possible motive for the
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slaying.
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An actress living in an adjoining residence informed the police that she
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saw a man go into the apartment of Taylor early today, and shortly afterward
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heard a shot. The body was found by Taylor's valet.
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Police say that robbery evidently was not a motive for the slaying for a
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purse containing $78 was found on the desk near the body. There were no
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indications that any attempt was made to take any articles or papers from the
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room.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 2, 1922
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LOS ANGELES RECORD
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New clues were discovered late this afternoon that may lead to a
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solution of the mysterious murder of William Desmond Taylor, 35, noted movie
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director, found shot through the back, in his apartment, 404-B South Alvarado
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street, this morning.
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New developments were:
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1. Taylor had a premonition that death was near, and related his fear
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to Mrs. J. M. Berger, income tax expert. "If anything happens," he told her
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yesterday afternoon, "look out for my affairs."
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2. Mysterious phone calls and anonymous letters were received by
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Taylor. He told Mrs. Berger that for three weeks someone had been attempting
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to find out if Taylor was in his apartment. When Taylor answered, the person
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would hang up immediately.
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3. Taylor was engaged in a telephone call that evidently worried him,
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when Mabel Normand called at his apartments at 7:15 p.m. yesterday.
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4. Taylor is reported to have told Charles Maigne, a friend, that he
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feared unknown persons, who invaded his apartments while he was absent,
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walked on his bed with dusty shoes, and left gold-tipped cigarette stubs.
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Detectives late today said they were unable to find a single trace of
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Edward F. Sands, former valet of Taylor's charged with robbing Taylor.
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Warrants were issued weeks ago for Sands. Police want to question him.
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Mabel Normand, this afternoon, was confined to her home from nervous
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breakdown. She is said to be a dear friend of Taylor.
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Taylor's body was found sprawled in front of his writing desk, by Harry
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[sic] Peavey, colored man-servant.
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He was evidently shot from behind. The bullet took an upward course,
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entering his body near the left kidney. Powder burns were evident. The
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bullet lodged underneath the right shoulder.
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Death was instantaneous.
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Mabel Normand, the motion picture star, is believed to have been the
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last person to see Taylor alive. Officers say that she had discussed a
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scenario with the Famous Players-Lasky director early last evening before the
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colored valet had left, and that Taylor had conducted her to a waiting auto
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in the street.
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Peavey, the valet, who left the house at about the same time, said that
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Taylor had left the front door of the apartment open, and it is assumed that
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the murderer entered and concealed himself, shooting down his victim as he
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returned.
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Peavey discovered Taylor's body, lying as it fell, with a chair athwart
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the legs, and rushed in a frenzy of fear to rouse the neighbors.
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One of the first to arrive at the murder house was E. C. Jessurun, owner
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of the bungalow court in which Taylor lived.
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He said he heard a shot last night, but paid no attention to it, as he
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thought it was an automobile backfiring. The noise was also heard by Mrs.
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Douglas MacLean, movie actress, living in one of the court bungalows.
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"When I entered the room," Jessurun said, "it was in absolutely good
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condition, indicating no struggle.
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"Taylor was lying in front of his desk, the blood all over his face.
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"It would have been impossible for him to have been shot by anyone
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outside of the bungalow. Whoever did it was inside Taylor's room.
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"As I remember, a light was burning all night in the Taylor apartment."
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Charles Eyton, manager of the Famous Players-Lasky company, said that to
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his knowledge Taylor did not have an enemy in the world.
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Money to the amount of $78.20 was found in Taylor's pockets.
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Mr. and Mrs. Douglas MacLean, motion picture stars, who live next door
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to Taylor, said they heard a shot fired about 8:30. Mrs. MacLean said she
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opened the door and saw a man leaving Taylor's residence. She got no
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description of him.
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Mrs. C. F. Reddick, who lives in a house across the courtyard from the
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motion picture director, said she heard three shots fired about 2 a.m.
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One bullet, however, had struck Taylor. It entered his left side
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immediately below the heart and death was caused by hemorrhage.
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Other neighbors, when they heard the shot, were not sure it was a
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revolver shot. They listened but heard no further commotion, so came to the
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conclusion that it must have been the exhaust of an automobile.
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Taylor's body was removed to the Harvey-Overholtzer undertaking parlors
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where a complete examination will be made to determine from just what angle
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the fatal shot was fired.
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Not a thing in the well-furnished house was disturbed. Peavey said that
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everything was just as he had left it when he went home at 7 o'clock last
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night.
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Taylor was one of the best known, best liked motion picture directors in
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the game today. Many prominent stars of the film world gathered at his home.
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Taylor lived alone at the modest apartment where he had been for the
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past three years. Here, neighbors say, he practically immersed himself in
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his art, occasionally entertaining friends.
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About the walls of his workshop living room hang scores of autographed
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photos of famous movie folk, his intimates and associates.
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The apartment is on two floors. Upstairs are the bedrooms where Taylor,
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on his dressing table, kept a loaded revolver. The weapon was found lying on
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the dresser this morning.
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Charles Eyton, manager of the Famous Players-Lasky company, said that no
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stone would be left unturned to run his murderer to earth.
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It is believed that the only man who had a grudge against the director
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was Edward Sands. Taylor is said by the police to have had incriminating
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evidence against Sands in connection with the robbery of his house several
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months ago. Sands is said to have formerly been a butler to the motion
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picture man and is now being hunted for burglary.
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Detective Sergeant Zeigler, said that among the effects found untouched
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in the house was jewelry, which he declares was taken by Sands, the former
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butler, and returned from Stockton, from which point Sands had sent the pawn
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tickets with a sarcastic note.
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Miss Normand said that when she left, Taylor told her that he would call
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her as soon as she reached her home, but when he did not call, she began to
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wonder what was the matter.
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The police believe that the murder was perpetrated more for revenge or
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as it had been pointed out, to prevent Taylor telling what he knew of the
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burglary.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 2, 1922
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LOS ANGELES RECORD
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Last to See W. D. Taylor
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Mabel Normand, the last person known to have seen William D. Taylor
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arrive, arrived at Taylor's home last night at approximately 7 o'clock, she
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said. He had just finished dinner and was talking over the telephone, as
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Miss Normand came in. Taylor's valet let her in the door and in a few
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moments Taylor said "good-bye" on the telephone and came out and spoke to
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Miss Normand.
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For the next 45 minutes the actress and Taylor sat discussing scenarios
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and a book which the director had purchased that day from a department store
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as a gift for Miss Normand. He had phoned her at her home earlier in the
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afternoon, requesting her to call at his home for the book.
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Miss Normand was at her bank earlier in the afternoon and had phoned her
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home, receiving Taylor's message to the effect that he had already sent her
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one book from a book store, but had got the book that she wanted at a
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department store, and requested her to stop at his apartment on her way home
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to pick up the book.
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The Sennett star left Taylor at 7:45 and arrived home by 8 o'clock, she
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asserted. When she left Taylor's home, he escorted her to her car and in the
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presence of her chauffeur, bade her good night.
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When Miss Normand arrived at Taylor's residence he had just finished
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dinner and his valet was clearing the table, she said. Completing this work,
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he said good night and left. He was seen talking to Miss Normand's chauffeur
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for about five minutes afterward.
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Miss Normand arrived home at approximately 8 o'clock and retired to her
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room, where at about 8:15 she had dinner served in bed.
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The first information the star received of Taylor's death was at 7:30
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this morning, when Miss Edna Purviance phoned her and informed her that
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Taylor's negro valet, who had just opened the door to enter the house, came
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running into the yard, screaming. The light in the house, Miss Purviance
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informed Miss Normand, had been burning all night.
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Taylor had asked Miss Normand if he could not take her to dinner. Miss
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Normand replied "no," she was tired and was going home to eat dinner and
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retire early. Taylor promised to call Miss Normand within an hour. He never
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called her.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 2, 1922
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LOS ANGELES RECORD
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Just a cocktail shaker, and besides it two stemmed glasses with sediment
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of orange juice and gin in the bottom, and two half-buried cigarettes on the
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tray.
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That was the only evidence of sociability that marked the last hour of
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William D. Taylor's spectacular film career.
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This morning the remnant of Taylor's hospitality stood out as the only
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trace of disorder in his magnificent bachelor apartments at 404B South
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Alvarado street. Except where his huge body fell across the highly polished
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floor, with a big arm chair toppling over him.
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The bewitching smiles, frowns and pensive moods of beautiful Mary Miles
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Minter, film star, gazed from various photographs around the walls of his
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living room.
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If those pictures could speak, the assassin who shot Taylor from the
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back could be vividly described.
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From a secluded corner, Mary Pickford's autographed likeness beamed its
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friendship for the popular director. America's most popular star had written
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her appreciation of Taylor's patience in directing her.
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Taylor was a man of discriminating taste as to the furnishings of his
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apartments. A few choice vases, a leather bound set of Encyclopedia
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Brittanica in a small bookcase, a few choice ivory carved ornaments on his
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piano, an expensive oriental rug--that was about all that adorned his living
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room, except--
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Taylor, the man, was for business first. There was no mistaking that
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part of his nature.
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His tiny mahogany desk, which was placed against the front of the house,
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was littered with letters, canceled checks and bills.
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That he lived to himself was noted by the many personal things that
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surrounded him. He was a man of modest taste. Even though he was rich and
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his house luxuriously furnished, there was no sign of extravagance, gaudiness
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or show about his abode.
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A copy of Floyd Dells' "Moon Calf," with a hand-painted ribbon marking
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his progress in the popular story, was on a stand by the piano.
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The dining-room was orderly, save where the police had been forced to
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move the blood-stained rugs through from the living room.
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Strange were the stories told about Taylor today--while his lifeless
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body was being moved to the Ivy Overholtzer undertaking parlor.
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He was tall, handsome, charming to meet--that is, if one was fortunate
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enough to meet him.
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But he was mysterious of habits.
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He was quiet, unobtrusive and never entertained women in his bachelor
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apartments alone.
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Four years he had lived in the severe, cold-looking colonial apartment
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court. Four years he had been there, but in that time he was unknown to
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others who lived there.
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He seldom entertained. And when he did--his visitors left at a
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reasonable hour. They were always quiet, just like himself.
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And when he had work to do, Taylor would not answer the doorbell, the
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telephone, but would stay locked in his apartment, until everything was
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finished.
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It was just his manner.
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Likewise--he did not believe in "wild parties" at his home.
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In the four years he had lived at the place he had entertained upon
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three memorable occasions, and there were crowds, chaperons, and the parties
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broke up early.
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And they tell how very inconspicuously he dressed. Always he was well
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groomed--that is what those who were fortunate enough to get a glimpse of the
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man say--but never what was called "a fashion plate."
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He hadn't been home of evenings lately much--because the light in his
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living room had been out. That was the way neighbors knew that the popular
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director was about.
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Taylor was silent about his business affairs. He discussed them with
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nobody. He kept his own counsel, just as he preferred to live alone.
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His heart affairs were also seldom discussed. But that Miss Minter was
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very popular with the dead man was discerned by the fact that her telephone
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number led the list in the directory in his telephone booth.
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Likewise, other film favorites had their place in his calling list, but
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his name has not been linked with any of them, although he was known as an
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eligible bachelor.
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Were his thoughts on Mabel Normand when Taylor went to his mysterious
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death?
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She had been his guest in the evening. At 8:30 o'clock he saw her to
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her car.
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He returned, locked the door and stood at his desk ready to resume work.
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Just above his work, pinned to the lacy draperies on the window, was the
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somewhat pouty, impudent, but adorable face of Mabel Normand--looking at him.
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But who killed William D. Taylor?
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 2, 1922
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LOS ANGELES RECORD
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Deputy Public Administrator L. P. Waterman took charge of the murdered
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Wm. D. Taylor's personal effects late this morning.
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These included recent letters from Ethel Daisy Taylor, daughter of the
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deceased, living at Mamaraneck, New York. Judging from their contents, the
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daughter is in her 'teens and attending a finishing school.
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According to Waterman, Taylor had been working on his income tax some
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time during the evening. An itemized account of his income, which gave the
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total at $38,000 a year was found by Waterman.
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The high literary tastes of the deceased motion picture director are
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revealed by the books piled on the table at which Taylor had been at work
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when he was shot.
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These included John Maysefield's "Collected Poems," John Galsworthy's
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"In Chancery," Knut Hamsun's "Dreamers," Gorky's "Stories of the Steppe,"
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John Dos Passos' "Three Soldiers," Conrad Aiken's "Punch" and Eunice
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Tietjens' "Profiles from China."
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On the fly leaf of each of these books, their owner had written "Wm. D.
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Taylor."
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The theory of Frank O'Connor, formerly an assistant director under
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Taylor and now director for Marshal Neilan, is that he was shot by a person
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kneeling. He pointed out that the bullet entered the body rather low on the
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left side and made its way upward in a slanting direction to a point beneath
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the right shoulder. O'Conner insisted that this theory was supported by the
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fact that Taylor's clothing was burned and there were powder marks on his
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flesh. He had been dead about 10 hours, according to the information
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received by O'Connor.
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Taylor had been working on a part for a woman star in a new Lasky
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production during the afternoon, according to friends.
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"I left him talking over one of those books with Miss Normand at about 7
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o'clock," said Harry Peavey, his colored valet.
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"'Anything more you want?'" I asked him," Peavey said he inquired of
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Taylor.
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"He told me he didn't and I went home."
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 2, 1922
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R. W. Borough
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LOS ANGELES RECORD
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Negro Valet Sobs Tragedy
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"'Good night, Henry good night,' he said to me when I left him
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yesterday," said Henry Peavey, Taylor's colored valet between sobs as he told
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of the tragedy that ended the life of his beloved employer last night.
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"'Good night, Mr. Taylor,' I said to him, and that's the last I saw of
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him until I opened the door this morning and found his dead body, his feet
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stretching toward me on the floor."
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The negro broke into soft sobs and then declared passionately: "I wish I
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could get the man that did it. I'd go to jail for the rest of my life if I
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could get him."
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As Peavey talked, he was taking some white cloths clotted with blood
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from a wire paper basket and placing them in the court incinerator.
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"His blood," the negro said pathetically. "We just used the cloths to
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clean up the room."
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"Mr. Taylor was the most wonderful man I ever worked for and I don't
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see how anybody would want to kill him. I have been with him six months."
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Peavey said that he came to Taylor's apartment early today, intending to
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go through the usual round of his duties.
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"I was going to fix his bath water for him." said the valet, "and then
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give him his dose of medicine. After that I was going to fix his breakfast--
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a couple of boiled eggs, some toast and a glass of orange juice.
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"When I opened the door I saw him lying there stretched out on the
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floor, his feet toward me and the floor all bloody.
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"I turned and screamed and the landlord came rushing in."
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Peavey said he lived at 127 1/2 Third Street.
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"I have not been staying with Taylor during the night, but have been
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sleeping in my room."
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Peavey's theory was that somebody slipped into the open door of Taylor's
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apartment when Taylor took Mabel Normand to her car late last night, and shot
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him from ambush inside the room.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 2, 1922
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LOS ANGELES RECORD
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Mary Minter Heartbroken
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Tears streaming down here pretty face, Mary Miles Minter, famous motion
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picture star, hurried to the door of the Taylor bungalow at noon today and
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asked brokenly:
|
|
"It isn't true, is it?"
|
|
"Taylor is dead," said Detective Sergeant H. J. Wallis.
|
|
"Oh my God, I can't believe it," Miss Minter cried in despair.
|
|
She turned in her grief to her mother, who had accompanied her to the
|
|
bungalow court in her automobile.
|
|
"And I saw him only yesterday," she said. "His car passed mine at
|
|
Seventh and Alvarado--it was the first time I knew it was gray."
|
|
Miss Minter was one of the chief mourners at the Undertaking parlors of
|
|
the Ivy Overholtzer company, where Taylor's body was taken. Miss Minter was
|
|
leaning upon the arm of her grandmother.
|
|
The star cried and offered to do anything she could to aid police in
|
|
solving the mystery.
|
|
Kathlyn Williams, cinema star, and wife of Charlie Eyton, general
|
|
manager of Famous-Players Lasky company, was also a visitor at the
|
|
undertakers to view the body.
|
|
Robert [sic] O'Conner, director under Taylor, called at the undertaking
|
|
parlors also. Many telephone calls have been received at the funeral parlors
|
|
regarding the case.
|
|
Inquest over the body of the motion picture director will probably be
|
|
held early Saturday morning. No funeral arrangements have been made. Police
|
|
have not located the relatives of the deceased man.
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 2, 1922
|
|
LONG BEACH TELEGRAM
|
|
|
|
L.A. Film Producer Assassinated
|
|
Lasky Director is Found With Bullet in Back
|
|
|
|
Shot down while writing at a desk by a mysterious assassin, William
|
|
Desmond Taylor, well known motion picture producer and director, was found
|
|
dead today in his bungalow in the Westlake District. Death was caused by a
|
|
bullet wound in the back, just below the left shoulder, according to police.
|
|
Taylor, who was 50 years old and wealthy, apparently was killed between
|
|
9 and 10 o'clock last night. The body was found today by a colored servant
|
|
when he reported for duty at the house.
|
|
Police detectives who first reached the scene reported that death was
|
|
from natural causes and it was not until nearly an hour later when an
|
|
undertaker was removing the body that the bullet wound was found.
|
|
Additional officers immediately were dispatched to the house and a
|
|
comprehensive investigation was began. The bullet wound caused an internal
|
|
hemorrhage and Taylor accidentally died a few minutes after being attacked.
|
|
Detectives questioned neighbors, who stated they heard what apparently
|
|
was the report of the revolver shortly after 9 p.m. but at that time believed
|
|
it was caused by an automobile.
|
|
The police immediately began search for Edward F. Sands, former
|
|
secretary of Taylor. Robbery was not the motive for the murder it was
|
|
announced, as officers found $73 in the pocket of the slain man, as well as a
|
|
large amount of jewelry in the house.
|
|
Taylor's revolver was found in a drawer of the dresser in his bedroom on
|
|
the second floor of the pretentious house. It had not been discharged and
|
|
none of his personal effects had been disturbed.
|
|
The officers reported they are confident that revenge was the motive of
|
|
the mysterious slayer.
|
|
The police records state that when Taylor went to England a year ago on
|
|
a business and pleasure trip he left Sands, then his secretary, in charge of
|
|
his personal affairs and when he returned he reported to Detective Sergeants
|
|
Herman Cline and E. R. Cato that Sands had robbed him of money, jewelry,
|
|
clothing and a valuable automobile.
|
|
A felony warrant was issued for Sands and the police say he never was
|
|
found.
|
|
A second robbery at the Taylor residence was attributed to Sands by the
|
|
police.
|
|
Among the witnesses questioned by the police during the morning were
|
|
Mabel Normand, Edna Purviance and Douglas MacLean, prominent film stars.
|
|
Miss Normand admitted having visited Taylor's bungalow in the early
|
|
evening yesterday to discuss a new production and that he had escorted her to
|
|
her automobile at the curb shortly before 9 p.m. Taylor was to telephone to
|
|
her later in the evening. Miss Normand said he did not do so.
|
|
Miss Purviance, who lives in a house adjoining Taylor's bungalow,
|
|
returned home about midnight and saw a light burning in Taylor's study.
|
|
MacLean and his wife, who live in the same district, stated they heard
|
|
the shot fired after 9 o'clock. They thought at the time it might be an
|
|
automobile exhaust. They described a strange man whom they saw in the
|
|
street.
|
|
Miss Normand told detectives that while she was talking with Taylor
|
|
early last evening concerning a new picture production the robberies of the
|
|
Taylor home were mentioned.
|
|
"He told me he feared Sands and that he had a premonition of something
|
|
wrong," Miss Normand was quoted as telling officers.
|
|
Charles Maigne, an actor, said he was riding with Taylor last Monday and
|
|
that he warned Taylor to guard against his former employee.
|
|
In the first robbery, while Taylor was in Europe, the house was
|
|
completely ransacked. All the director's clothing was taken and his
|
|
automobile was found later in a damaged condition.
|
|
The money entrusted to Sands, the valet secretary, by the motion picture
|
|
director for the payment of current bills had been spent for other purposes,
|
|
the bills being paid with forged checks, it was charged.
|
|
Accounts had been opened in Taylor's name at several Los Angeles
|
|
department stores and large quantities of goods ordered. Lingerie and
|
|
women's garments were predominant which created the supposition that the
|
|
valet was led to his embezzlements by a sweetheart.
|
|
Many checks had been forged, the large check book filled with forged
|
|
signatures, some of them spoiled, was found by Taylor. He placed this matter
|
|
in the hands of the police.
|
|
A few weeks ago the Alvarado street house was again broken into under
|
|
mysterious circumstances. The back door was literally wrecked in gaining
|
|
entrance. Nothing was taken by the burglars except jewelry and a stock of
|
|
gold tipped cigarettes of an exclusive brand. The marauders leisurely
|
|
devoured food they found in the ice box, but did not touch a bottle of
|
|
champagne there in their ransacking. They walked about with dusty shoes on
|
|
the bed upstairs. This was reported to the police.
|
|
A week later Mr. Taylor's colored servant found the butt of a gold
|
|
tipped cigarette on the front doorstep one morning.
|
|
"Pardon me, Mr. Taylor, but have you bought more of these cigarettes,"
|
|
he asked?
|
|
"No," said the director, and examined the butt. It was the butt of one
|
|
of the stolen stock. One of the burglars had returned for some inexplicable
|
|
reason and enjoyed a midnight smoke on the doorstep of his victim.
|
|
It was following the second robbery that a mystery letter marked from
|
|
Sacramento was received Taylor. This letter was signed "Alias Jimmy V." It
|
|
read as follows:
|
|
"Dear Mr. Taylor, So sorry to inconvenience you, even temporarily. Also
|
|
observe the lesson of forced sale of assets. Merry Christmas and a Happy New
|
|
Year. (Signed) "Alias Jimmy V."
|
|
Two pawn tickets were enclosed in the letter. Taylor told his friend
|
|
that he recognized the handwriting on the letter.
|
|
Police detectives today sought to recover the pawn tickets from among
|
|
Taylor's belongings and began a search for the man whom the film director had
|
|
told his friend was the writer of the mysterious "Jimmy V.' letters.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 2, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXPRESS
|
|
With a gaping bullet wound in his left breast the body of William
|
|
Desmond Taylor, one of the best known motion picture directors in the world,
|
|
was found beside his desk in his home at 404 South Alvarado street, where he
|
|
had fallen, the victim of an unknown assassin.
|
|
The gruesome discovery was made by Henry Peavey of 127 1/2 East Third
|
|
street, a negro, who was employed as a butler by Mr. Taylor, shortly after 8
|
|
o'clock this morning.
|
|
Motion picture circles in Los Angeles and throughout the world were
|
|
shocked by news of the slaying and hundreds of messages began pouring into
|
|
Los Angeles asking for confirmation of the fact and for details of the
|
|
slaying.
|
|
Within a short time after the new murder mystery that is baffling the
|
|
Los Angeles police department had been brought to light detectives began
|
|
quizzing Miss Mabel Normand, Miss Edna Purviance and Douglas MacLean, all
|
|
prominent in the motion picture world.
|
|
After talking with these persons, Detective Sergeants Winn, Zeigler,
|
|
Murphy and Wallis announced that a nation-wide search had been ordered for
|
|
Edward F. Sands, who was formerly employed as a secretary by Taylor. It is
|
|
believed Sands, who had an intimate knowledge of Taylor's movements and his
|
|
associates, may assist the police in solving the murder.
|
|
Six months ago Taylor returned to Los Angeles after a tour of Europe.
|
|
Then he learned that a man he had employed had "raised" a number of personal
|
|
checks and had stolen many suits of his clothes. He reported the robbery to
|
|
the police and charged that the man had secured many thousands of dollars by
|
|
his illegal methods. A police search was being made for this man when Mr.
|
|
Taylor's house was again entered and a number of suits and articles of
|
|
jewelry were taken.
|
|
It was after this second robbery that Mr. Taylor received a letter. It
|
|
read: "Dear Mr. Taylor--So sorry to inconvenience you, even temporarily; also
|
|
observe the lesson of the forced sale of assets.
|
|
(signed) "Alias Jimmy V."
|
|
From Miss Normand and other persons the police learned that Mr. Taylor
|
|
had often expressed fear that some time this man would return and do him
|
|
bodily harm.
|
|
The police are not, however, basing their investigation now upon the
|
|
theory that the thief was the slayer. Instead, they at present list it as a
|
|
"murder mystery."
|
|
The slayer evidently committed the crime about near 9 o'clock last
|
|
night. It was at that time that Douglas MacLean, motion picture actor, and
|
|
his wife, who lived next door, say they heard the sound of the pistol shot.
|
|
Police also believe that the slaying occurred at that time because of
|
|
the opinion expressed by the deputy coroner that the man had been dead for
|
|
more than ten hours when the body was found
|
|
The last person who saw Taylor alive, with the exception of the
|
|
assassin, was Miss Mabel Normand, film star. She visited him at his home
|
|
last night. She arrived at the home shortly before 7 o'clock, she said. Her
|
|
statement to Detectives Winn and Murphy follows:
|
|
"I had my chauffeur drive out to Mr. Taylor's home last evening, as we
|
|
had a number of business matters to discuss. I should judge that I arrived
|
|
there a little before 7 o'clock. It was while I was there that we again
|
|
discussed the case of a man who had been in Mr. Taylor's employ and who stole
|
|
from him.
|
|
"I asked Mr. Taylor what he intended doing with the man if he was
|
|
captured--and he said he would see that the man was prosecuted. We then
|
|
discussed a certain scenario that I had written and a scenario that a friend
|
|
of mine had written.
|
|
"While we were talking, William [sic] Peavey, Mr. Taylor's butler, was
|
|
moving about in the two rooms. It was then, also that Mr. Taylor told me
|
|
that William was in some little trouble. He said that his servant had been
|
|
arrested on a charge of vagrancy and that he had been forced to go down to
|
|
the police station and deposit $200 bail for him.
|
|
"He said that he intended appearing in police court at a o'clock [sic]
|
|
this afternoon and said he would do what he could to aid his servant if he
|
|
was convinced that the man was not guilty. But he said that if Peavey had
|
|
been guilty of doing any wrong that he would be forced to discharge him.
|
|
"After we had discussed a few other trifling matters Mr. Taylor asked me
|
|
if I would remain and have dinner with him. I excused myself and told him
|
|
that I must hurry to my home. He then asked me if he might visit me later
|
|
that night and I told him I should be glad if he would come over to my home.
|
|
He promised to call me on the telephone some time about 9 o'clock.
|
|
"Mr. Taylor then accompanied me from his house to my automobile. My
|
|
chauffeur, William Davis, was seated in the machine and heard Mr. Taylor bid
|
|
me good-night. He spoke to all of us and bid us good-night. We talked for a
|
|
few minutes longer and Mr. Taylor turned and walked up toward his house and
|
|
my machine moved away. I have not seen him since."
|
|
Davis, who lives at 1920 Las Palmas avenue, when questioned by the
|
|
officers said the same story as did Miss Normand, and said that when they
|
|
left there was no one moving about the yard that surrounds the house in which
|
|
the tragedy occurred.
|
|
It is evident, the detectives believe that Taylor after he entered the
|
|
house sat down at once in front of his desk and that the assassin entered a
|
|
few minutes later.
|
|
The papers on the desk were mussed up and there were a large number of
|
|
canceled checks lying upon the desk. Miss Normand, in her statement to the
|
|
police stated that the desk was in the same condition when she left the
|
|
house, about 8 or 8:30 o'clock last night.
|
|
It was at midnight that Miss Edna Purviance, who resides in the house
|
|
adjoining Mr. Taylor's to the west, returned home. At that time, she said
|
|
she noticed that the lights were burning in Mr. Taylor's house.
|
|
She went to the door, she said, and rang the bell and knocked upon the
|
|
door. When she failed to secure a response she returned to her own home,
|
|
believing Mr. Taylor probably had left the house after forgetting to turn off
|
|
the electric light switch.
|
|
At the time she was knocking upon the door the body of her friend was
|
|
just behind the door within a few feet of her.
|
|
As detectives reconstruct the murder scene, they believe that the slayer
|
|
opened the door a few minutes after Miss Normand had left, at the time Taylor
|
|
was seated on a chair in front of the desk checking over the canceled checks.
|
|
As Taylor half rose from his chair the slayer stepped into the room, and
|
|
with pistol carefully aimed, pulled the trigger. The bullet entered the left
|
|
breast just below the shoulder and ranged downward through the heart.
|
|
Taylor fell over backward mortally wounded and probably died within a
|
|
few seconds after he had been shot. But one shot was fired. The person who
|
|
wielded the gun was evidently experienced in the handling of firearms and an
|
|
excellent marksman. From the appearance of the wound it was evidently a .32
|
|
caliber pistol.
|
|
The police believe that this was the caliber of the pistol because it
|
|
made so little noise that the slayer was able to leave the house without
|
|
attracting significant attention.
|
|
When Peavey arrived and opened the house this morning all of the
|
|
electric lights were burning just as they had been when Miss Purviance
|
|
knocked at the door.
|
|
Robbery was clearly not the motive of the crime. A purse containing $78
|
|
and a very valuable watch were found in the clothing on the body. There was
|
|
no indication that any search had been made of the house for valuables and
|
|
nothing was found to be missing when a careful check of the effects were made
|
|
by Charles Eyton, manager of the Lasky studios and a close friend of the dead
|
|
man.
|
|
Charles Maigne, a friend of the dead man. told officers that he was
|
|
positive that Taylor believed that sometime an enemy might return and do him
|
|
harm.
|
|
Douglas MacLean and his wife were having their supper in their home that
|
|
also adjoins Taylor's house, but to the east, when they heard the sound of a
|
|
shot. They place the time at about 9:30 or 9 o'clock in the statement they
|
|
made to Detective Sergeants Wallis and Ziegler.
|
|
Mrs. MacLean, however, told the officers that she noticed a man walking
|
|
rapidly down the walk towards Taylor's home last evening shortly after Miss
|
|
Normand left. She gave the following description of the man to officers:
|
|
Height about 5 feet 8 or 9 inches, weight about 165 pounds. He had a muffler
|
|
about his neck and was at the time wearing a plaid cap pulled over his eyes.
|
|
She did not notice the clothing he was wearing and was unable to furnish the
|
|
police with a better description because she says, she was unable to see
|
|
distinctly at that hour of the night.
|
|
"I had of course, no reason to be suspicious of that man at that time,"
|
|
said Mrs. MacLean, when discussing the case with the two detective sergeants.
|
|
"But now I am convinced that he was the slayer. It was after I had seen him
|
|
that my husband and I sat down to dinner. That was about 8:30 or 9 o'clock,
|
|
I guess.
|
|
"We had just started our dinner when we heard a pistol shot. We did not
|
|
investigate because we heard nothing further after that to arouse our
|
|
suspicions and we thought that possibly the sound we heard then was that of
|
|
an automobile backfiring in the street. Now, of course, we know that it was
|
|
the shot that ended the life of Mr. Taylor."
|
|
Mr. MacLean corroborated the statement made by his wife and the servant
|
|
employed by the couple also told the officers that she plainly heard the shot
|
|
while she was seated in the kitchen of the house.
|
|
Mrs. C. F. Reddick of 410 A. South Alvarado street, who lives near by,
|
|
told the police that she was awakened shortly after 1 o'clock last night by
|
|
the sound of three shots. She said that she believed they came from the
|
|
direction of the Taylor home.
|
|
A systematic search of the neighborhood is being made by police in an
|
|
effort to learn if any person or persons saw who last entered or left the
|
|
Taylor home. They are also anxious to learn if any other persons in the
|
|
neighborhood saw the man described by Mrs. MacLean loitering about and are
|
|
anxious to secure a better description of the man.
|
|
Detective Captain Dave Adams announced that he will run the assassin to
|
|
earth if it becomes necessary to detail 20 detectives and a number of private
|
|
investigators to the case.
|
|
Upon the orders of Chief Deputy Coroner William McDonald the body was
|
|
removed to the mortuary of the Ivy H. Overholtzer Undertaking Company, where
|
|
an inquest will be held. The date of the inquest has not as yet been set,
|
|
but it will probably be either Saturday or Monday, next, it is believed.
|
|
Motion picture circles in Los Angeles were shocked when the first news
|
|
of the murder reached them in an extra edition of the Evening Express.
|
|
The blow was particularly felt at the Lasky studio; where Taylor was
|
|
known to every actor, actress, property man and other employees. Immediately
|
|
on receipt of the news work at the studios and on location ceased and men and
|
|
women, their pallor showing through the grease paint of their makeups,
|
|
gathered in knots to discuss the tragedy and speculate on what prompted the
|
|
crime.
|
|
Many theories were offered, among them revenge for fancied wrong, desire
|
|
for gain and jealousy.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
BOSTON HERALD
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 2--Los Angeles was shocked by fiendish murder today
|
|
when the body of William Desmond Taylor, aged 50, chief director for the
|
|
Lasky studios, was found in his home at 404 South Alvarado Street, shortly
|
|
after 9 o'clock today. Taylor had been shot through the heart.
|
|
The gruesome discover was made by Henry Peazey [sic] of 127 East Third
|
|
Street, a negro servant, when he arrived at the home where Taylor lived
|
|
alone. The body was lying beside a desk where Taylor had been going over a
|
|
number of canceled checks he had received yesterday from the bank.
|
|
Following a preliminary inquiry the police questioned Mabel Normand, the
|
|
film star, when they received reports that she and others were at Taylor's
|
|
home about 8:30 o'clock last night.
|
|
Conflicting stories were told to the police as to the time of the
|
|
shooting. According to Douglas MacLean, who lives near by, he heard the shot
|
|
at 9 o'clock. Another report was that the shooting occurred about 2 A. M.
|
|
Miss Normand stated she had visited Taylor's bungalow early in the
|
|
evening to discuss a new production, and that he escorted her to her
|
|
automobile at the curb shortly before 9 P. M. Taylor was to telephone to her
|
|
later in the evening, Miss Normand said, but did not do so.
|
|
Miss Purviance lives in a house adjoining the Taylor bungalow. She
|
|
returned home about midnight and saw the light burning in Taylor's apartment,
|
|
but thought nothing of it.
|
|
Miss Purviance and Miss Normand were talking over the telephone this
|
|
morning when Taylor's colored servant found the body and shouted "Murder,
|
|
murder."
|
|
MacLean and his wife, who live near the Taylor home, stated that they
|
|
heard a shot fired shortly after 9 o'clock. They described a strange man
|
|
whom they saw in the street, the neighbors who heard the report believed it
|
|
the backfire of an automobile and they observed nothing in Bungalow Court in
|
|
which the Taylor residence is situated that would lead them to believe there
|
|
had been an unusual occurrence.
|
|
The slayer evidently entered the house and shot Taylor as he was working
|
|
on his checkbook. The moving picture director dropped to the floor and death
|
|
was caused by an internal hemorrhage. Taylor's revolver was found in a
|
|
drawer of the dresser in his bedroom on the second floor of his pretentious
|
|
home. It had not been discharged and none of his personal effects had been
|
|
disturbed. His jewelry, which was valued at several thousand dollars, was
|
|
found in one of the dresser drawers by detectives.
|
|
The officers reported that they are confident revenge was the motive of
|
|
the mysterious slayer. The police records state that when Taylor went to
|
|
England a year ago on a business and pleasure trip he left his secretary,
|
|
Edward F. Sands, in charge of his personal affairs and when he returned he
|
|
reported to Detective Sergts. Herman Cline and E. R. Cato that Sands had
|
|
robbed him of money, jewelry, clothing and a valuable automobile. A felony
|
|
warrant was issued for Sands and the police say he never was found.
|
|
A second robbery at the Taylor residence was attributed to Sands by the
|
|
police. Taylor was said by Charles Eyton, manager of Famous Players-Lasky
|
|
studio, not to have had an enemy in the world. When the body was first found
|
|
neighbors called central police station and policemen who visited the scene
|
|
turned in a report that Taylor had died as the result of a hemorrhage.
|
|
It was not until Deputy Coroner William McDonald reached the Alvarado
|
|
street address and made a close inspection of the body that the bullet wound
|
|
was discovered.
|
|
The bullet had struck just below the neck on the left side and ranged
|
|
downward through the heart. From the position of the wound detectives
|
|
believe that the slayer at the time he fired the shot stood above Taylor.
|
|
Robbery evidently was not the motive for the crime. A purse containing $78
|
|
was found lying in the desk beside the body. The slayer had made no effort
|
|
to take any articles from the house.
|
|
...Authorities resumed their questioning of Mabel Normand this afternoon
|
|
for facts connected with the murder. Mrs. Julia Crawford Ivers, continuity
|
|
editor for the Lasky organization, long known as a close friend of the
|
|
murdered man, is also expected to throw some light on the affair. Other
|
|
female acquaintances of the director will also be questioned. The theory now
|
|
being worked on is that a jealous woman either shot Taylor or had him shot.
|
|
That a woman actually did the slaying is the more generally accepted
|
|
theory...
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
|
|
|
Jealous Man Hunted As Slayer of Taylor!
|
|
Revenge for Attention Paid to Girl Regarded As Motive For Crime
|
|
|
|
Officers last night were concentrating their efforts on locating a
|
|
mysterious desperado who is sought as the slayer of William Desmond Taylor,
|
|
one of the best known directors in the motion picture world, who was found
|
|
murdered at his bungalow home of 404-B South Alvarado street yesterday
|
|
morning.
|
|
The officers were diligently following the trail of the mysterious man
|
|
after they learned that several times the strange nocturnal visitor had been
|
|
driven away by Taylor at the point of a gun.
|
|
But two weeks ago, the investigators said Taylor found this man trying
|
|
to gain entrance to the bungalow by means of a bedroom window. The window
|
|
was half open and Taylor is said to have driven him away.
|
|
Many times the murdered director is said to have heard unusual noises
|
|
about the house and upon investigation found the unwelcome visitor prowling
|
|
about the building or premises, but each time Taylor flourished a gun and
|
|
drove him away.
|
|
And then again, the police say in trying to weave a chain of
|
|
incriminating evidence about the hunted man, Taylor received telephone calls
|
|
which brought forth no response when he answered. It is believed the calls
|
|
came from this person who was ascertaining if any one was at home at the
|
|
bungalow.
|
|
It was within half an hour after Mabel Normand, famous screen actress,
|
|
and Taylor had a chat early Wednesday evening that he was killed, the police
|
|
believe.
|
|
They are also trying to run down clews which they say have found and
|
|
which indicate that jealousy or revenge was the motive. They are inclined to
|
|
believe that the former is the possible solution of the death.
|
|
That a man committed the crime is based upon information furnished by
|
|
Mrs. Douglas MacLean, wife of the film star, who lives next door to the
|
|
Taylor home, and by her maid. They say they saw a mysterious man at the
|
|
Taylor home before and after the murder.
|
|
A .38 caliber steel-nose bullet caused Taylor's death. This was
|
|
determined and the bullet found when Autopsy Surgeon Wagner performed a post
|
|
mortem on the body early last night.
|
|
The bullet had penetrated the back beneath the left shoulder blade,
|
|
pierced the heart and then took a right upward course into the neck, where it
|
|
lodged.
|
|
While three theories are being considered by the police, certain
|
|
material clews developed late yesterday lead them to believe that behind the
|
|
tragedy is the shadow of a woman.
|
|
The partly told story of Taylor's murder is this:
|
|
At 6:45 Wednesday night he ate dinner in his little bungalow court home.
|
|
He was alone. His servant was the only other person in the house. Shortly
|
|
after 7 o'clock, Miss Mabel Normand. famous screen star, and whose engagement
|
|
to the slain man had been generally rumored for many months but, denied by
|
|
her, went to the Taylor home.
|
|
She remained according to her story to the police, until about 7:45
|
|
o'clock. She had called for the purpose of obtaining a book that Taylor
|
|
desired her to read.
|
|
When she left, Taylor escorted her to her automobile, waiting at the
|
|
entrance to the bungalow court.
|
|
When Taylor departed from the house with Miss Normand he left the door
|
|
open.
|
|
What happened?
|
|
The servant, Henry Peavey, a negro who has been with Taylor for about
|
|
six months, said Miss Normand and Taylor were together in the living room
|
|
when he left to go to his own home about 7:20 o'clock.
|
|
Yesterday morning, as was his custom, he arrived to prepare breakfast at
|
|
7:30 o'clock.
|
|
He had a key to the front door and opened it. He started to go in and
|
|
then noticed Taylor lying on his back with his feet near the door. The
|
|
servant did not enter. When Taylor faded to answer his alarmed cries he
|
|
rushed to the home of a neighbor and called the police.
|
|
Some time between 7:45 o'clock and 7:55 o'clock the night before, Taylor
|
|
had been shot.
|
|
Here are the theories on which police detectives are concentrating their
|
|
efforts. Taylor was shot by--
|
|
1. A woman he had scorned or whom he had enraged.
|
|
2. A discarded suitor of some woman with whom he had been friendly.
|
|
3. A burglar who was surprised by Taylor when he returned to the house
|
|
after escorting Miss Normand to her car.
|
|
Among the clews being followed by the police is one furnished by
|
|
employees at the Morosco Theater, who stated that several weeks ago a man
|
|
inquired for Taylor's address and by his insistence and strange actions
|
|
aroused their suspicions. The officers are trying to locate this individual,
|
|
who would not take 'no" for an answer to his questions as to where the
|
|
director resided.
|
|
A former secretary whom Taylor had caused to be arrested for forgery and
|
|
who is said to have threatened his life, is being sought for information he
|
|
may be able to give bearing on the case.
|
|
Taylor is known to have been friendly with many women. He is said to
|
|
have been a man of charming personality and of considerable magnetism.
|
|
Outside of one particular prominent woman he was not known, say police, to
|
|
have been particularly interested in any one.
|
|
It is possible, say police, that some man, enamored of any one of the
|
|
women with whom Taylor might have been on friendly terms, could have become
|
|
enraged, waited his opportunity at the Taylor home, and then killed Taylor
|
|
from ambush.
|
|
Every possible angle of Taylor's private life is now being investigated
|
|
by the detectives in connection with the first two theories.
|
|
That the second will prove to be correct the officers believe. This
|
|
belief is based on what Mrs. Douglas MacLean, wife of a motion picture
|
|
director, residing in the house next to that of Taylor, saw.
|
|
At 7:10, according to Mrs. MacLean's maid, Mr. and Mrs. MacLean sat down
|
|
to dinner. While the second course was being served the maid claims to have
|
|
heard footsteps of a man in a rear alley running between the two houses. She
|
|
commented upon it to her employers, but thought nothing of it until she heard
|
|
of the murder yesterday morning.
|
|
At 7:50 o'clock, six minutes after Miss Normand left with Taylor to go
|
|
to her machine, Mrs. MacLean heard a shot and went to her door.
|
|
A man was just leaving the Taylor home.
|
|
He was not Sands, the valet. Mrs. MacLean is sure of this, she says.
|
|
She knew Sands.
|
|
When she saw the man he was just stepping through the door. He turned
|
|
half-way around, glanced back through the door and then pulled it shut.
|
|
He saw her, she says, as she stood watching him, but did not show any
|
|
alarm. She closed her door just as he started away from the Taylor home.
|
|
He walked, she declared, not out to Alvarado street to the main
|
|
entrance, but disappeared through the alley leading between Taylor's house
|
|
and hers.
|
|
The mysterious visitor was large of stature. wore dark rough clothing
|
|
and had a muffler and cap on. She could not see his face.
|
|
This man, the police believe, is the murderer.
|
|
They believe it was he whom the MacLean's maid heard as she was serving
|
|
dinner. It is probable, they think, that he was acquainted with Taylor's
|
|
habits.
|
|
Friends say that Taylor left the door open when he left his home for a
|
|
few minutes.
|
|
The mysterious visitor is believed to have secreted himself around the
|
|
corner of the house and watched until Taylor came out with Miss Normand. As
|
|
the two walked toward the film star's car, the assassin probably hurried into
|
|
the house through the door left open by his victim.
|
|
When Taylor was found his body was lying with the head toward the east
|
|
wall, directly in front of a writing desk. The feet were near the door, the
|
|
legs outstretched. He was on his back.
|
|
It is the police theory that when he returned to the house after bidding
|
|
Miss Normand good night he sat down at the desk to work. An open check book
|
|
was lying on the desk, a pen nearby, when the murder was discovered.
|
|
The murderer, waiting behind a pillar in the room, stepped out when he
|
|
believed Taylor to be settled in the chair and fired.
|
|
The bullet entered below the left shoulder blade and penetrated the
|
|
heart.
|
|
Taylor died instantly, pitched forward and in failing upset the chair.
|
|
The chair was found lying across his legs when the body was discovered.
|
|
Intimate friends say that it was the one used by Taylor at his desk.
|
|
The murderer is then believed to have hurried to the door, glanced back
|
|
just as Mrs. MacLean discovered him and then fled through the alley.
|
|
When Peavey, the servant, saw the body of his dead master, as he opened
|
|
the front door yesterday morning, screaming into the bungalow court yard,
|
|
Mrs. Verne Dumas, who heard his cries, called the police.
|
|
Detectives who responded made a casual examination, but did not turn the
|
|
body over until Coroner Nance reached the scene. The first report issued from
|
|
the headquarters was that Taylor had died of natural of causes.
|
|
As soon as it became known that the director had been murdered Detective
|
|
Captain David Adams assigned every available officer to the case. Officials
|
|
from the public administrator's office were sent to the house and took charge
|
|
of the dead man's personal effects. Thousands of dollars worth of jewels
|
|
were found in his bedroom.
|
|
A half completed income tax blank lying on the desk showed his annual
|
|
income to be $37,000.
|
|
Coroner Nance ordered the body sent to the undertaking parlors of Ivy
|
|
Overholtzer on South Flower street and detectives then began the work of
|
|
running down the murderer.
|
|
According to Peavey, the servant, his murdered master had no enemies that
|
|
he knew of nor had he had any difficulty with any guest that had visited the
|
|
house while he was present.
|
|
When he left for the night Wednesday, Taylor seemed to be in high
|
|
spirits and was conversing in an animated manner with Miss Normand. Police
|
|
are convinced that the servant can throw no light on the mystery.
|
|
Miss Normand told Detective Sergeants Wallace and Ziegler that she had
|
|
gone to two jewelry stores downtown before she went to Taylor's home. They
|
|
were closed and after buying some peanuts from a vendor at Seventh street and
|
|
Broadway and a copy of the Police Gazette she hurried to Taylor's home.
|
|
Her story and that of her chauffeur, William Davis, coincide. Miss
|
|
Normand claims that she left the Taylor home about 7:45 o'clock, and that the
|
|
director walked with her to the machine, leaving, as was his custom, the door
|
|
open behind him.
|
|
When they reached the car, she says, her chauffeur had been reading the
|
|
magazine. He hastily threw it aside and Taylor saw it. The couple had been
|
|
discussing literature and he chided her good naturedly about reading that
|
|
type of magazine.
|
|
She says that after she left Taylor at the curbing she immediately
|
|
returned to her home. While in Taylor's home she had discussed with Taylor a
|
|
certain charge made against his negro servant involving social vagrancy.
|
|
Miss Normand was informed by motion picture friends of the tragedy soon
|
|
after the body was discovered. She refused to receive callers outside of
|
|
headquarters officers and close intimate friends.
|
|
To further the theory that Taylor was killed by some one other than his
|
|
former valet, police point to a story told by a guest in the Dumas home, near
|
|
by, who claims that on last Monday night early he saw two men go up to the
|
|
door of the Taylor home, try the door with a key and then walk away. One of
|
|
these men is believed to have been the murderer.
|
|
Several others in the block beside Mr. and Mrs. MacLean claim to have
|
|
heard the fatal shot. E. C. Jessurum, owner of the court, who was ill in bed
|
|
heard it and called it to the attention of his wife. who was reading to him.
|
|
Not hearing a second shot, they thought nothing of the interruption.
|
|
One of the first visitors at the Taylor home after police detectives had
|
|
taken charge was Mary Miles Minter, mutual friend of Miss Normand and the
|
|
murdered man.
|
|
Friends had informed her of the tragedy. Accompanied by her mother, she
|
|
hurried to the Taylor home, but was met at the door by Detective Sergeant
|
|
Hermann Cline, who briefly told her what had happened. She became hysterical
|
|
and it was several minutes before she could talk coherently.
|
|
She said that Taylor had directed her in three pictures and that she
|
|
considered him an intimate friend. She knew of no enemies that might have
|
|
sought his death, she said.
|
|
"Why, he was a wonderful man," she added, "and every one that knew him
|
|
loved him." This sentiment was voiced too, by her mother. Miss Minter said
|
|
that the last time she saw Taylor was Wednesday afternoon, when she met him
|
|
at the corner of Seventh and Alvarado streets.
|
|
That Taylor had a premonition of his death and told several friends was
|
|
learned last night.
|
|
According to Mrs. J. M. Berger, income tax specialist, who is at present
|
|
engaged by Miss Normand, the murdered man told her Wednesday afternoon that
|
|
"he felt that something was going to happen to him."
|
|
They laughed the subject away, though, and apparently Taylor forgot it.
|
|
He told the same thing to other persons--friends in the motion picture
|
|
colony, but all ridiculed the idea.
|
|
The house in which Taylor was found is lavishly furnished. The lower
|
|
floor consists of a living room, dining room and kitchen. Upstairs, with the
|
|
stairway leading from the dining room, are two bedrooms. One of these rooms
|
|
was used by Taylor to sleep in. The other was reserved as a guest chamber.
|
|
Photographs, all of them affectionately autographed, of famous stars,
|
|
whom Taylor had directed are the most conspicuous decorations in the living
|
|
room. These include one of Mary Pickford, who describes Taylor as "the most
|
|
patient man I ever knew."
|
|
A search of the house by detectives and the deputy police administrator
|
|
revealed a large quantity of expensive bonded liquors. This was taken charge
|
|
of together with his other personal effects.
|
|
Late yesterday afternoon Detective Captain Adams assigned Detectives
|
|
Sergeants Hermann Cline, Murphy and Winn to the case.
|
|
The detectives, after interviewing Miss Normand's chauffeur, admitted
|
|
that the case is one of the most baffling that has confronted the Los Angeles
|
|
department for many years.
|
|
Sands, the former valet being sought, is said to be in Los Angeles, and
|
|
several friends of Taylor told police last night that they had seen him.
|
|
Every officer has been furnished with his description and given orders to
|
|
arrest him on sight. Police are not yet ready, they say, to implicate him in
|
|
the murder, but he is the one known man who would have a motive for desiring
|
|
Taylor's death, and his explanation of where he was on the night of the
|
|
murder is anxiously awaited by officers.
|
|
If he is innocent, they believe, despite felony warrant already issued
|
|
for him, he will surrender rather than take the chance of being accused of
|
|
suspicion of murder by remaining in hiding.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
|
Taylor's Light Burned Late
|
|
|
|
Miss Edna Purviance, who lived in the two-story bungalow adjoining the
|
|
home of William D. Taylor, the Lasky film director who was shot Wednesday
|
|
night, said that when she returned to her home some time near midnight
|
|
Wednesday she noticed lights burning in Mr. Taylor's house, but that as
|
|
Mr. Taylor was given to burning the midnight oil, being a great reader, she
|
|
thought nothing of it.
|
|
"I was awakened," said Miss Purviance last night, "early Thursday
|
|
morning by the terrifying voice of some one who seemed to be running up and
|
|
down the court, screaming, 'Mr. Taylor is dead! Mr. Taylor is dead!'
|
|
I looked out the window and saw his negro boy Henry, who was almost frantic
|
|
with grief, as he was very much attached to Mr. Taylor.
|
|
"Before they found the bullet wound in Mr. Taylor's back they thought he
|
|
had died of heart disease, and that seemed terrible enough, but when we
|
|
learned he had been murdered, almost at our own door, it seemed too horrible
|
|
to believe.
|
|
"I knew Mr. Taylor only very slightly. I had never worked with him and
|
|
had only met him to a purely formal social way. I thought him to be a very
|
|
interesting, likable, discerning gentleman, with gallant, polished manners
|
|
and a brilliant intellect.
|
|
"I always heard him spoken of as a man with a reputation above reproach
|
|
and a nature that was kind and generous. Although living as a near neighbor,
|
|
I saw him very infrequently and knew nothing of his private life or of his
|
|
love affairs, if he had any. I knew that he and Miss Normand were good
|
|
friends but knew nothing of heart interest on either side."
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
|
Valet Tells of Finding Body
|
|
|
|
There were tears on the cheek of Henry Peavey, colored, who for six
|
|
months had been employed as William Desmond Taylor's valet, as he told the
|
|
story yesterday of how he discovered the murdered man's body upon entering
|
|
the apartment yesterday morning.
|
|
The night before, when Peavey left to go to his own home, Taylor called
|
|
a cheery, "Good night, Henry."
|
|
"I can hear his voice yet," said this humble mourner. "It was the kind
|
|
of strong, friendly voice that made a man feel good." And then he burst out,
|
|
"I'd be willing to go to jail for the rest of my life if I could get the man
|
|
that did it."
|
|
The valet was at his last task for the master; he was wiping up the
|
|
blood from the floor, but his sobs shook him at times so that he could not
|
|
proceed.
|
|
"I've worked for a lot of men," he went on, "but Mr. Taylor was the most
|
|
wonderful of all of them. I came here this morning intending to fix his bath
|
|
and get his breakfast, which I always does. And before the bath I'd bring
|
|
him a dose of medicine. It was always just the same--for breakfast two soft-
|
|
boiled-eggs, toast, and a glass of orange juice.
|
|
"And having it in my mind to make everything just as nice as I could,
|
|
knowing he would be pleased and say a kind word, I opened the door.
|
|
"And then I found him stretched out on the floor, which was all bloody
|
|
and his feet toward the door.
|
|
"And then I backed to the door, pretty near overcome with horror, and
|
|
yelled for the landlord. The way I figure it is that somebody slipped in
|
|
last night when Mr. Taylor took Miss Normand to the car and shot him from
|
|
hiding. But how could any one kill such a man as he was?"
|
|
Peavey lives at 127 1/2 East Third street. His habit was to reach the
|
|
Taylor apartment before breakfast and leave after dinner.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
|
All the picture studios in Los Angeles were in mourning yesterday.
|
|
The mysterious murder of William Desmond Taylor shocked the entire
|
|
motion picture colony and held the focus of attention on every "lot" in Los
|
|
Angeles.
|
|
It is probable that no man in the motion picture business had more
|
|
friends than the slain director. He had directed virtually every well-known
|
|
star and thus had come in contact with hundreds of men and women in the
|
|
various studios in which he had worked.
|
|
The majority of those who learned the circumstances of Taylor's
|
|
mysterious death were inclined toward the theory that robbery was the motive.
|
|
They believe a sneak thief had entered the house during Taylor's temporary
|
|
absence and that Taylor discovered his presence on his return. The
|
|
subsequent struggle and shot, they believe, frightened the marauder away
|
|
without any booty.
|
|
Comments were heard in many studios on the fact that Taylor had had
|
|
trouble with Ed. F. Sands, former valet-secretary to the dead man. A felony
|
|
warrant has been out for Sands for several months and many friends of Mr.
|
|
Taylor expressed a strong wish to learn Sands' present whereabouts.
|
|
The theory that there was a "love motive' in the crime and that its
|
|
unraveling will reveal a woman either as the instigator, perpetrator or
|
|
unconscious motive for the shooting was scoffed at by Taylor's friends. From
|
|
every "lot" in Los Angeles came the testimony that Taylor had led a life
|
|
unusually free from feminine entanglements.
|
|
Charles Eyton, studio manager at Lasky's was emphatic in discrediting
|
|
the "Cherchez la Femme" theory of the crime...
|
|
The same opinion ruled among the press representatives at the Laksy
|
|
studio where Taylor was well known and warmly admired. Arch Reeve, Barrett
|
|
Kiesling and Al Wilkie, all of whom had known Taylor for years were convinced
|
|
that robbery was the motive for the killing. They described him as a man of
|
|
solitary habits, quiet and reserved, whose name the breath of scandal never
|
|
had touched...
|
|
Mary Miles Minter was another star who was greatly shocked by the
|
|
occurrence. With tears streaming down her face she recalled incidents that
|
|
happened the last time she had talked with the director...
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 2, 1922
|
|
Lannie Haynes Martin
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
|
Miss Mabel Normand, Mack Sennett film star, who was probably the last
|
|
friend to see William D. Taylor, the Lasky film director who was shot
|
|
Wednesday night, alive, told in detail late yesterday afternoon, the time and
|
|
the incidents of her visit to his home early in the evening, previous to the
|
|
shooting, and stated that she had no doubt that the person who shot him was
|
|
the man who had twice robbed him and who had annoyed him with mysterious
|
|
telephone calls recently.
|
|
"There was no affair of the heart whatever between William D. Taylor and
|
|
myself," said Miss Normand yesterday afternoon at her beautiful home in West
|
|
Seventh and Vermont avenue. "His friendship for me was that of an older man
|
|
for a girl who liked the outdoor sports he liked and who was eager to glean a
|
|
little enlightenment from the vast storehouse of knowledge which he
|
|
possessed.
|
|
"Mr. Taylor was a man who knew everything. If I wanted to know the
|
|
meaning of an unusual word I did not have to take the trouble to hunt up a
|
|
dictionary. I just had my secretary telephone Mr. Taylor. If I wanted to
|
|
find the name of a painter or sculptor of some rare work of art he was sure
|
|
to know that, too, and if I were puzzling over some classical or scientific
|
|
reference in my reading, I only had to ask him to have the entire matter
|
|
explained, for besides having the education and the instincts of an artist,
|
|
he was a deep student of science as well.
|
|
"I liked to go out with Mr. Taylor because there was a certain
|
|
protective dignity in his quiet high bred manner that prevented the
|
|
obtrusive, offensively familiar person who had only seen my face on the
|
|
screen, from running up and saying, 'Hello, Mabel!' and we were the best of
|
|
pals. I think Mr. Taylor had the finest, highest sense of honor of almost
|
|
any one I have ever known, and I respected him and admired him more than I
|
|
can tell. My chief liking for him, however, was because of his wonderful
|
|
brain and the things he could teach me. I am studying French, and as he
|
|
spoke French fluently he was of great assistance to me and there was hardly a
|
|
day that he did not recommend some book to me to read. It was to get a book
|
|
he had phoned about that I went to his house Wednesday evening about 7
|
|
o'clock.
|
|
"I had been downtown shopping and was at my bank and phoned home to my
|
|
housekeeper to know if there had been any calls for me. She said Mr. Taylor
|
|
had phoned that he had the book I wanted, so I attended to a few errands and
|
|
had my chauffeur drive me by Mr. Taylor's home. I sat down for a few
|
|
minutes, commented on the change he had made in some bookcases, I had not
|
|
seen the place in a couple of months. We talked a little of books and plays
|
|
and he asked me to stay for dinner, saying that although he had had his
|
|
dinner, he wanted me to try a certain kind of rice pudding his cook had made,
|
|
but I told him that I had phoned home I would be back to dinner and they were
|
|
expecting me.
|
|
"He then told his colored boy that I would not be staying for dinner and
|
|
the boy went out just ahead of us. Mr. Taylor took me to my car and on the
|
|
floor of the car were a number of magazines, some of them, were rather light
|
|
and I suppose sensational. Mr. Taylor expressed surprise that I read such
|
|
things and rather upbraided me for having such low-brow taste. He gave me
|
|
the book, as I got in the car. It was one of Freud's latest, and said I will
|
|
phone after while and see how you like it. That was the last I ever heard
|
|
his voice. This morning when Edna Purviance rushed in and said Mr. Taylor
|
|
was dead I was sure it was all some horrible mistake.
|
|
"I came home from Mr. Taylor's house, had my dinner and was in bed
|
|
before 9 o'clock. I read a little while and when he did not phone I wondered
|
|
a little and then thought no more about it and went to sleep.
|
|
"Mr. Taylor was so uniformly kind to every one. It seems horrible that
|
|
he should have met a death of this kind, and with the exception of the man
|
|
who had been in his employ and who had robbed him, I cannot believe he had an
|
|
enemy in the world. He had a warrant sworn out for the man, but he had never
|
|
been apprehended. Yesterday Mr. Taylor told his secretary that he had a
|
|
strange presentment about this man and wished he had not had the warrant
|
|
sworn-out.
|
|
"I wish there were something I could do to throw some light on this
|
|
terrible tragedy, but it was mere chance that took me to his door a few hours
|
|
before it happened and I feel very indignant as do also the members of my
|
|
household and the managers and directors of my company, that my name should
|
|
have been unnecessarily connected with the unhappy event. Any one, out of
|
|
scores of his acquaintances might have called at his house on that particular
|
|
evening and it seemed a cruel thing to me that I should be questioned about
|
|
it.
|
|
"I have known Mr. Taylor for six or seven years. He had high ideals
|
|
regarding his work and a far reaching vision that made him have great faith
|
|
in the wonderful things that the moving picture has yet to do. He not only
|
|
had an eye for beautiful objects and harmony of composition and arrangement,
|
|
but he had a soul that appreciated the abstract beauty that these things
|
|
stood for as symbols. To him loyalty, honor, faith, justice and beauty were
|
|
realities. They were forces that move the world onward and sculpture out
|
|
recognized qualities in the human countenance. And it was the clean,
|
|
wholesome beautiful things of life that he wanted to portray on screen.
|
|
"Mr. Taylor was a wonderful conversationalist because he observed
|
|
everything and everybody with the eye of understanding sympathy. He could
|
|
tell of his travels in Alaska or his trips through Europe and the stories
|
|
would not be merely geographical descriptions of countries and customs, but
|
|
philosophical observations that made all of his experiences a commentary on
|
|
life.
|
|
"I feel proud to have called such a man friend and am sorry that his
|
|
extreme modesty and diffidence kept many from knowing the depth and
|
|
brilliance of his true nature. But he was not in the least pedantic or high-
|
|
browish. He was full of wit and jest and he would tease and twit me about
|
|
things I did or wore, and sometimes we would have a perfect gab fest, in
|
|
slang, just like a couple of kids. He was just an all around, sure-enough
|
|
human being.
|
|
"I am just in the middle of a big picture and, of course, I am going
|
|
right on working, but the sudden news of the tragic death of such a friend as
|
|
this was naturally a great shock to me and I am all broken up today."
|
|
Besieged by friends, members of her profession and representatives of
|
|
the press, Miss Normand denied herself to all callers yesterday and remained
|
|
in the seclusion of her room, a dainty rose and old ivory boudoir whose walls
|
|
are lined with books of verse, of plays, of fiction, philosophy, science and
|
|
history. There were books on the dresser, scattered all over gold-mounted
|
|
toilet articles, big fat books on art sprawling all over a chaise-lounge, and
|
|
on a little stand by her bed there were some volumes of poetry and psycho-
|
|
analytical philosophy.
|
|
"Yes, I do read a great deal," confessed Miss Normand, "one has to in
|
|
order to understand what other people are talking about and most of the books
|
|
you see here were either given me or suggested by Mr. Taylor. I sometimes
|
|
wondered how he ever got the time to read all the different kinds, of things
|
|
he had read.
|
|
"Mr. Taylor was a man who would have been a credit to any profession on
|
|
the face of the earth, because he lived a clean, wholesome, upright, life of
|
|
kindness and usefulness to his fellow beings. Those of us who believe in our
|
|
art and our profession and have ideals and ambitions for the attainment of
|
|
success and for that thing which is valued above great riches, a good name,
|
|
feel that we have not only lost a personal friend but that the profession has
|
|
lost a rare exemplar whose influence will be missed by all."
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES
|
|
Tracing the movements of a man suspected of being the slayer of William
|
|
Desmond Taylor, internationally known film director, who was shot to death in
|
|
his Alvarado-street apartments Wednesday night, investigators for The Times
|
|
last night located four witnesses who saw the man before and after the
|
|
tragedy. Actuated by motives of revenge due to jealousy, the police believe,
|
|
the murderer fired the fatal shot as near as can be calculated a few minutes
|
|
before 7:45 p.m., as Mr. Taylor was seated at his writing desk or just as he
|
|
returned and closed the door when he returned from escorting Mabel Normand,
|
|
actress, to her car.
|
|
Between 7:45 and 7:50 p.m., just after the report of the revolver was
|
|
heard, Mrs. MacLean, wife of Douglas MacLean, the actor, who lives near the
|
|
Taylor home, saw a man leaving the Taylor apartments. He was described as
|
|
being about five feet nine or ten inches tall, of medium build and roughly,
|
|
but not shabbily dressed in dark clothes and a plaid cap.
|
|
Shortly before 6 o'clock a man answering this description stopped at the
|
|
Hartley service station, Sixth and Alvarado streets, and inquired where W. D.
|
|
Taylor resided. Floyd Hartley, 231 South Bonnie Brae street, and L. A.
|
|
Grant, in charge of the station, were in the place at the time.
|
|
The circumstances recited by both of these witnesses tally to the
|
|
minutest detail. The inquirer was 26 or 27 years old, they said, weighed
|
|
about 165 pounds, wore a dark suit, probably of blue serge, and a light hat
|
|
or cap. He had dark hair and was of medium complexion.
|
|
They directed him to the Alvarado Terrace Apartments and he left the oil
|
|
station. He walked toward the apartments. That was the last they saw of
|
|
him.
|
|
Maryland street runs east and west at the rear of Mr. Taylor's
|
|
apartment. It is a street car stop on the West First-street car line, but
|
|
passengers board cars there at only rare intervals, possibly not for months.
|
|
E. W. Dascomb, conductor, and R. S. Woodard, motorman, stated that a man
|
|
answering the description boarded their car at either 7:54 or 8:27 p.m. They
|
|
were not certain which stop it was, but took notice because of the
|
|
infrequency with which passengers are taken on the Maryland-street stop.
|
|
"I took particular notice of this passenger on that account," said
|
|
Conductor Dascomb. "It was an inbound trip. This fellow was about five feet
|
|
and ten inches tall, fairly well dressed, as I remember, weighed about 165
|
|
pounds, and his hat or cap was of a light color. I remember that he wore
|
|
something tan, but I don't recall whether it was his coat or vest. I can't
|
|
remember where he got off, but I think I would know him again."
|
|
Motorman Woodard recalled that Mr. Grant, in charge of the oil station,
|
|
had mentioned the circumstances of a man inquiring for Mr. Taylor, and of the
|
|
similarity in descriptions. The descriptions given by Mrs. MacLean, Mr.
|
|
Woodward, and Mr. Dascomb tally so closely that authorities believe there is
|
|
little doubt but what that three people saw the same man.
|
|
It is believed that the slayer had no automobile. Persons residing in
|
|
the vicinity have taken special notice of machines parked there "because the
|
|
noise kept them awake," and they do not recall having seen any cars parked on
|
|
Maryland street that night. This lends confirmation to the theory that the
|
|
killer boarded a West First-street car.
|
|
Mrs. J. H. Tander and her three sons reside directly across from Mr.
|
|
Taylor's apartment at 360 South Alvarado Street. The occupants of the house
|
|
were awake until after 9:30 p.m. and observed no automobile nor saw anyone
|
|
loitering in the vicinity.
|
|
Persons residing at 401 Westlake avenue, the house adjacent from Mr.
|
|
Taylor's apartments, give similar information.
|
|
Several hours were devoted yesterday to questioning Mabel Normand, well-
|
|
known motion-picture actress and asserted fiancee of Mr. Taylor. Miss
|
|
Normand is the last person thus far found who saw him alive. Her chauffeur,
|
|
William Davis, also was questioned.
|
|
Their stories were that Miss Normand left the Taylor apartments, 404-B
|
|
South Alvarado street, at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. Mr. Taylor accompanied her to
|
|
the automobile.
|
|
Immediately after checking up on this phase of the case the police
|
|
started a search for the man Mrs. MacLean saw leaving the apartments between
|
|
7:45 and 7:50 p.m. soon after the report of a pistol shot was heard.
|
|
While a search was under way for this man, the police also were making
|
|
energetic efforts to find E. F. Sands, former secretary of Mr. Taylor, who
|
|
was accused several months ago of forgery by the latter. Since a warrant was
|
|
issued for the arrest of Sands on the asserted forgeries no trace of his
|
|
whereabouts has been found.
|
|
The tremendous resources of the Famous Players-Lasky organization were
|
|
offered the police yesterday by Jesse L. Lasky, first vice-president of the
|
|
company, for the capture of the assassin of the film director. Unlimited
|
|
supply of money, time and effort was promised to the detectives, and every
|
|
possible assistance will be given them by Mr. Taylor's friends and former
|
|
associates, the officers were told.
|
|
News of the murder stirred the motion-picture colony. Several intimate
|
|
friends rushed to the home, among them being Mary Miles Minter, who became
|
|
almost hysterical.
|
|
The revenge and jealousy motive as a theory was strengthened by the fact
|
|
that none of the valuables in the apartments or in Mr. Taylor's clothing was
|
|
disturbed. About $78 in money was in his pocketbook, a two-carat diamond
|
|
ring was not taken, and his platinum watch also was left.
|
|
Detective Sergeants Herman Cline, Murphy, Cato, Cahill, Zeigler and
|
|
Wallace, checked many clews. Among one of the leads furnished the police was
|
|
a report that a man, eager to see Mr. Taylor, had inquired two days before at
|
|
the Morosco Theater for his residence address, and insisted on getting it at
|
|
once. The actions of this man aroused suspicion.
|
|
An autopsy performed at the Ivy Overholtzer undertaking establishment
|
|
showed that Mr. Taylor had been shot from the back with a .38-caliber
|
|
revolver. Only one bullet was found. It entered on the left side toward the
|
|
back about six inches under the arm pit. The course of the bullet indicated
|
|
it had gone upwards and it was extracted in the fleshy part of the neck on
|
|
the right side just below the ear. Both lobes of the left lung had been
|
|
punctured.
|
|
The nearest approach to an eyewitness account of the crime was furnished
|
|
by Mrs. MacLean. About 7:45 p.m. she heard the shot and when she looked out
|
|
the window she saw a man she described as roughly dressed, wearing a plaid
|
|
cap, open the door of the Taylor apartment. The porch light was turned on,
|
|
as were the lights in the rest of the house, she stated.
|
|
This man paused as he came out of the door, looked around as if talking
|
|
to some one inside and then left. He walked to an alley that leads to
|
|
Maryland street, passing between Mr. Taylor's house and that of Mrs. MacLean.
|
|
The murderer, it is believed, lurked in the shadows back to the Taylor
|
|
flat and in the narrow alley between it and the garage, waiting for his
|
|
opportunity.
|
|
This theory of the police was reinforced last night by the discovery of
|
|
six cigarette stubs in the immediate vicinity of the back door of the Taylor
|
|
flat and in the alley facing the east windows of the murdered man's
|
|
apartment. A maid at the MacLean home also said she heard some one lurking
|
|
in the alley about 7:15 p.m. and heard the fatal shot about thirty minutes
|
|
later.
|
|
The man who smoked the cigarettes was very nervous. The half-smoked
|
|
cigarettes show that. They were scattered around. One was barely touched.
|
|
Evidently this one was the last one smoked by the man while waiting. It was
|
|
found in the alley, leading the detectives to believe that the man threw it
|
|
away almost immediately after lighting it, and that he watched Mr. Taylor
|
|
leave the house.
|
|
The back door of the Taylor flat opens on the sidewalk of the south side
|
|
of Maryland street, just east of Alvarado. Between the east side of the
|
|
structure where the Taylor flat is located and the garage used by occupants
|
|
of the flats in the court is a narrow, cement-paved alley. This alley, too,
|
|
leads into Maryland street. A large tree affords ample protection from the
|
|
light on Alvarado street at night, blocks the view of the house. It is in
|
|
the shadow of this tree, the officers believe, that the murderer lay in wait,
|
|
smoking his cigarettes. More than half a dozen of matches were found on the
|
|
lawn between the curb of Maryland street and the back window of the Taylor
|
|
flat.
|
|
The opportunity for him to enter the house came, the police believe,
|
|
when Mr. Taylor escorted Miss Normand to her automobile. During the few
|
|
minutes required for this, the murderer slipped into the open door and waited
|
|
behind it for the return of Mr. Taylor, the officers think.
|
|
Mrs. MacLean, who knows Sands, stated the man who left the Taylor
|
|
apartment did not look familiar to her. The investigators, however, have not
|
|
relaxed their efforts to find Sands in order to question him in the hope he
|
|
may be able to aid them in solving the mystery.
|
|
Mr. Taylor left the Famous Players-Lasky studio, where he was a
|
|
director, at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, according to Barrett Keisling, publicity
|
|
man.
|
|
From the story related by Henry Peavey, negro, houseman, who found the
|
|
body, Mr. Taylor came immediately home, ate dinner and was visited by Miss
|
|
Normand.
|
|
Los Angeles and New York film colonies were deeply affected by the news
|
|
of the murder. Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle, awaiting the verdict in his
|
|
manslaughter trial in San Francisco, said:
|
|
"Mr. Taylor's death comes as a great shock to me. We were good friends
|
|
and never a whisper of scandal arouse about him. He was one of the finest
|
|
fellows on the 'lot.'"
|
|
Detective Sergts. Cline, Wynn and Murphy questioned several friends of
|
|
Mr. Taylor late last night in an effort to obtain any information that may
|
|
aid in solving the mystery.
|
|
Detective Sergeants Cato and Cahill, both personal friends of Mr.
|
|
Taylor, left the police station late last night to question a former
|
|
sweetheart of Mr. Taylor. They declined to divulge her name.
|
|
Mary Miles Minter, who was directed in several plays by Mr. Taylor and
|
|
who holds high regard for him, declared yesterday she could think of no
|
|
enemies or persons who would have a motive in killing him.
|
|
She denied reports she had ever been engaged to marry him, saying she
|
|
was extremely sorry she never had been, because she admired him greatly as a
|
|
man.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 3, 1992
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES
|
|
Man Who Found Body is Sought in Police Court
|
|
|
|
While the police were endeavoring to solve the mystery of who murdered
|
|
William D. Taylor, motion picture director, his colored houseman, Henry
|
|
Peavey, who discovered the body yesterday morning, was slated to appear in
|
|
Police Court to answer a charge of vagrancy.
|
|
The case, slated for Judge Chamber's court, was called, but on account
|
|
of Peavey's absence was put over, the date to be set later. Peavey's arrest
|
|
followed asserted acts of indecency several days ago in Westlake Park.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES
|
|
Drinks the Evidence
|
|
Portion of Gin Concoction Found in Director's Home
|
|
|
|
Among the mute evidences of what had taken place in the home of William
|
|
D. Taylor Wednesday night, when he was shot, was an expensive silver and cut-
|
|
glass drinking service. On it were a decanter, a shaker used in mixing
|
|
drinks, and two large glasses with portions of a drink left in them.
|
|
Cigarette stubs littered the tray. In the glasses was orange pulp,
|
|
apparently left from an orange and gin concoction. This service was found on
|
|
the dining-room table. The body was in an adjoining room.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
Grace Kingsley
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES
|
|
|
|
Tells of Visiting Taylor
|
|
Mabel Normand Explains Call on Friend and Says
|
|
He Helped Her Into Her Car When She Left.
|
|
|
|
Mabel Normand, seen at her home at Seventh street and Vermont avenue
|
|
yesterday, was much agitated over the murder of her old friend, William D.
|
|
Taylor. She gave a clear and frank statement of all her movements Wednesday
|
|
afternoon and evening. J. A. Waldron, the Mack Sennett studio manager, was
|
|
with her all day, answering phone calls and receiving messages, Miss Normand
|
|
stated.
|
|
Continuing, she stated that she spent the afternoon downtown, attending
|
|
principally to income tax matters and to her banking. She then called her
|
|
home from the bank at Sixth and Main streets and asked if there were any
|
|
messages for her. Her maid said: "Mr. Taylor has been trying to get you all
|
|
the afternoon, and we told him that you were out. We told him you were
|
|
downtown."
|
|
"He had been trying to get some books for me that I wanted," said Miss
|
|
Normand. "We always discussed books a great deal. He told the maid he had
|
|
got one of the books at Parker's and was sending it by his chauffeur. He
|
|
said that he had obtained the other book I wanted at Robinson's, and left
|
|
word with the maid for me to stop at his house and get it.
|
|
"I went and bought 5 cents worth of peanuts, but the man didn't have any
|
|
change; so I went to the drug store in the Pacific Electric Building and got
|
|
the change. I bought a lot of magazines and papers, among others a Police
|
|
Gazette. I ate the peanuts on the way, and we drove out to Mr. Taylor's, and
|
|
when I got out I told my chauffeur to clean the car. Then I went up on the
|
|
steps. I heard Mr. Taylor talking to somebody over the phone, underneath the
|
|
stairs, and I hesitated about going in until he had finished. Then I
|
|
entered. He had been talking to Mrs. Marjorie Berger, who has charge of the
|
|
income tax business for many of the picture folk, including myself.
|
|
"He came in and said, 'Gee, I am glad to see you.' I said, 'I just came
|
|
up for the book.'
|
|
"I arrived at his house about five minutes after 7. We talked about
|
|
books. I looked around his drawing-room, and told him I thought he had
|
|
changed his house furnishings. He said, 'You haven't been here for so long
|
|
you forgot.' I hadn't been to his house before in two months. He said, 'The
|
|
Victrola is the only thing new.'
|
|
"His servant, Henry, had been arrested for some sort of misconduct, and
|
|
he was saying that perhaps he would have to go down to court tomorrow (that's
|
|
today) to see about it. Henry came in, and I said to Mr. Taylor, 'Have you
|
|
had your dinner?' He said, 'Yes, have you had yours?' I said, 'No, but I am
|
|
tired, and I'm going home now. I have a studio call for 7 o'clock tomorrow
|
|
morning.' I've been going to bed very early every night--haven't been
|
|
anywhere since I began work on my present picture.
|
|
"We were talking about the cameraman's ball next Saturday night, and he
|
|
said he had a box, and I said I had one. He told me whom he was going to
|
|
take and wanted to know whom I was going to take.
|
|
"Henry went out and talked to my chauffeur as my chauffeur cleaned up
|
|
the car. Henry was telling my chauffeur what a nice man Taylor was to work
|
|
for.
|
|
"Finally Mr. Taylor said 'Well, if you're tired why don't you go home
|
|
and rest and I will call you up this evening.' I asked Mr. Taylor who lived
|
|
in the different bungalows in the court, and he told me. We stood outside
|
|
two or three minutes talking. He had left his door open. He put me in the
|
|
car, and as he saw the peanut shells, and the pile of books, he laughed and
|
|
said: 'Here you are with Nietzsche under one arm and Freud under the other
|
|
and the Police Gazette close by. You certainly are going in for heavy
|
|
reading this winter.' I said, 'Yes, I wish I could get hold of Joe Miller's
|
|
Joke Book: that would complete the set.' Then he said 'Good-night, I will
|
|
call you up in about an hour.'
|
|
"I went home, had my dinner at once and was in bed and asleep by 8
|
|
o'clock. I didn't have to go to the studio this morning because there was
|
|
something the matter with the set.
|
|
"Edna Purviance called me up this morning and said 'Have you heard the
|
|
terrible news? William D. Taylor's valet is running up and down the court
|
|
screaming he is dead. They say he died of heart failure.' Afterward I
|
|
learned that he had been murdered.
|
|
"I hear that Mr. Taylor told Mrs. Berger he wished that he had called
|
|
off the warrant he had against Sands. I understand that he felt apprehensive
|
|
of harm from him. There were, I hear, all sorts of mysterious telephone
|
|
calls and all that. Sands was one of those servile human beings, apparently
|
|
all devotion to Mr. Taylor."
|
|
Miss Normand says that Edward Knoblock had Mr. Taylor's house while Mr.
|
|
Taylor was in Europe last summer and that Mr. Taylor had Mr. Knoblock's
|
|
London house. Sands apparently stayed right along in Mr. Taylor's service in
|
|
Los Angeles, and also assisted Mr. Knoblock. Two or three days before Mr.
|
|
Taylor was to arrive from London, Sands told Mr. Knoblock that he thought he
|
|
would take two or three days leave of absence, but would be back soon. He
|
|
never showed up again.
|
|
When Mr. Taylor arrived from London, he said he found that Sands had
|
|
stolen everything, had forged his name to checks and had gone to Hamburger's
|
|
and bought lingerie. He had a sweetheart here. Miss Normand doesn't know
|
|
who she was.
|
|
A few weeks ago Mr. Taylor's house was robbed again. Then from Stockton
|
|
he kept getting anonymous letters, and he received a pawnbroker's ticket,
|
|
showing that things had been pawned in the name of a Mrs. Tennant [sic], who
|
|
is Mr. Taylor's sister-in-law. The way Mr. Taylor knew it was really Sands
|
|
was because he had always spelled Mrs. Tennent's name wrong, and the wrong
|
|
spelling was on the ticket.
|
|
"Mr. Taylor knew that Sands wasn't out of California by this fact," said
|
|
Miss Normand.
|
|
Mrs. Marjorie Burger [sic] said that Mr. Taylor had told her often that
|
|
he had been getting mysterious phone calls. He talked so funny, saying that
|
|
he had wished sometimes that he had dropped prosecution. Mrs. Burger said:
|
|
"Why don't you get somebody to watch?" But he said, "Oh, no."
|
|
As for Mabel Normand's reported engagement to Mr. Taylor: she said, "We
|
|
have always been great friends. We love to talk over books and that sort of
|
|
thing. He's the sort of man who can come to the house, sit and read while I
|
|
play the piano, and talk informally over our work and over our books."
|
|
Mabel Normand admitted that Mr. Taylor had asked her to marry him, but
|
|
that phase of the friendship had been over for some time. They were just
|
|
good pals, she said.
|
|
Miss Normand and Mr. Taylor were seen out together a great deal at one
|
|
time; but of late they have hardly seen each other at all, she said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES
|
|
First Murder Theory Advanced By Police
|
|
Assailant Entered Home as Taylor Left for Moment, is Belief.
|
|
|
|
The first theory of the murder of William D. Taylor, motion-picture
|
|
director, evolved by the detectives assigned to the case, was as follows:
|
|
Mr. Taylor, just finishing his dinner, was visited by Mabel Normand.
|
|
They discussed a scenario and several other matters relating to motion
|
|
pictures. Some time shortly after 7 p.m. Henry Peavey, negro houseman
|
|
employed by Taylor, left the apartments for the night, leaving Mr. Taylor and
|
|
Miss Normand.
|
|
About 7:45 p.m., Miss Normand left the apartment, according to her
|
|
statement. She was accompanied to her automobile at the curbing by Mr.
|
|
Taylor. Her negro [sic] chauffeur was waiting for her and drove her home,
|
|
which she reached about 8 o'clock.
|
|
It was during this absence from the house by Mr. Taylor that his slayer
|
|
entered the apartment through the door that had been left open, the theory
|
|
goes. When Mr. Taylor entered the door on his return he was immediately
|
|
attacked, being shot from the back, probably as he closed the door.
|
|
The assailant left immediately. The shot was heard about 7:45 p.m.,
|
|
according to the account given by Mrs. Douglas MacLean, wife of Douglas
|
|
MacLean, motion-picture actor. Her maid also heard the report.
|
|
Mrs. MacLean went to the door of her apartment and saw a man leaving by
|
|
the front door of Mr. Taylor's home. He closed the door and looked around
|
|
back of him. Then he walked between the Taylor house and the one adjacent on
|
|
the west [sic], going north by the side entrance to Maryland street.
|
|
The description of this man was given to the officers, indicating he was
|
|
an American, medium height, but heavily built, and wore a plaid cap.
|
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES
|
|
Houseman Tells of Discovery
|
|
Incidents Leading Up to Tragedy Related by Man Who Lauds Dead Master.
|
|
|
|
Henry Peavey had been employed about six months by Mr. Taylor as
|
|
houseman and valet. He never slept in the house, leaving after the dinner,
|
|
if his master ate at home and returning the next morning.
|
|
"I had turned back the covers on Mr. Taylor's bed, put some ice water on
|
|
the table and finished the supper things," Peavey related. "The income tax
|
|
lady called on the telephone, and then Miss Normand arrived in her
|
|
automobile. They sat in rocking chairs and talked about some book. Mr.
|
|
Taylor was always reading books. He sometimes told me he had read until 2 or
|
|
3 o'clock in the morning. Once when he was making a picture he showed me a
|
|
pile of books, and said, 'I've got to read all these.'
|
|
"Well, I motioned to Mr. Taylor and he said, 'You may go now, Henry.'
|
|
That was about 7:30 o'clock. On the way to work in the morning I stopped at
|
|
a drug store and got a bottle of milk of magnesia. I often got that for Mr.
|
|
Taylor. I'd just buy it with my own money and every once in a while tell him
|
|
how much I had spent. He was a good man. He never asked me what I had spent
|
|
money for; just how much I had spent to keep him comfortable. As soon as I
|
|
opened the door I saw his feet. I said, 'Mr. Taylor. Mr. Taylor.' Then I
|
|
peeped in and saw his face, and I knew something had happened. I started to
|
|
yell and all the people in the court came out. I ran to the landlord. No,
|
|
sir, I didn't go into the house. No, sir.
|
|
"Mr. Taylor had few friends call. I can only remember his having people
|
|
for dinner two or three times since I have been with him. At night he would
|
|
stay home and read. He went out little and drank very little. He was a very
|
|
good man."
|
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES
|
|
Servant Finds Body on Floor
|
|
Steel Bullet Overlooked in First Examination
|
|
Mabel Normand Says She Left Early in Evening.
|
|
Overturned Chair is Only Evidence of Struggle.
|
|
|
|
The discovery of the murder of William Desmond Taylor was made about
|
|
7:30 a.m. yesterday when Henry Peavey, colored house man employed by Taylor,
|
|
came to work. Peavey says he opened the front door and was first attracted
|
|
by the body lying on the floor of the living-room, when he saw Mr. Taylor's
|
|
feet. The body was feet toward the door and over the legs was a chair that
|
|
apparently had been overturned.
|
|
Peavey declares he called to his employer and then decided he was dead.
|
|
"I ran from the house, " Peavey said, "and the folks around here say I
|
|
made a commotion. The neighbors came running and later they took the body
|
|
away."
|
|
Peavey last saw Mr. Taylor alive Wednesday night about 7:30 o'clock, he
|
|
said. He had prepared dinner for him and just as he was serving dessert,
|
|
Mabel Normand, well-known film actress and said by friends to have been his
|
|
fiancee, came to see Mr. Taylor.
|
|
This visit began about 7 o'clock, Peavey stated. When he left the home
|
|
at 7:30 p.m., Miss Normand was still there.
|
|
A physician was called and at first it was believed the death was of
|
|
natural causes, probably brought about by a hemorrhage. It was not until a
|
|
considerable time after the remains were taken to the Ivy Overholtzer
|
|
undertaking establishment that discovery was made that Mr. Taylor had been
|
|
shot.
|
|
The wound was in the back, entering at the left side in a line under the
|
|
heart. A steel jacketed bullet apparently had been used and the wound had
|
|
practically closed up thus making detection at first difficult.
|
|
Peavey said he had been in the employ of Mr. Taylor for about six
|
|
months. Mr. Taylor had lived in the apartments at the Alvarado courts about
|
|
two years.
|
|
The scene left in the magnificently appointed apartment occupied by Mr.
|
|
Taylor showed little signs of a struggle. The overturned chair was the only
|
|
indication of a struggle or of the haste of the assailant to escape.
|
|
The door, which has a night latch, was locked from the outside, but the
|
|
latch was set so that no key was necessary to accomplish this.
|
|
A writing desk was situated near the door, against the front wall of the
|
|
room. On this desk were many papers indicating that Mr. Taylor had been
|
|
preparing his income tax return for this year and adjusting other business.
|
|
Some scenarios also were scattered about. On top of the desk was a
|
|
picture of Mabel Normand. In a place of honor on the top of the upright
|
|
piano was a photograph of Miss Normand. Three, in all, were conspicuously
|
|
displayed.
|
|
Photographs of many persons known throughout the world as film stars
|
|
also were displayed in the rooms of the apartment. About the border of the
|
|
living room and dining-room Mr. Taylor had placed a solid border of
|
|
autographed and framed photographs.
|
|
Among them were pictures of Mary Pickford, whom he had directed in three
|
|
pictures before enlisting in the World War. On this picture was written,
|
|
"To my nice director, William Taylor, the most patient man that I know, with
|
|
sincere friendship, Mary Pickford."
|
|
In a prominent place was Mary Miles Minter's photograph. This bore the
|
|
following expression of admiration: "For William Desmond Taylor, Artist,
|
|
gentleman, man! Sincere good wishes, Mary Miles Minter, 1920."
|
|
Soon after the news of the murder had spread, Mary Miles Minter and her
|
|
mother rushed to the house to see if they could be of any aid. Miss Minter
|
|
declared that Mabel Normand had been engaged for about six months to Mr.
|
|
Taylor. The grief of Miss Minter was shown by the tears which she shed while
|
|
viewing the scene where her friend had been shot.
|
|
Later in the morning Frank O'Connor, formerly an assistant director
|
|
under Mr. Taylor and for many years a close friend, visited the apartments.
|
|
He sounded high praise for Mr. Taylor.
|
|
Charles Eyton, general manager of the Lasky studio, was present when the
|
|
undertaker removed the valuables from the person of Mr. Taylor.
|
|
L. P. Waterman, deputy public administrator, was called and assumed
|
|
charge of the property.
|
|
Detective Sergeants Zeigler and Wallis, assigned to the case when the
|
|
first report of the death was made to the police, interviewed Miss Normand
|
|
and obtained a statement from her, they reported, that she had left the
|
|
apartment some time around 8 o'clock. She was not sure of the time, but
|
|
placed it at approximately 7:45 p.m.
|
|
In the court where Mr. Taylor lived there are sixteen apartments. It is
|
|
composed of eight two-story white stucco buildings. E. C. Jessurun,
|
|
proprietor of the court, responded to the alarm raised by the negro houseman.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
|
|
Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 2.--Rumors of a mystery death plot against
|
|
motion picture higher-ups in Los Angeles flew thick and fast through the
|
|
Hollywood screen colony today following the finding of William Desmond
|
|
Taylor, aged 50, noted British film director of the Famous Players-Lasky
|
|
Company, murdered in his bungalow. These rumors were given strength by the
|
|
fact that recently Paul Kramer, another well-known director of the Brunton
|
|
Studios, was shot five times from ambush by a mysterious assassin...
|
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
|
|
Women Feature Film Murder
|
|
Director Slain Mysteriously in Movie City
|
|
Crime Brings to Light Romances With Beautiful Picture Stars
|
|
Three Visited House
|
|
Slayer Believed in Hiding as Mabel Normand Was With W. D. Taylor
|
|
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 2--In the numerous romances of William Desmond Taylor
|
|
with the beautiful women in Hollywood's movie colony, the police are seeking
|
|
a clew to lead them to his assassin.
|
|
Names famous in movieland are being linked with the story of the
|
|
tragedy. The mystery of the slaying and the stories of gallantries in which
|
|
Taylor is the hero, overshadow any of those pictured in the film studios
|
|
where he was one of the moving spirits.
|
|
Three women movie stars are known to have visited his luxurious bungalow
|
|
at 404B South Alvarado street, where his body was found this morning, within
|
|
a few hours of the time he must have died.
|
|
The slayer now is believed to have been hiding near the bungalow while
|
|
Mabel Normand was with Taylor, a period of perhaps two hours. When Taylor
|
|
left the house to escort Miss Normand, the slayer is believed to have slipped
|
|
into the house, to lurk there until the chance came to end the life of the
|
|
man he hated.
|
|
Another actress of national repute went to the house about two hours
|
|
later, the detectives have been told. What was the purpose or the result of
|
|
her visit has not been disclosed as yet. At the time of her visit, according
|
|
to the opinion of physicians, Taylor had been dead for nearly two hours. The
|
|
police seek an answer to the double-barreled question:
|
|
"What did this beautiful actress go to see, and what did she see?"
|
|
An hour later Edna Purviance, a next door neighbor and long time friend
|
|
of Taylor, reached her home. She saw a light in Taylor's study and rang his
|
|
bell. There was no answer. She told the police she decided he was out or
|
|
did not wish visitors, so she went to her own home.
|
|
With these facts for a background and stories of Taylor's love affairs,
|
|
gleaned in the studios, the police have subordinated but not abandoned the
|
|
possibility that the hand of a woman scorned by Taylor fired the shot. They
|
|
are concentrating on tracking down the shadowy unknown who lurked around the
|
|
bungalow and, as they believe, dodged in, killed Taylor and escaped.
|
|
One witness says she saw a man dressed in dark clothing and wearing a
|
|
checkered cap, standing at the partly opened door of Taylor's bungalow and
|
|
peering in. The housemaid of another neighbor saw a man running through an
|
|
alley back of the house shortly after the report of a revolver was heard.
|
|
This noise was ascribed at the time to an automobile blowout, but
|
|
detectives are not satisfied it was the shot that ended Taylor's life.
|
|
The unidentified man is described as roughly dressed. This may be a
|
|
ruse to throw the police off the track of the slayer. Where men and women
|
|
make their fortunes by impersonation, in the studios it is not improbable
|
|
that they might resort to the expedient of a disguise to carry out a plan of
|
|
vengeance.
|
|
Whether the slayer, if it was a man who killed Taylor, acted in jealous
|
|
rage because of attentions to a woman with whom he was infatuated, or did the
|
|
bidding of a furious woman who later crept to the bungalow and peered, white-
|
|
faced, upon the scene of the tragedy before slipping away again, are elements
|
|
of the problem that face the investigators.
|
|
These are all details they hope to bring to light in following through
|
|
the maze through which Taylor passed in his endless search for beauty and
|
|
which led him finally to his death. He was 50 years old.
|
|
Beauty was the dominating impulse of his career. He sought for the
|
|
beautiful in his pictures. It was this which brought him fame as the chief
|
|
director of the Famous Players-Lasky corporation. It was his selection that
|
|
brought the most beautiful of actresses into the pictures he directed.
|
|
...Taylor was a high liver and had many women friends. He was,
|
|
according to general opinion in the motion picture colony, engaged for a time
|
|
to Mary Miles Minter and later to Mabel Normand. A Mrs. Paul A. Crawford
|
|
Ivers, continuity editor for Lasky's, is also reported to have been a friend
|
|
of his.
|
|
Taylor had been married twice, having been divorced both times. He was
|
|
pre-eminently a man who kept the greater part of his life a mystery to those
|
|
about him. Few men knew very much about his business interests which in a
|
|
purely investment way and aside from his large earnings as chief motion
|
|
picture director for the largest producing concern in the world, were
|
|
extensive. Similarly he was a man of decided attraction for woman, but one
|
|
who, in affairs of the heart as in everything else, played without making any
|
|
noise...
|
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
|
|
Movie Murder Case Theories Involve Women
|
|
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 2--Detectives seeking a solution to the mysterious
|
|
slaying of William Desmond Taylor are considering the following theories:
|
|
1--A woman, jealous of a rival, killed him.
|
|
2--A jealous woman sent a hired assassin or an infatuated admirer to
|
|
kill him.
|
|
3--A jealous suitor of a woman who favored Taylor killed him.
|
|
4--A forger killed him to destroy evidence of his crime from among the
|
|
checks Taylor was sorting.
|
|
5--A robber slipped into the house and, surprised by Taylor's return,
|
|
killed him and fled because he feared to stop for loot.
|
|
6--A former servant accused by him of criminal acts killed him for
|
|
revenge.
|
|
7--An aspirant for movie honors, rejected by Taylor, killed him.
|
|
8--A woman, to make sure Taylor never would reveal her secret, killed
|
|
him or had him killed.
|
|
The investigators, weighing all the evidence, incline to one of the
|
|
first three possibilities.
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
February 3, 1922
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 2...Because of the variance in the descriptions of the
|
|
man Mrs. MacLean saw and Sands, the police are inclined to drop any suspicion
|
|
of this former valet, and they likewise place little credence in the robbery
|
|
theory, as no material facts seem to support such a possibility.
|
|
But some woman, they believe, is at the apex of the triangle, the other
|
|
two points of which are a man with a revolver and William Desmond Taylor,
|
|
noted Lasky director (deceased)...
|
|
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
COMMENTARY:
|
|
|
|
1. There was some discrepancy in the initial press reports concerning the
|
|
time of Mabel Normand's visit and the shot heard by the MacLeans. But it
|
|
was ultimately concluded that Mabel Normand's visit had been between
|
|
approximately 7:00 and 7:45 p.m., and Taylor was shot within a few minutes
|
|
after her departure.
|
|
2. One report quoted Mabel as stating Taylor was on the phone with
|
|
Marjorie Berger when Mabel arrived. But in other interviews, including
|
|
her statement to the District Attorney, she stated she had no knowledge
|
|
about who was on the phone with Taylor. Based on the statements made by
|
|
Marjorie Berger and Antonio Moreno, it appears that Taylor was on the
|
|
phone with Moreno at the time Mabel arrived.
|
|
3. The shot which killed Taylor entered his left side and traveled
|
|
upward, coming to rest in the right side of his neck, just below the
|
|
surface of the skin, but breaking the surface and causing bleeding from
|
|
his neck. It was initially thought that the exit wound was the entrance
|
|
wound, and that Taylor had been shot in the neck. But the autopsy proved
|
|
otherwise. Likewise, Taylor had not been shot in the heart.
|
|
4. One newspaper quoted Mabel Normand as stating he had a premonition of
|
|
something wrong. In a subsequent interview, Mabel denied having made that
|
|
statement, and it appeared that the reporter took a comment made by
|
|
Marjorie Berger and attributed it to Mabel.
|
|
5. Taylor's body was found with a chair astride his legs, but the chair
|
|
was not overturned, contrary to some press reports. A diagram of the
|
|
murder scene and a reconstruction of the position of the body by the first
|
|
person to enter the apartment, both indicated that the chair was not
|
|
overturned.
|
|
6. Some reports stated that Edna Purviance knocked on Taylor's door late
|
|
at night, but she subsequently denied it, and her most detailed statement
|
|
in the LOS ANGELES EXAMINER makes no mention of it. It appears that a
|
|
reporter was again attempting to add some drama by having Edna ring
|
|
Taylor's bell while his body was just a few feet away.
|
|
7. The bullet which killed Taylor was variously reported to have been .32
|
|
or .38 caliber, steel-nosed or lead. The final report indicated the
|
|
bullet was .38 caliber and lead.
|
|
8. Press reports stated that Mary Miles Minter was accompanied by her
|
|
mother when she went to the murder scene on February 2. However her own
|
|
statements plus the statement of the Shelby chauffeur indicates it was her
|
|
grandmother, Julia Miles, who accompanied Mary. Mary always called her
|
|
grandmother "Mamma", and that is probably the reason why reporters assumed
|
|
her mother was the person accompanying her.
|
|
9. The initial report that Taylor had given Mabel a book of Freud was
|
|
later changed to either "Rosa Mundi" by Ethel Dell or that book plus a
|
|
German translation of Nietzsche. In her detailed 1927 interview she
|
|
stated that she had her volume of Freud with her at the time, but the two
|
|
other books were the ones given to her by Taylor. It seems probable that
|
|
when she mentioned Taylor's joke contrasting the volume of Freud to the
|
|
Police Gazette, that a reporter erroneously assumed the volume of Freud
|
|
was the book Taylor just gave her.
|
|
10.Taylor had been married and divorced just once, not twice.
|
|
11.Some press reports indicated that Christine Jewett, the MacLean's maid,
|
|
stated that she heard a man pacing "in a rear alley running between the
|
|
two houses" (the MacLean house and the Taylor house), which would indicate
|
|
that the man was pacing at the side of the MacLean house. But in a later
|
|
direct interview, the LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (February 22, 1922) reported:
|
|
"On the night of the murder, says Miss Jewett, she heard a man in the
|
|
alley which runs back of the MacLean house. He was there from fifteen to
|
|
twenty minutes. 'Mr. MacLean came home about five minutes past 7,' she
|
|
said. 'He honked his car horn to notify me that I could begin serving
|
|
dinner. He then came into the house. I served the first course and
|
|
returned to the screen porch, on which there were blinds. Shortly
|
|
afterwards I first heard the man. He was walking in the alley. Suddenly
|
|
he stopped and for a long time stood perfectly still. I listened, fearing
|
|
auto thieves. Then Mrs. MacLean rang the bell and I had to go back to the
|
|
dining room. When I finished serving the second course I returned to the
|
|
porch. The man was moving around then. I heard his shoes scrape on the
|
|
pavement. He continued, at intervals, to move and to stand still.
|
|
Between 7:45 and 8 o'clock I heard a shot.'" That statement seems to
|
|
indicate that the man was pacing in the alley behind the MacLean home, not
|
|
at the side.
|
|
12.The LOS ANGELES TIMES tries to make much of some cigarettes and matches
|
|
found near the back door and the east side of Taylor's flat. However,
|
|
this is not where the man was pacing behind or next to the MacLean flat,
|
|
and it seems probable that the cigarettes and matches were the result of
|
|
reporters or bystanders who were evicted from the Taylor flat after the
|
|
discovery that Taylor had been murdered, and who were milling around
|
|
outside of the flat.
|
|
13.Mabel Normand was notified of Taylor's death by a telephone call from
|
|
Edna Purviance.
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
Back issues of Taylorology are available from the gopher server at
|
|
gopher.etext.org
|
|
in the directory Zines/Taylorology;
|
|
or on the Web at
|
|
http://www.angelfire.com/az/Taylorology
|
|
Full text searches of back issues of Taylorology can be done at
|
|
http://www.etext.org/Zines/
|
|
For more information about Taylor, see
|
|
WILLIAM DESMOND TAYLOR: A DOSSIER (Scarecrow Press, 1991)
|
|
***************************************************************************** |