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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 62 -- February 1998 Editor: Bruce Long bruce@asu.edu *
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* TAYLOROLOGY may be freely distributed *
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CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
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Reporting the Taylor Murder: Day Four
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Who's Who in the Taylor Case
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Clara Beranger Comments on "The World's Applause"
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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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Reporting the Taylor Murder: Day Four
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Below are some highlights of the press reports published in the fourth day
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after Taylor's body was discovered.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 6, 1922
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LOS ANGELES TIMES
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Suspect, Two Witnesses Questioned by Police
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Following the detention earlier in the day of a suspect and two material
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witnesses in the Taylor murder case, the escape of the slayer of William
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Desmond Taylor from the dimly-lighted court on South Alvarado street was re-
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enacted last night in the very shadows where the murderer lurked last
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Wednesday night awaiting his chance to kill the famous film director.
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The dramatic action was precipitated by the taking into custody of three
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men by Al Manning, criminal superintendent of the Sheriff's office, and Deputy
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Sheriff Harvey Bell. The suspect and the two men who were wanted as material
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witnesses against him were detained after an investigation lasting two days,
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and as the result of information that an automobile said to resemble one owned
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by the suspect was seen at the scene of the crime on the night of the 1st
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inst.
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The suspect was taken to the scene of the crime after a long cross-
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examination at the Sheriff's office, and after he was unable to state
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definitely where he was at the time Taylor was killed. Accompanied by his
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captor and Detective Sergeant Herman H. Cline, the man was taken to the
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vicinity of the slaying for the purpose of re-enacting the tragedy. No
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positive identification was made, however, and the man was released, with
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instructions to remain in touch with the investigating officers. The suspect
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is a motion-picture actor. He admitted the ownership of the automobile, but
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denied he was the man seen leaving the Alvarado street court.
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Immediately after the suspect was taken away from the vicinity, Capt.
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Adams, Detectives Cline, Cahill and Cato, in charge of the investigation, and
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several members of the motion-picture interests, now working in an effort to
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solve the slaying of one of their members went into conference in the Taylor
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apartment.
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A new reconstruction of the crime, and a general checking up of all known
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facts and factors in the case was the purpose of the gathering, according to
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the announcement by the officers and by Frank E. Garbutt and Charles F. Eyton,
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general manager of the Famous Players-Lasky Company.
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"We are going to take every known fact and factor and check all available
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information. We have nothing new, but we want to make certain of all we
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have," was the only announcement after the conference.
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The large table in the Taylor apartment was piled high with papers and
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letters when the officers and film officials went into the conference.
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A thorough check of every document, picture, telegram and letter was promised,
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with a view of gleaning, if possible, some clew that would assist in the
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search for the slayer. None of the furniture in the room has been disturbed.
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The half-dozen detectives detailed to the solution of the crime yesterday
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were particularly active. The chocolate-colored automobile seen to leave the
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vicinity of the Taylor home at 404-B South Alvarado street has been
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identified, it was learned, and eliminated as bearing on the case.
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Henry Peavey, colored houseman for Mr. Taylor, and the man who found the
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body, yesterday was in conference with some of the detectives.
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He is declared to have wanted to leave Los Angeles to go north and sought
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permission to do so. He is said to have added little new information to the
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case. Peavey left the Taylor home while Mabel Normand was there and more than
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a half hour before the assassin shot his victim through the heart.
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Many letters, bills and other correspondence found among the effects of
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Mr. Taylor were closely examined during the day for possible information.
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Among those letters were messages of greeting and friendly notes from many
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film stars including Blanche Sweet and Gloria Swanson.
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The correspondence and other papers including many canceled checks threw
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considerable light on the acquaintances and activities of Mr. Taylor but
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little on the question of who shot him.
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Detectives Cahill and Cato responded to a "hot tip" early in the
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afternoon coming from a downtown address but nothing definite developed.
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A great number of "tips" have been reported to the police station and although
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many of them are not regarded as valuable on the surface all are being
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carefully checked that no clew be overlooked.
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Throughout all the investigation thus far the name of Edward F. Sands or
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Edward Fitz or Edward Fitz Strathmore--all of which names he used-0-has been
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prominently projected into the mystery. Sands, a former secretary who was
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accused of robbing Mr. Taylor and of forging many checks on his bank account,
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is being sought.
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The police are anxious to find him because of the knowledge he may have
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of Mr. Taylor's past life. The uncovering of the dual existence led by the
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prominent director, whose name became a household word throughout the country,
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has strangely muddled the situation. Many new motives and possibilities have
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been brought to the front because of Taylor's dual life and mysterious past.
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The discovery of a deserted wife and daughter who knew Mr. Taylor as
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William Cunningham Deane Taylor [sic] before he suddenly left New York in 1908
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has been one of the puzzling chapters in the man's past life. His frequent
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trips to the Far North also add color to many theories of real or fancied
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wrongs of his acquaintances in his wandering days forming the background of a
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revenge slaying.
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Mabel Normand's missing letters were sought by the detectives yesterday.
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Miss Normand probably the last friend to see Mr. Taylor alive, attempted
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Saturday to recover some letters written by her to the slain man and known to
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have been in the home.
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Detective Sergeants Herman Cline, Cato, Cahill, Winn, Wallace and Zeigler
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state they have not found these letters. Captain of Detectives Adams also
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denies having them. The officers say they do not know who has them. Chief
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Dep. Dist.-Atty. Doran says also that he has seen nothing of them.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 6, 1922
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LOS ANGELES TIMES
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Says He Loved Miss Normand.
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But Taylor's Houseman Hints He Was Scorned.
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More Light is Thrown on Relations of Two.
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Once Said They Were to be Married, He States.
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"Mr. Taylor loved Miss Normand very much, but I do not believe that she
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returned his love to any great extent."
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This is what Henry Peavey, Taylor's colored house servant, said early
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yesterday evening when questioned by reporters of The Times.
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"I was in Mr. Taylor's house for almost six months," declared Peavey,
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"and I know that Mr. Taylor was very much in love with Miss Normand. At times
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I thought that she returned his love and then again it seemed to me that she
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was tired of him.
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"One night almost a month before Mr. Taylor was killed Miss Normand came
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to the house for dinner. After dinner she went into the front room with Mr.
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Taylor and they were talking. I passed through the room and she stopped me.
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She told me then that she and Mr. Taylor were to be married. He was sitting
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there and didn't say a word. She wanted to know if I would work for them and
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I told her that I was afraid that I would be unable to please her. She stated
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that I was pleasing Mr. Taylor and that therefore I would please her.
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"Miss Normand never came to the house very often. During the time I
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worked there she was only in Mr. Taylor's home about a dozen times. She was
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there the night before the murder and again the night that Mr. Taylor was
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killed. I know that she was with Mr. Taylor on the Tuesday night, before the
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Wednesday that he was killed, because she told me so. Wednesday night when
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she came in Mr. Taylor asked her to have some pudding. She said while I was
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in the room that she did not care for any pudding that night, but had enjoyed
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the pudding that she had the night before. Then I learned for the first time
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what had happened to some pudding that I had left in the ice box on Tuesday
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night and that was gone Wednesday morning when I arrived at the Taylor home.
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"In my job as houseman I was in a position to know quite a bit about Mr.
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Taylor's business. He wrote a litter to Miss Normand almost every day of the
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week. His driver would take the notes to Miss Normand's home by automobile
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after breakfast in the mornings. A week never went by that he did not write
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to her at least three times.
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"Mr. Taylor always sent Miss Normand flowers at least three times a week.
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He purchased the flowers from a wholesale place on Los Angeles street between
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Second and Third streets. Once I paid for some of them, the single bunch cost
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$35. He would have the flowers sent out from the wholesale house direct.
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"While Miss Normand was in New York finishing her last picture Mr. Taylor
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send her a telegram every evening of his life. He would give them to me and I
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sent them on my way home. I always gave them to the same girl in the Western
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Union main office. She is still working there. Miss Normand answered his
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telegrams and almost every morning just after I arrived at the Taylor home the
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boy would come with Miss Normand's telegram. Mr. Taylor saved them all, but I
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don't know where he kept them.
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"I remember one evening when Miss Normand was with Mr. Taylor in his home
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she saw his new music box and while I was in the room she asked him if they
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were going to have one like it when they were married. He told her that they
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would keep the one he had just purchased if she liked it.
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"A year ago last Christmas Miss Normand gave Mr. Taylor a set of diamond
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shirt studs and diamond cuff links. Last Christmas she sent him a large
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silver cigarette case and a match holder and a cigarette holder. Some time
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after Christmas the match and cigarette holder disappeared, but he had the
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case on him the night that he died. I don't know what Mr. Taylor gave Miss
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Normand for Christmas, but I know that he was always sending her something or
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other.
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"Mr. Taylor used to talk to Miss Normand over the telephone a great deal.
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He always asked me to get the number for him. Sometimes some one would answer
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me and when I said that Mr. Taylor wished to speak to Miss Normand they would
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hang up the telephone. It was then that I would believe that Miss Normand did
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not care for my master like he did for her.
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"Only once during the time that I worked for Mr. Taylor did Miss Normand
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ask me about other girls. She stopped me once when she was in the home and
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ask me what other girls had dinner with Mr. Taylor. I told her that there was
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only one. She ask me who the one was an I told, Miss Normand. She laughed at
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me and said that Mr. Taylor had me well trained.
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"Miss Normand was with Mr. Taylor the last time I saw him alive. My
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master asked me to mix up some cocktails and I did. I placed the liquor in
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the shaker on a tray with two glasses and Mr. Taylor and Miss Normand were
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drinking when I left for the evening. They both said good night to me and I
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left the house. When I next saw Mr. Taylor he was dead on the floor of his
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living-room."
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 6, 1922
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LOS ANGELES TIMES
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Woman's Night Robe in House
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Silk Garment at Taylor's Home Adds to Mystery
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Former Servant Accused of Spying on Employer
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Gown Not Merely Keepsake, Was Servant's Theory
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A woman's pink silk nightgown found in the bachelor apartments of William
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Desmond Taylor, celebrated film director, who was slain in his home last
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Wednesday night, yesterday added another puzzling phase to the deepening
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mystery of circumstances surrounding his death.
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From former employees of Mr. Taylor it was learned that silken things
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unknown in a man's wardrobe were among the effects of Mr. Taylor. That the
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police found evidence of this was learned for the first time yesterday,
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following the stories related by two former employees.
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Henry Peavey, the houseman who discovered the body on Thursday morning,
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declared he had seen at least one pink silk nightgown there.
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In connection with this, it also was learned yesterday how Edward F.
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Sands, former secretary, accused robber and forger and now being sought as a
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material witness in the murder case, spied on his employer while working for
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Mr. Taylor.
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Sands related his observations to Earl Tiffany, former chauffeur for Mr.
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Taylor, so Mr. Tiffany says. He observed silken things of pink hue in the
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upstairs rooms of the expensively appointed apartment. His curiosity was
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aroused.
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So Sands folded the garments in a trick manner, according to the story
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related by Mr. Tiffany, who was employed at the same time as was Sands. The
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result of the servant's trap were that he became convinced the garments were
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not merely kept there for sentimental reasons. He paid particular attention
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to the visitors to the Taylor home, it was declared, and drew his own
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conclusions.
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Peavey stated last night he remembered seeing at least one pink
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nightgown. If his memory serves him right, he added, it was there the day
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Mr. Taylor was killed. Police officers yesterday were evasive as to the
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whereabouts of the lingerie. They declined to say whether or not they are
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devoting part of their efforts to that phase of the mystery.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 6, 1922
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CHICAGO HERALD-EXAMINER
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Film Star Denies She Holds Clew;
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Ex-Husband Sought
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Los Angeles, Feb. 5.--The moving picture actress who has been sought for
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three days in connection with the mysterious murder of William Desmond Taylor
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has been found by the police, it was learned today.
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They refuse to give her name, but she was questioned at length this
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afternoon. She professed ignorance as to the crime or any motive for it.
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The actress was divorced from her husband several months ago and her ex-
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husband, it is said, has made open threats that he would "get" all the friends
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of his wife whom he blamed for their trouble.
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This actress and Mr. Taylor, it was said, were very close friends and
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were seen together frequently, but it was denied that there was any affair of
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the heart. The husband, according to the story told the police, was wildly
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jealous of his wife, and quarrels over her association with certain well known
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actors and actresses are said to have precipitated a divorce action, the wife
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getting the divorce several months ago. At that time he is reported to have
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made threats, not only involving Mr. Taylor, but others in Hollywood.
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Police today are searching for the husband, who is known to be in Los
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Angeles.
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A prominent motion picture actor, who was placed under surveillance
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yesterday until his movements before and after the crime can be thoroughly
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checked, is said to be a friend of this fair divorcee.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 6, 1922
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LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
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Photo of Winifred Kingston Honored by Slain Director
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On the desk of William Desmond Taylor stood one framed photograph.
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In his entire bungalow, filled with photos of celebrities and friends,
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mostly women, this picture alone was framed--and framed beautifully in
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naturally finish hardwood.
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It was the likeness of Winifred Kingston, film star.
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"Engaged ever?" Miss Kingston was asked yesterday in her beautiful West
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Hollywood home.
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"Ridiculous!"
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"Mr. Taylor and I were the best of friends--nothing more. I knew him
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perhaps as intimately as any woman friend could, but there had never been a
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whisper or thought of love between us. Certainly not.
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"It so happened that both Mr. Taylor and I were English--that is, he was
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Irish, but a British subject and educated as an Englishman and with the
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British army traditions behind him and his family.
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"We Britishers are naturally reserved and don't usually tell intimate
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things to others. But early in the history of the films, Mr. Taylor and I
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became acquainted, back in the 'Balboa' days. As I was English we became
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somewhat more friendly than most and at various times he told me many things,
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perhaps, which everyone did not know.
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"For example, he told me about having been married and having a child,
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and also about having been divorced. I never thought anything in particular
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about it and don't even remember the occasion of his telling me--whether I
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asked him or whether he volunteered the information.
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"But any number of us in the film colony knew his and those who didn't
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know had to reason to--they weren't the sort of people or weren't close enough
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to Mr. Taylor to be told. I don't see why any one is surprised to learn about
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that.
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"It's not unusual, either, that he should have had my photograph on his
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desk. He directed me in any number of pictures and for years we have been
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good friends. I gave him that picture for Christmas one year and he probably
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had it framed as a matter of course.
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"As a matter of fact, one is more liable to frame a picture of an old,
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though platonic friend, that a picture of one in whom he is but momentarily
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interested.
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"I never knew, of course, that he had changed his name on coming out
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here, but that fact doesn't seem to be important.
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"As a matter of fact, I don't see where any of this old history is
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important in the solution of the mystery of his death. I think everything
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points to this man Sands."
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Miss Kingston threw some very interesting light on Sands' career, details
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gleaned, she said, from various conversations with Taylor.
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"While Edward Knoblock was living at Mr. Taylor's home," she said, "Sands
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went down to a well known department store in town and bought at various times
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a considerable amount of lingerie. I understood he gave this to a girl he was
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interested in--a very young creature who lived at home with her mother. All
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of this he charged to Mr. Taylor's account, a matter which greatly enraged the
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director when he returned from abroad.
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"Sands had frequently done shopping for him, but Mr. Taylor told me
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humorously that he would hardly have sent a servant to pick out ladies'
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underwear.
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"During this same period, when Mr. Knoblock was a guest of Mr. Taylor's
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and was supposed to pay for nothing, Sands presented the English author with a
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bill amounting to some hundreds of dollars for groceries he had used while at
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the house. Mr. Knoblock, being a gentleman and not wanting a row, however
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little he understood the matter, paid the bill. When Mr. Taylor returned he
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was naturally dumbfounded.
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"On another occasion Sands did another peculiar thing. Mr. Taylor had
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two thermos bottles around the house, neither of any particular value. There
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were many other things Sands easily could have stolen of more value, but he
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took one of these bottles to present to some girl. Her mother did not
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understand the act at all and didn't want the girl to take it.
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"Most unusual of Sands' actions, however, was a document he once drew up.
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"One day, to show his affection and regard for Mr. Taylor, he wrote, in
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his own handwriting, a sort of servile contract, in which he said that he
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would be Mr. Taylor's servant for life and would always be his slave.
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"Mr. Taylor told me about the document and laughed. I don't know what
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every happened to the paper, but Sands apparently took it seriously.
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"All of this led me to believe that the man was mentally deranged and he
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is the only man I can think of who might have killed Mr. Taylor."
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Miss Kingston said that she could find no possible intimation or
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statement made by Taylor to her that might form the basis for a motive growing
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out of an old feud. Nothing of the kind was ever said to her, she stated.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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February 6, 1922
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Lannie Haynes Martin
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LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
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Taylor Often in Moods of Despondency
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Baring in detail her entire acquaintance with William D. Taylor for the
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past seven years Miss Neva Gerber, his former fiancee, yesterday afternoon
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graphically told of his fits of utter despondency that gripped the dead man at
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times and of his many mysterious disappearances, for two and three weeks at a
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time continuing over a period of several years, and admitted that she had
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received thousands of dollars in checks from the dead director.
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"At times Mr. Taylor would sink to such depths of despair, said Miss
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Gerber, "that his whole body seemed racked as if in physical torture. He
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would walk the floor and wring his hands exclaiming, 'Why do I have to keep up
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this battle? Is it worth while to keep up this struggle of existence? With
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all of these odds against me is the struggle worth while?' and when I would
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ask him what he meant by these strange words he would say, 'Oh, my health is
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so bad--I have no stomach left--I can't eat anything,' but there were other
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times when he would say 'I have had bad news from home,' but he never told me
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just what the news was.
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"There would be times just after he had finished directing a picture when
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he would say he was so nervous he would have to go away for awhile and that he
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was going out into the mountains where he could rest and would see no one.
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Sometimes he would be gone as long as three weeks and I would not hear from
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him, although he would telegraph from some nearby point just as he was leaving
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and just before his return. Once he told me that had been driving down from
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the Northern part of the State alone for three days and later when mentioning
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an incident of the trip he said 'the man who was with me in the car said this
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was a dangerous piece of road.' I said 'I thought you were alone,' and he
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very plausibly explained it was a man he had picked up and was giving a lift,
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and although I did not exactly have any suspicions about anything I often
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wondered about these trips.
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"It is true that Mr. Taylor gave me three cars, first an old one that he
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had used and later two new ones which were purchased in my name. When he
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began giving me presents of jewelry, automobiles and--" Miss Gerber hesitated
|
|
and blushed--"and money, we were engaged, we expected to be married as soon as
|
|
I got my divorce and it did not seem anything out of the way to either of us.
|
|
When we first began going together Mr. Taylor had less financial resources
|
|
than I had myself. When we would go out to dinner together when I was first
|
|
working with the Balboa Film Company we would many times pool all of our spare
|
|
change and decide where we could afford to eat.
|
|
"He always said that I had been a square pal with him and when he began
|
|
making really big money he seemed to think it was just the natural thing to
|
|
divide what he had with me. When our engagement was broken off about two
|
|
years ago we did not have any quarrel; there were not harsh words or even
|
|
bitter feeling. After he came back from the army he seemed more melancholy
|
|
and despondent than he had been before. He would even be irritable at times,
|
|
so my mother said that as I had had such an unfortunate experience in my
|
|
marriage to one man who was much older than myself that it was not wise to
|
|
make another venture of the same kind. Both she and I talked to him about
|
|
this and we decided to end the engagement. After that time I never went out
|
|
with him. I did not see him for months at a time, although he frequently
|
|
phoned, and he came to the house a few times. He was always just as pleasant
|
|
to both my mother and myself as he had ever been, and he continued to make me
|
|
little presents of money, by check, sometimes $75, sometimes $100.
|
|
"A little over a year ago I started my own company and put quite a bit of
|
|
my own money into the venture and it has not brought returns as rapidly as I
|
|
had expected. Some time about the 9th of January, 1922, I was talking to Mr.
|
|
Taylor on the telephone and told him that things were in pretty much of a jam,
|
|
and that I was in temporary financial straits, and he said he would let me
|
|
have some money, and about the 11th day of the same month he sent me a check
|
|
for $500.
|
|
"I have never kept any record of the amounts given me, but his generosity
|
|
has continued over a number of years and I suppose his gifts would amount, all
|
|
told, to several thousand dollars. Mr. Taylor used to depend on me to look
|
|
after many things for him. It was I who found the house for him in which he
|
|
was living at the time of his death, and when he and I were engaged and were
|
|
going out together I would frequently stop there for a few minutes, but there
|
|
was always a servant present.
|
|
"When Mr. Taylor frequently betrayed such an intimate knowledge of works
|
|
of art of every description I would say to him, 'How did you learn so much
|
|
about period furniture and tapestries and everything like that?" he would
|
|
reply, 'Oh, I used to chum around with a man in New York who was an art
|
|
collector and an authority on the subject and he taught me all I know.' And
|
|
he would often refer casually to his life in New York. Sometimes, but very
|
|
infrequently, he would speak of his people in England. He said he had a
|
|
sister and a mother there and that his child was with his mother in England.
|
|
When he returned from the war he told me that his sister's husband had been
|
|
killed in battle and that both his mother and child had been killed in a
|
|
German air raid over London. He never spoke of having a brother or a sister-
|
|
in-law.
|
|
"Although I know of his former wife--he had described her to me as a very
|
|
beautiful blonde--I never suspected that he had lived under a different name
|
|
or that there was anything in his past which he needed or wished to conceal.
|
|
Once when I was crying over something he became infuriated and told me never
|
|
to do so again in his presence as it crazed him and rendered him so
|
|
irresponsible he felt like striking a woman who cried. He then told me that
|
|
his former wife's crying had been the thing which had made it impossible for
|
|
him to live with her, but that is the only thing he ever said about their
|
|
differences.
|
|
"But he frequently referred in a vague way to great sorrows he had had
|
|
and of not making the most he might out of his life. I would try to cheer him
|
|
up by telling him of what a wonderful director he had become in such a short
|
|
time and that he had great fame and success ahead of him, and sometimes he
|
|
would throw off his despairing mood but it began to return more and more
|
|
frequently. I do not think the general public knew anything about this
|
|
despondent side of him as he was a very silent and self-contained man.
|
|
"Because of his unhappy moods and his loneliness I had frequently begged
|
|
him not to live alone, but to take a room at a club or a hotel but he said he
|
|
could only work when entirely isolated and that he loved solitude. I had not
|
|
seen him for several weeks previous to the murder and I have not the slightest
|
|
conception or theory as to what was the motive or who was the perpetrator of
|
|
so cruel a deed."
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 6--...While a number of officers were visiting many
|
|
homes in the picture colony, endeavoring to gain some light on this new angle
|
|
sheriff's officers, headed by Chief Criminal Deputy Al Manning and Deputy
|
|
Harvey Bell, were catechizing three men at the county jail, one of them a man
|
|
supposed to be a material witness and the others his close friends.
|
|
The man upon whom interest especially centered is a motion picture actor
|
|
who had not been named in connection with any phase of the case. His
|
|
detention followed an anonymous telephone call to the sheriff's office early
|
|
this afternoon and he was taken into custody after nightfall.
|
|
Following a long grilling, Manning, accompanied by another officer, took
|
|
him to the Taylor home and into the "murder room" to see what effect this
|
|
dramatic introduction would have on him.
|
|
Later the officers had the actor walk up and down in front of the house,
|
|
and Mrs. Douglas MacLean, who had seen the man supposed to be the actual
|
|
murderer leave the place was stationed at the open door of her home looking
|
|
out as she had been on the night of the crime.
|
|
When Mrs. MacLean failed to identify the actor as the man she had seen
|
|
last Wednesday night following the fatal shot, the officers turned him loose,
|
|
but enjoined him not to leave the city.
|
|
Mrs. MacLean upon being shown a photograph of Edward F. Sands exclaimed
|
|
"He looks like the man I saw."
|
|
One of the men under suspicion is believed to be a dope peddler and a
|
|
suggestion has come from a certain quarter which is in touch with the
|
|
transactions in contraband drugs that the explanation of the murder, the
|
|
motive and the identity of the criminal--will eventually come from this
|
|
source.
|
|
Now, it is a known fact that Taylor himself was not addicted to any drug,
|
|
but it is reported that he attended two or three "hop" parties in order to get
|
|
"atmosphere" and local color for pictures.
|
|
A number of Taylor's close friends, however--and these numbered several
|
|
women--were addicts. They were not patrons of professional peddlers, but
|
|
nevertheless, they secured their supplies from some source.
|
|
"We are going to dig deep into this phase," said one of the detectives
|
|
last night.
|
|
Peavey, the film director's valet, stated, however, that he had never
|
|
seen any form of narcotics in Taylor's apartments. He could not imagine, he
|
|
said, that Taylor's home might have been a distributing point.
|
|
Peavey contributing additional information regarding the night dress.
|
|
When he entered Taylor's employ some six months ago, he said, he
|
|
straightway began to put his master's room in order. Among several articles
|
|
lying around he noticed a small flat green box; he found that it contain a
|
|
pink silk garment--a woman's. It had a lace edging.
|
|
He placed this in one of the bureau drawers, where it remained surviving
|
|
even the two burglarious raids of Sands, his predecessor as Taylor's valet.
|
|
That is, it remained there until the night of the murder. It must have
|
|
disappeared then, he says, because it was not found among Taylor's effects.
|
|
Did the person who removed the letters also take the nightrobe?
|
|
It is a strange circumstance which, the police say, adds strength to the
|
|
theory that somewhere in the plot, possibly as an innocent cause, but
|
|
nevertheless as cause, was a woman.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
|
Taylor Love Secret Told by Chauffeur
|
|
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 5--Once, in an expansive mood, William Desmond Taylor,
|
|
film director, whose murder last Wednesday was one of the most mysterious ever
|
|
recorded in Los Angeles, talked intimately with his chauffeur, Lester Wing.
|
|
"I never really loved but one woman," Taylor declared to the Chinese,
|
|
according to the latter's story, told yesterday.
|
|
"She was my stage partner. I was engaged to her. But she died before we
|
|
could be married--and I'll never marry another woman."
|
|
Wing was in Taylor's employ for several years before the film director
|
|
deserted the land of make-believe to take part in the real, hard game of war.
|
|
"Mr. Taylor was a fine man," Wing said. "He was very good to his
|
|
servants. And brave. Why, on the way to Bakersfield one time, a car sped
|
|
around a curve ahead of us, threatening to run us off the road, but Mr. Taylor
|
|
never flinched.
|
|
"Also, he trusted people too much, at times, I think. Once he trusted
|
|
anyone it was forever. Many times he sent me to deposit money in the bank--
|
|
$1,500, $2,000, and sometimes as high as $3,000 in money and checks.
|
|
"Once a lady from New York sent him a telegram asking to help her. She
|
|
was in need. He sent me to the telegraph office with $200 in cash to send to
|
|
her.
|
|
"He taught me lots of things. Anything I ever wanted to know he would
|
|
explain and make me understand."
|
|
The only woman with whom Taylor was friendly at the time of Wing's
|
|
service was Neva Gerber, according to the Chinese. She was with Taylor
|
|
several times a week.
|
|
Two or three times a week it was Taylor's habit to call for his car, a
|
|
beautiful gray one, and take a long ride alone. Often, Wing said, he would
|
|
leave the car with the chauffeur and talk long, solitary walks.
|
|
"He would walk alone, eat alone, cook alone--everything alone," the
|
|
former chauffeur said.
|
|
"The only time he would want to see me would be to make appointments."
|
|
The high esteem in which Taylor was held by those with whom he transacted
|
|
business was told by Mrs. Edna Goodwin of 1910 West Sixth street.
|
|
"We owned a garage near the Taylor home," Mrs. Goodwin said. "Mr. Taylor
|
|
often came to us for gasoline and other service. That was three years ago
|
|
before he entered the army.
|
|
"He had a buff colored chummy roadster, and there was always a young lady
|
|
with him--generally the same one. As soon as we saw the car coming we'd run
|
|
out, exclaiming:
|
|
"'There's Bill Taylor; there's Bill Taylor.'
|
|
"We thought so much of him. And every one connected with the garage
|
|
thought the same. He was a wonderful man. I can't understand why anyone
|
|
would want to harm him.
|
|
"Taylor had a Chinese chauffeur at that time, Lester Wing. And after
|
|
Taylor went away, Wing entered the service of another man. But he could not
|
|
be consoled. He would often come in and say:
|
|
"'I wish Mr. Taylor would come back, so I could be his chauffeur again.
|
|
I'll never get another boss like him.'"
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
|
|
The only person who saw the human enigma who had just murdered William
|
|
Desmond Taylor, famed motion picture director and soldier of fortune, was Mrs.
|
|
Douglas MacLean, winsome wife of the cinema star. In an interview today she
|
|
gave the first detailed account of the sinister happenings of that night last
|
|
Wednesday.
|
|
"I simply cannot describe him," she said. "I should say he was five feet
|
|
and nine inches tall, perhaps. It seemed to me he had a prominent nose, but
|
|
that impression may be by reason of the shadow from the arc lamp.
|
|
"I hardly think it was the man Sands, whom I knew. It seemed to me he was
|
|
not so heavy as Sands.
|
|
"I can only be sure of the gray plaid cap, and that his neck was muffled
|
|
with something-perhaps his coat collar. I can't even tell whether he wore an
|
|
overcoat."
|
|
..."We had just finished dinner. Christina, the maid, was busy in the
|
|
dining room. I had walked into the living room and was sitting here on the
|
|
davenport knitting.
|
|
"Mr. MacLean had gone upstairs to get a little electric stove we
|
|
sometimes used. It was a very chilly night, extremely cold, in fact, for Los
|
|
Angeles.
|
|
"Then came the shattering report. It was muffled, but still it seemed to
|
|
penetrate to every corner of the rooms. Christina paused in her work.
|
|
" 'Oh,' she said, 'wasn't that a shot?'
|
|
"I really didn't know. The court faces a hill, and automobiles climbing
|
|
the grade often backfire. It was just such a noise.
|
|
"'I'm sure it was a shot,' the maid said.
|
|
"I arose and walked to the door and opened it. There were several lights
|
|
in the living room, back of me. They reflected from the screen door. I pressed
|
|
forward against the screen, looking out into the dark.
|
|
"Then I saw the man.
|
|
"He was standing with his back almost entirely turned to me, looking
|
|
toward Alvarado St. He stood on a corner of Mr. Taylor's porch. The door of
|
|
the Taylor home was open and the room inside was lighted.
|
|
"Almost on the instant I saw him, the man turned and faced me.
|
|
"He did not seem surprised or startled; surely not alarmed. It was all
|
|
done casually and I can't understand why I stood there and watched him.
|
|
"He smiled at me, I could see the corners of his mouth curl in the shadow
|
|
of his cap. I could not see his face distinctly-not well enough, that is, to
|
|
distinguish his features.
|
|
"I thought Mr. Taylor must have called to him from inside the house.
|
|
"For the man turned away, walked to the door and almost disappeared
|
|
inside. It seemed he was bidding his host goodbye. It was all done in a
|
|
moment.
|
|
"He closed the door. He didn't slam it, nor did he shut it with unusual
|
|
softness. It was simply done in the way you, or I, or anyone, would close a
|
|
door.
|
|
"Then he walked across the porch, down the steps and turned toward me.
|
|
"Satisfied in my mind, if there ever had been fear or even wonder there,
|
|
I started to draw back into the house.
|
|
"While I slowly closed the door, I saw him turn into the walk between the
|
|
houses and disappear. It was very dark there. That walk leads to another
|
|
street, where persons on that side of the court usually park their cars.
|
|
"And so I thought nothing of it; absolutely nothing.
|
|
"I didn't even mention it to Mr. MacLean until the next morning, when the
|
|
terrible screams of Mr. Taylor's servant awakened us. Then I remembered the
|
|
man.
|
|
"And still I cannot conceive that a murderer could act so naturally. It
|
|
simply is beyond belief."
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
|
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
|
|
Actress Expresses Anxiety to Recover Jesting Letters
|
|
|
|
"I sought those letters and hoped to get them before they reached the
|
|
scrutiny of others. I admit this but it was for only one purpose--to prevent
|
|
their terms of affection from being misconstrued.
|
|
"You see, just in a jest, Mr. Taylor called me 'Blessed Baby'--it
|
|
started at dinner parties we attended together. And just to tease him,
|
|
I called him--this great, big, stern-minded man--'Baby' in return. They were
|
|
used in our letters, strictly in fun, and I feared, well, misunderstanding."
|
|
And this is the reason Mabel Normand, famous film star, told The
|
|
Examiner yesterday that she sought so earnestly the missives exchanged
|
|
between her and the slain motion-picture director, William Desmond Taylor,
|
|
after the inquest Saturday.
|
|
But the letters and telegrams she refers to are strangely missing.
|
|
Following the second burglary of the Taylor bungalow, at 404 B South Alvarado
|
|
street some weeks ago, they were found undisturbed when Taylor showed Miss
|
|
Normand about the ransacked rooms. They were then in the top drawer of the
|
|
dresser.
|
|
"Our letters exchanged were mostly 'joshing' ones, frivolous and jesting
|
|
about the trivialities we had come upon since our last meeting. Some were of
|
|
more serious import, explained why dinner engagements we had arranged had to
|
|
be canceled," Miss Normand said yesterday.
|
|
"Most of the Letters--there were eight or nine of them--were written
|
|
when either he and I was in New York and sent from the Ritz-Carlton. One was
|
|
when I was ill and told him the difficulty I had in purchasing certain types
|
|
of golf balls he had requested me to purchase for him in the city.
|
|
"The telegrams, a half dozen of them, were of similar nature merely
|
|
asking about the health of the other and telling him how I was enjoying the
|
|
attractions in the metropolis.
|
|
"I seldom would sign my name, preferring to keep him guessing with a
|
|
sketch of myself at the end of the letter. His calling me 'Blessed Baby'--
|
|
started at a dinner party--and he said it, of course, with a laugh, but it
|
|
seemed so inconsistent from that stern-typed man--and I joshed him about it.
|
|
Later, in the same laughing spirit, I called him by the equally inconsistent
|
|
term 'Baby' and we continued it. But since I have feared that it would be
|
|
misconstrued--that it would not appear to be as intended."
|
|
Then the famous picture star reverted in conversation to the night of
|
|
the tragedy, when the director was slain a short time after he had escorted
|
|
Miss Normand to her waiting automobile.
|
|
"There is a doubt yet in my mind but that the murderer was not in the
|
|
house secreted during the time of my short visit with Mr. Taylor," she said.
|
|
"I can't understand how he could have been brazen enough to have entered
|
|
during the brief interim when Mr. Taylor came with me to the curbing.
|
|
"A mysterious part of it all was a telephone call he was receiving
|
|
shortly before I visited his apartment to inquire about a book he was to lend
|
|
me. He was helping me with my literary studies, you know, and treated me
|
|
always with the courtesy of an adviser.
|
|
"My bell was answered by his colored servant, Henry Peavey, who told me
|
|
Mr. Taylor was telephoning. Not wishing to eavesdrop on a private
|
|
conversation I told Peavey I would wait outside. When Mr. Taylor heard my
|
|
voice he hurriedly cut off his phone call and rushed to meet me with:
|
|
"'Oh, I know why you have come. It is for the book I was to lend you.'
|
|
We talked for about three quarters of an hour--it was just 7:45 that evening
|
|
when I left him--and then he told me that he had some checks to mail out. He
|
|
said he would phone to me about 9 and see how I enjoyed the start of the
|
|
book.
|
|
"Shortly before this, Peavey who had been finishing his work in the
|
|
kitchen, nodded a 'good night,' stopped for a short conversation with my
|
|
chauffeur and went on his way. After Mr. Taylor had helped me with my wraps
|
|
he took me to my car, where we talked for a moment about a magazine I had
|
|
purchased. I then drove away,
|
|
"My opinion is that Mr. Taylor was murdered for a motive of revenge, but
|
|
just why someone would seek vengeance is beyond my comprehension. Never in
|
|
his conversation with me had he spoken of any enmity between him and others.
|
|
And I never should have suspected it, as he was the type that seemed to make
|
|
of everyone a devoted friend.
|
|
"In my opinion Mr. Taylor was of irreproachable morals, a typical
|
|
gentleman, who seemed incapable of stooping to things of the questionable or
|
|
dishonorable sort. To me he was always a kindly adviser in my efforts at
|
|
mental improvement and to all who knew him he was an inspiration to the
|
|
nobler and loftier things of life.
|
|
"If there is a possibility that the jealousy of another woman enters
|
|
into the mystery," Miss Normand continued, "I feel certain that the phone
|
|
call which he was receiving as I entered his apartment had something to do
|
|
with it.
|
|
"Whoever it was calling him seemed intensely absorbed in what he had to
|
|
say. And the hasty cutting off of the conversation might have aroused
|
|
antagonism in any one interested in Mr. Taylor in a sentimental way. Perhaps
|
|
the announcement of his servant, Peavey, that I had come was overheard by the
|
|
person at the other end of the wire. And perhaps--who can tell--that it was
|
|
this person who imagined jealousy and outraged feelings and came immediately
|
|
to the apartment and committed the venomous deed.
|
|
"I did not ask him who it was that called, for I felt it was none of my
|
|
business. Then again, he was not the type of man who lets others in on what
|
|
he considered his private affairs. He was very secretive--almost seemed to
|
|
place a barrier of mystery between him and his most intimate friends--and it
|
|
was this mystic quality that gave him such marked fascination.
|
|
"Of this much I am thoroughly convinced: It was a man, not a woman, who
|
|
fired the shot that killed Taylor. I know the feminine sex and feel certain
|
|
that a woman would have had to take more than one shot to have had as deadly
|
|
an effect as the one that brought about his demise. Perhaps in three or four
|
|
efforts she might have done it--but not in one.
|
|
"The man who committed this deed was a sure shot and understood the gun
|
|
game. He understood where to aim, and when--an experienced gunman.
|
|
"As for the disappearance of my letters I cannot account. I know of
|
|
absolutely no one who would be interested in them. They have no significance
|
|
of anything except the harmless friendship that existed between us. When I
|
|
saw Mr. Taylor was keeping them I asked him why. And I remember yet his
|
|
kindly countenance when he smiled and said: "Oh--just because."
|
|
"He often remonstrated with me because I did not write more frequently.
|
|
But what I usually had to say was done over the phone or in his presence.
|
|
"I want everyone to know, however, that I am doing all I possibly can to
|
|
aid in the solution of this tragic mystery," she concluded.
|
|
"For Mr. Taylor was to me the very personification of kindliness and
|
|
righteousness--the sort of man that made it an honor to be called his
|
|
friend."
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
|
NEW YORK HERALD
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 5--...A report of a threat made on the night of the
|
|
murder also was being run down. This report, made by a business man to the
|
|
police, was expected to set the officers on the trail of a man who is quoted
|
|
as saying on the night Taylor was slain within a few minutes after Mabel
|
|
Normand left the Taylor home: "There will be a movie director show up missing
|
|
in the morning."...
|
|
Capt. Adams said it was not impossible that Taylor was killed by a
|
|
burglar, who seized upon the opportunity provided when Taylor escorted Miss
|
|
Normand to her automobile to sneak in the house. The position of the bullet
|
|
and the line of fire indicated shows, Capt. Adams said, that the assassin
|
|
probably was crouching behind the door when Taylor entered...
|
|
The fact that his houseman, Henry Peavey, and his former secretary,
|
|
Edward F. Sands, are both said to be "queer persons," has led to much
|
|
speculation whether Taylor was abnormal himself. It is thought by a majority
|
|
who are investigating the case that this is a phase which will develop and
|
|
throw much new light on the case. Other associates of the man are known to
|
|
the police to be persons of vicious habits...
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
|
Edward Doherty
|
|
ARKANSAS GAZETTE
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 5--...Henry Peavey, by the way, put all his sewing into
|
|
a satchel this afternoon, his beautiful pillow tops, his exquisite doilies,
|
|
his crochet work and his tatting and prepared to depart from the city. He
|
|
called on Captain Adams to let him know of his intentions.
|
|
"Not so quick," said Adams. "You will stay in Los Angeles until
|
|
released."
|
|
"I can't stay, captain," said the negro. "I'se very lonesome without
|
|
Mr. Taylor. I'll sure miss him, captain. Got no one now to squz oranges and
|
|
lemins for. [sic] Got no nice room to do my sewing in. Please let me go."
|
|
The captain explained that he wanted Peavey to remain as a material
|
|
witness and declared that if he tried to go away he might find himself in
|
|
another nice sewing room, with free board.
|
|
Peavey declares he has told all the knows of his master, the man who
|
|
lived as William Desmond Taylor, when his name was really William Deane
|
|
Tanner, and of the women who came to house, but some of the detectives working
|
|
on the case believe his memory could be refreshed.
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
|
NEW YORK TRIBUNE
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 5--...It became known today that Chief of Police
|
|
Everington has taken extraordinary precautions to prevent undue or unwarranted
|
|
publicity attending the investigation of the Taylor mystery. The decision is
|
|
prompted by his desire to prevent the blasting of the reputations of innocent
|
|
screen players whose careers depend upon their ability to live the lives they
|
|
depict upon the screen. Pointing to the damage caused to innocent men and
|
|
women whose names were casually mentioned in connection with another scandal
|
|
of the film world, he declared that no effort would be made to protect the
|
|
guilty but that everything would be done to prevent the innocent being
|
|
involved in publicity...
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
|
NEW YORK TIMES
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 5--A motion picture actor and a camera man were brought
|
|
to the Los Angeles County Jail here tonight for questioning as to their
|
|
possible knowledge of clues to the murder of William Desmond Taylor, film
|
|
director. After a two-hour examination they were released. Their names were
|
|
not made public.
|
|
The make-up was still on the actor's face when he arrived at the jail
|
|
indicating, officers stated, that the Deputy Sheriffs who had brought him in,
|
|
Al Manning, chief criminal deputy, and Harvey Bell, were in great haste to
|
|
learn his story.
|
|
The men were located at a motion-picture studio in the Hollywood district
|
|
of Los Angeles, it was stated. After they had been questioned separately for
|
|
two hours, the officers started back to Hollywood, with the actor to give him
|
|
an opportunity to make good his declaration to the deputies that he could
|
|
account for his movements last Wednesday night, the night Taylor was slain.
|
|
Apparently he did so for the release followed.
|
|
Another angle was the story told by an associate of the dead director
|
|
that a former employee had been heard to exclaim, when he heard of the
|
|
slaying:
|
|
"Bill Taylor got only what he deserved."
|
|
the investigation showed, the police said, that this man had been
|
|
employed by the Famous Players-Lasky concern, working under Taylor, in a minor
|
|
capacity.
|
|
One day he was drunk when he went on duty. Taylor ordered him removed
|
|
from the place. The next day the man returned, only to find an order from
|
|
Taylor that he should not be admitted. The police say they had begun a search
|
|
for him.
|
|
Searching for a drug peddler, upon whose trail the police said they were
|
|
"getting warmer," and the absence of a woman's silken night dress, said by
|
|
Henry Peavey, colored houseman, to be missing from the apartments of Taylor,
|
|
the other developments here tonight of the search for his slayer.
|
|
The police were reticent as to the details concerning their search for
|
|
the man, a peddler who was believed to have sought patrons for his contraband
|
|
drugs among the employees of motion picture studios, but they intimated their
|
|
believe he had attempted to make a delivery through Taylor to an actress who
|
|
found it difficult to make her purchases in person.
|
|
This was the first active participation of the Sheriff's forces in the
|
|
case.
|
|
The exact importance of the missing night dress, which was pink, was not
|
|
made plain. Peavey, however, was firm in his declaration that it had a
|
|
regular place in Taylor's apartments, and equally firm in his assertions that
|
|
since his employer was slain he had been unable to find it...
|
|
The "main issue" so far, one investigator said, was the whereabouts of
|
|
the missing valet Sands for a few days before the shooting. The search for
|
|
Sands continued today. Checking of the various angles of the case among
|
|
members of the motion picture colony and other friends and acquaintances of
|
|
Taylor almost invariably led to some mention of Sands' name, according to
|
|
detectives.
|
|
Police said they had had several clues to Sands' whereabouts, but that
|
|
these had resulted in disappointments...
|
|
Tending to show the alleged feeling of Taylor toward Edward F. Sands, or
|
|
Edward Fitz Strathmore, his former butler, whom the director had charged with
|
|
a felony, was a further statement today by Henry Peavey, Taylor's colored
|
|
houseman.
|
|
"Not long ago," says Peavey, "I was showing Mr. Taylor a coat I had
|
|
bought. 'That looks like one Sands stole from me,' he said. 'Oh, if I could
|
|
only get my hands on that fellow.'"...
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
February 6, 1922
|
|
Edward Doherty
|
|
NEW YORK NEWS
|
|
|
|
Los Angeles, Feb. 5--Another angle of the investigation into the murder
|
|
of William Taylor, movie director, was eliminated tonight after deputy
|
|
sheriffs had questioned three suspects for hours and then released them.
|
|
One of the trio had been an extra man. He had worked under Taylor's
|
|
direction. He has been accused of being one of the leaders of the ring of
|
|
bootleggers and dope peddlers that has been enriched by the movie colony. He
|
|
wore a muffler and a cap such as distinguished the man seen leaving the Taylor
|
|
flat after the shot was fired.
|
|
His automobile had been seen in the vicinity of the apartment court in
|
|
Alvarado Street, the night of the murder.
|
|
This man and two others were taken to the homes of various witnesses.
|
|
None of them could make any identification. Each of the three had a puncture
|
|
proof alibi.
|
|
The sheriff's men and the police had worked for three days on this angle.
|
|
They feel satisfied with time spent, merely because it eliminates one of the
|
|
many clews that have not helped, but hindered a solution.
|
|
In an effort to begin at the beginning to make a new start, to hunt for
|
|
new clews and for several other reasons not told, Captain of Detectives Adams,
|
|
squads of police and detectives, and Charles Eyton, manager of the Lasky
|
|
Studios, met at the Alvarado Street house late tonight and conferred.
|
|
All the particulars of the conference were kept secret. But it is
|
|
believed the detectives made a closer survey of the rooms than they have done
|
|
heretofore, and the fingerprints found in the flat were examined and compared.
|
|
Possibly the disappearance of Mabel Normand's letters was also discussed.
|
|
The letters had been in a bureau drawer in the bedroom upstairs. Miss Normand
|
|
went to the house to get them yesterday. The drawer was empty.
|
|
A dainty pink silk nightie which adorned one of the drawers of the same
|
|
bureau was missing too. Nobody could tell who had it. It was hinted,
|
|
however, that a policeman is keeping it, saying it will bring him good luck.
|
|
Henry Peavey, who was Taylor's valet and cook, was questioned again by
|
|
detectives and contradicted some of the statements made by Miss Normand.
|
|
Miss Normand has asserted that she never went to Taylor's house alone
|
|
before that Wednesday night. Peavey says she was present on the evening
|
|
before the murder and helped to eat up a lot of rice pudding the colored boy
|
|
had made.
|
|
"He asked her to have some more Wednesday night, Mr. Taylor did, and she
|
|
said 'No, I had all I wanted last night,'" Peavey declared.
|
|
"Mr. Taylor," he went on, "he seemed to feel a whole lot of love for
|
|
Mabel--more than Mabel cared for him. When he was out of town he sent her
|
|
night letters every night. When he was here he wrote her three or four times
|
|
a week. He was always sending her bouquets of flowers. Man, do you know I
|
|
bought one of them bouquets for him, and it cost $35? Miss Normand she told
|
|
me once she was going to marry Mr. Taylor, and she said something about maybe
|
|
they'd have a little baby some day."
|
|
"What did you mix for Mr. Taylor and Miss Normand that last night,
|
|
Henry?" asked one of the detectives.
|
|
"It was a simple drink," the boy replied. "I squeeze orange juice and
|
|
then I squeeze a leming. Then I put in a little portion of gin and then a
|
|
little squirt of Italian vermouth. Very fine drink. They enjoyed it very
|
|
much.
|
|
The police are no nearer now to the solution of the crime than they were
|
|
on Thursday morning, when the body was discovered.
|
|
But they rest their hopes of solution upon a series of tiny ridges and
|
|
whorls and loops in the faint lines made on the smooth surfaces of doors and
|
|
tables and chair arms in the cozy bachelor flat where Taylor lived.
|
|
Their chances of success rest upon fingerprints and on the information to
|
|
be obtained from a band of dope peddlers they are watching and on the arrest
|
|
of Taylor's former valet, Edward F. Sands, or Strathmore...
|
|
The detectives are still looking for Edward F. Sands, the former valet
|
|
and friend of the slain director, for a man known as a broker, for another
|
|
director, for a number of "hop" peddlers.
|
|
Twenty men and women are under suspicion. Twenty theories are being
|
|
entertained. But not one arrest has been made, not a single clew has been
|
|
unearthed and the search becomes all but hopeless.
|
|
The murder mystery has brought the city virtually to a crisis.
|
|
There are hundreds of substantial citizens who seen in the case the iron
|
|
hand of the moving picture giant holding down the curtain that the police and
|
|
the newspapers would lift.
|
|
They believe the movie interests would spend millions of dollars not to
|
|
catch the murderers; but to prevent the real truth from coming out, to avert
|
|
the exposure of Hollywood, to squelch before it is born the scandal of the
|
|
century.
|
|
Taylor, who seems to have deserted his wife and baby some fourteen years
|
|
ago, who lived under an alias, who surrounded himself with people of doubtful
|
|
character--men who sew and crochet and embroider, women of queer reputation--
|
|
and who lived the typical life of the movie director, as pictured in all the
|
|
gossip of the studios, was the saint of Hollywood, according to this friends.
|
|
Not a man or woman who knew him but says he was a charming gentleman, a
|
|
soul above reproach.
|
|
It is quite true the movie world would prefer the thing handled in
|
|
silence, even ignored.
|
|
They regret the death of Taylor sincerely, but they feel the least said
|
|
about it the better.
|
|
They feel that with the revelations coming out of the mystery, the doings
|
|
of other film actors and actresses may become known, and these are things that
|
|
would wipe out many as fair reputation once they get into circulation.
|
|
They fear the world may come to know about all the little parties that
|
|
help to relieve the tedium of studio life, the unconventional companionships
|
|
that exist between extra girls and assistant movie directors in many
|
|
instances; between male and female stars in other instances.
|
|
They fear that the movie patrons may learn how "Tillie Hopscotch," who
|
|
played the sweet country girl in the latest Blah release, entertains her
|
|
friends by dressing them all in silken kimonos, irrespective of their gender
|
|
and squats them down in a circle to drink orange juice and gin or beer and
|
|
ether or some other queer mixture with a kick.
|
|
Orange juice and gin is the favorite tipple of many a dear, lovely child
|
|
of the screen, and ether and beer is considered more or less the potion of a
|
|
healthy he-man.
|
|
They fear that there might be some misunderstanding if the fans learned
|
|
about those very free moonlight parties, sometimes held in the Beverly Hills
|
|
district, where nymphs and naiads dance in costumes made purely of melting
|
|
moonbeams.
|
|
The thing is rushing to a head. It means disaster to many in the cinema
|
|
colony. It means the loss of dollars to the companies. It means a revolution
|
|
in the pictures.
|
|
Hollywood is content with itself and its morals and its views of life.
|
|
It wants no change. It wants no chastisement. It wants to go on as it has
|
|
been going.
|
|
The movie bosses are in power in Los Angeles.
|
|
They have been able so far to keep down the blinds. Did an exposure
|
|
threaten they vowed to leave Los Angeles bag and baggage, and Los Angeles can
|
|
ill afford to lose the millions spent and invested by the movies.
|
|
If the movies leave Los Angeles, Los Angeles will suffer.
|
|
But even now the police are seeking to round up five peddlers of drugs,
|
|
peddlers who have been in many a movie star's bungalow, peddlers who know
|
|
sinister things about the cinema world, peddlers who may know something of the
|
|
murder...
|
|
And so the police are getting scant information from the movie colony
|
|
about the real character of the dead man, about his friends and his enemies,
|
|
about any possible motives for the murder.
|
|
The police are working hard, but they are under a terrible handicap, and
|
|
they must deal gently with the stars. Some of the police are friends of the
|
|
big actors and actresses, have taken money from them as wages for appearing in
|
|
certain pictures. And they are not going to question them as tenaciously as
|
|
they would, say, a girl of no position who had been caught shoplifting...
|
|
The bullet that ended Taylor's life has been examined. It is an old type
|
|
bullet, and could have been used only in an old model revolver. The police
|
|
are now searching every arms shop in the city to discover the purchaser of
|
|
such a weapon...
|
|
Taylor went to places where ether is drunk in beer and hypodermic needles
|
|
are used and marihuana and opium and morphine and haysheesh are wheeled in on
|
|
tea carts to the guests--to get local color, and it is possible that out of
|
|
one of these places came the man who fired the fatal shot...
|
|
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
|
|
Who's Who in the Taylor Case
|
|
|
|
Adams, David -- L.A.P.D. Captain, Chief of Detectives at the time of the
|
|
Taylor murder.
|
|
Adams, Harvey -- Detained in Concord, North Carolina, suspected of being
|
|
Sands, cleared.
|
|
Aldworth, A. R. -- Questioned by Woolwine during the Taylor murder
|
|
investigation.
|
|
Anderson, Mr. -- Reportedly a friend of Peavey's who was sought by the
|
|
police in connection with the Taylor case.
|
|
Arnheim, Harry -- Named by May Rupp as a conspirator in the Taylor murder.
|
|
Arto, George (a.k.a. Britt, Henry and Brett, Frank) -- Witness who saw
|
|
Peavey talking to someone on the night of the murder.
|
|
Barrett, J. G. (a.k.a. Black Bart) -- discredited confessor to the Taylor
|
|
murder.
|
|
Bean, James -- L.A.P.D. Captain who thought Taylor was killed by a "bungalow
|
|
burglar."
|
|
Bell, Harvey -- Deputy L. A. County Sheriff who investigated the Taylor case
|
|
and reportedly thought Shelby was guilty.
|
|
Belmont, Dr. R. B. J. -- Discredited confessor to the Taylor murder.
|
|
Beran, S. J. -- Related incident of a carpenter threatening to kill a movie
|
|
director.
|
|
Berger, J. Marjorie -- Income tax accountant for Taylor and Shelby; met with
|
|
Taylor on the day he was killed.
|
|
Biscailuz, Eugene -- L. A. County Undersheriff investigating the Taylor
|
|
case; reportedly stated that Taylor was killed due to jealousy, not
|
|
revenge.
|
|
Bliss, William -- Claimed to have seen Sands in Minneapolis.
|
|
Borden, Fay -- Friend of Mabel Normand, made statement that Taylor was in
|
|
love with Mabel.
|
|
Boruff, Earl -- Murdered detective who reportedly knew more about the Taylor
|
|
case than anyone in California.
|
|
Bowman, William -- Reportedly lived with Taylor in Santa Monica 1913-1914.
|
|
Brettner, George -- Friend of Sands.
|
|
Brew, Julia (a.k.a. Benson, Julia) -- Worked for Mabel, questioned by
|
|
Woolwine.
|
|
Brown, Frank -- Night watchman who reportedly gave Shelby a revolver.
|
|
Brown, Mrs. Theodore -- Made statement that Neva Gerber lived with her and
|
|
Taylor would come to visit.
|
|
Brunen, John -- Theatrical manager whose murder was rumored linked to the
|
|
Taylor case; rumor discredited.
|
|
Bryson, Frank -- Public Administrator, executor of Taylor estate.
|
|
Buckner, S. G. -- Neighbor of Taylor who reportedly telephoned the police
|
|
after hearing Peavey yelling that Taylor was dead.
|
|
Bundesen, H. N. -- Stated Harry Lee told him that he had killed Taylor for
|
|
$1000 for interfering with a drug gang.
|
|
Cahill, William -- L.A.P.D. policeman investigating the Taylor case;
|
|
reportedly thought Taylor was killed by a jealous woman; originator of
|
|
the "kiss of death" theory.
|
|
Calvert, George -- Named by May Rupp as a conspirator in the Taylor murder.
|
|
Carillo, Gus -- Confessor to Taylor murder, discredited.
|
|
Carlson, Milton -- Handwriting expert consulted for the Taylor case,
|
|
concluded that Sands and "Strathmore" were the same person.
|
|
Carsen, Charles -- Stated Sands hired two men to kill Taylor, discredited.
|
|
Cato, E. Ray -- L.A.P.D. policeman investigating the Taylor case.
|
|
Clark, Vincent -- Stated he made confidential statements to Woolwine
|
|
incriminating Mabel Normand in the Taylor case.
|
|
Clifford, Kathleen -- Actress who reportedly visited Taylor's body in the
|
|
mortuary and wept.
|
|
Cline, Herman -- L.A.P.D. detective investigating the Taylor case.
|
|
Cock, Andrew -- Gave ride to armed hitchhiker shortly before the Taylor
|
|
murder.
|
|
Coe, Henry -- Stated Taylor was killed by drug addicts.
|
|
Collins, "Dapper Don" -- Prohibition gangster, reportedly wanted for
|
|
questioning in the Taylor case.
|
|
Connette, Honore -- Newspaperman suspected of being involved in the Taylor
|
|
murder.
|
|
Cooley, Mrs. Charles -- Neighbor of Taylor's.
|
|
Cooper, Maudie -- Reportedly involved with drug gang who killed Taylor,
|
|
cleared.
|
|
Dailey, L. D. "Red" -- Suspected in the Taylor case, cleared.
|
|
Davis, Harold -- Assistant District Attorney under Asa Keyes.
|
|
Davis, William -- Mabel Normand's chauffeur; drove her away from Taylor's
|
|
home on the night Taylor was killed.
|
|
Deane-Tanner, Denis -- Taylor's brother.
|
|
Dewar, Frank -- L. A. County Deputy Sheriff investigating the Taylor case.
|
|
Dixon, Thomas -- Suitor of Mary Miles Minter, reportedly suspected of
|
|
killing Taylor.
|
|
Doran, Frank -- Boasted of killing Taylor; arrested, questioned, cleared.
|
|
Doran, William -- Deputy District Attorney under Thomas Woolwine, took
|
|
statement from Minter.
|
|
Dumas, Verne -- Neighbor of Taylor, reportedly the third man to enter the
|
|
Taylor home on the morning the body was found.
|
|
East, William -- Named by May Rupp as a conspirator in the Taylor murder.
|
|
Eaton, Chauncey -- Chauffeur to Charlotte Shelby at the time of her visit to
|
|
Taylor's home; Shelby gave him bullets from a gun; he hid them on a
|
|
rafter in the basement of Casa Margarita.
|
|
Everington, James -- Los Angeles Chief of Police at the time of the Taylor
|
|
murder.
|
|
Eyton, Charles -- Studio manager of Famous Players-Lasky where Taylor
|
|
worked; came to Taylor's home after the body was discovered, testified at
|
|
the coroner's inquest.
|
|
Fellows, Harry -- Taylor's assistant director at the time of the murder,
|
|
formerly Taylor's chauffeur.
|
|
Fellows, Howard -- Taylor's chauffeur at the time of the murder.
|
|
Fields, Albert -- Made statement that Peavey admitted killing Taylor.
|
|
Fields, Harry -- Arrested in Detroit, made statements admitting complicity
|
|
in the Taylor case, discredited.
|
|
Filbin, Thomas -- Made statement that Peavey told him Mabel killed Taylor.
|
|
Fitts, Buron -- L. A. County District Attorney at the time of the 1937
|
|
investigation, reportedly thought Shelby was guilty.
|
|
Freeman, Harold -- Taylor's milkman, gave police information on Sands.
|
|
Gaisford, L. W. -- Told of meeting a strange man on the night of the murder.
|
|
Garrow, Ida -- Told of seeing a strange man in the vicinity of the murder
|
|
scene.
|
|
Gerber, Neva -- Actress, engaged to Taylor for several years, but only
|
|
friends at the time of the murder.
|
|
Gillon, Hazel -- According to Adela Rogers St. Johns, Hazel Gillon saw a
|
|
person leave Taylor's home after the shot was fired.
|
|
Gorman, Harry -- Confessed to Taylor murder, discredited.
|
|
Graham, Lawrence -- Says Peavey told him Taylor was shot by a woman in the
|
|
presence of Sands.
|
|
Green, Tom -- Federal agent in charge of drug investigations, discussed the
|
|
drug situation in Hollywood with Taylor two years before the murder.
|
|
Harrington, Neal -- Neighbor of Taylor, reportedly first to enter Taylor
|
|
house after Peavey yelled for help.
|
|
Harris, Albert -- Taxi driver who said he drove actor and crying actress
|
|
before the murder.
|
|
Harris, Harry -- Jeweler in Santa Barbara who denied giving a gun to Shelby,
|
|
as she claimed.
|
|
Hartley, Floyd -- Worked in gas station near Taylor's home, said a man asked
|
|
where Taylor lived on the night of the murder.
|
|
Heffner, Otis (a.k.a. Hefner) -- Convict who claimed to know about the
|
|
Taylor murder, discredited.
|
|
Henry, Leslie -- Investment broker for Charlotte Shelby, stole from her
|
|
account.
|
|
Herkey, John -- Named by May Rupp as conspirator in Taylor murder.
|
|
Herron, Robert -- Worked for Woolwine, took statement from Vincent Clark.
|
|
Holderman, E. F. -- Confessed to Taylor murder, discredited.
|
|
Hooper, Frank -- Convict, says he knows who killed Taylor, discredited.
|
|
Hopkins, George -- Taylor's art director.
|
|
Hoyt, Arthur -- Actor, friend of Taylor, attended play with Taylor on the
|
|
Friday before the murder, told of Minter's prior visit to Taylor's home.
|
|
Hughes, Gareth -- Actor, implicated in Taylor murder by letter supposedly
|
|
written by Connette.
|
|
Ivers, Julia Crawford -- Taylor's screenwriter, visited murder scene on the
|
|
morning the body was found.
|
|
Jessurun, E. C. -- Manager of Alvarado Court duplexes where Taylor lives,
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|
heard shot, reportedly first to enter Taylor's apartment after Peavey
|
|
found body,
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|
Jewett, Christine -- Maid of Douglas and Faith MacLean, heard man pacing in
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alley prior to the murder, heard shot.
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|
Jones, Tommy -- Suspected of being Sands, discredited.
|
|
Kearin, H. -- Questioned by Woolwine regarding the Taylor case.
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|
Kee, Lim -- Killed in Chinatown, rumored link to Taylor murder.
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|
Keyes, Asa -- Los Angeles District Attorney after Woolwine, eventually
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|
imprisoned for accepting a bribe on an unrelated case.
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|
King, Ed -- Detective investigating the murder for the district attorney's
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|
office.
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|
Kirby, Walter -- Named by May Rupp as conspirator in Taylor murder,
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|
questioned in Mexico when identified by Andrew Cock, released.
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|
Kirkwood, James -- Actor/director, had relationship with Mary Miles Minter.
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|
Knoblock, Edward -- Writer, lived in Taylor's home while Taylor was in
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|
Europe.
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|
Kosloff, Theodore -- Actor/dancer, says strange man had confronted Taylor.
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|
Kramer, Jack -- Identified as Taylor's killer by John Marazino, discredited.
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|
Lawrence, Mr. -- Neighbor of Taylor, heard Taylor and Mabel walk to her car
|
|
prior to the murder.
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|
Lee, Henry (a.k.a. Young, Harry) -- Arrested on drug charges and questioned
|
|
about the Taylor murder.
|
|
Lee, Wong -- Drug peddler reported missing since the Taylor murder.
|
|
Lewis, Jane -- Reportedly questioned by Woolwine regarding the Taylor case.
|
|
Lewis, S. O. -- Reportedly questioned by Woolwine regarding the Taylor case.
|
|
Long, Thomas -- L.A.P.D. patrolman, saw man loitering near Taylor home
|
|
smoking gold-tipped cigarettes.
|
|
Lynch, Ray -- Named by May Rupp as conspirator in Taylor murder.
|
|
Machaty, Gustav -- Stated strange man asked where Taylor lived.
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|
MacLean, Douglas -- Actor, Taylor's neighbor, heard shot.
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|
MacLean, Faith -- Taylor's neighbor, heard shot, saw man walk away from
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|
Taylor's home.
|
|
Maigne, Charles -- Fellow director and friend of Taylor, reportedly stated
|
|
Taylor was certain an enemy might return and kill him.
|
|
Marazino, John -- Stated Jack Kramer killed Taylor, discredited.
|
|
Manning, Al -- Chief Criminal Deputy Sheriff who investigated the Taylor
|
|
case.
|
|
McArthur, Arch -- Sennett press agent, shielded Mabel after the murder.
|
|
McBurney, Mrs. William -- Saw suspicious man on night of murder near murder
|
|
scene.
|
|
McReynolds, Frank -- Stated a woman told him Taylor had a fight with a drug
|
|
peddler.
|
|
Meister, C. M. -- Taxi driver, stated he had suspicious fares at time of
|
|
murder.
|
|
Miles, Julia -- Grandmother of Mary Miles Minter, accompanied Minter to
|
|
murder scene after body was found.
|
|
Milo, George -- Questioned by police regarding Taylor murder, released.
|
|
Minter, Mary Miles -- Actress in love with Taylor, became very emotional
|
|
after being notified of his death.
|
|
Moreno, Antonio -- Actor, friend of Taylor, spoke with Taylor by phone on
|
|
the night of the murder.
|
|
Mott, John -- Attorney of Mary Miles Minter and Charlotte Shelby.
|
|
Murphy, Clyde -- Attorney of Shelby in 1937, requested grand jury
|
|
investigation into the Taylor murder.
|
|
Murphy, Wiley -- L.A.P.D. detective investigating the Taylor case.
|
|
Marshall, Neilan -- Director and friend of Taylor, rumored to be a suspect
|
|
in the Taylor murder because of his relationship with Minter.
|
|
Nance, Frank -- Coroner who examined Taylor's body.
|
|
Normand, Mabel -- Comedy actress and girlfriend of Taylor, visited him and
|
|
departed just prior to his murder.
|
|
O'Connor, Frank -- Director and friend of Taylor, formerly Taylor's
|
|
assistant director, borrowed money from Taylor.
|
|
O'Neill, "Frisco Jimmie" -- Arrested in New York on drug charges, stated he
|
|
knew Taylor very well.
|
|
O'Shea, Daniel (a.k.a. McShea, Stacy) -- Reported missing since murder,
|
|
finally appeared, questioned, cleared.
|
|
Oyler, Ralph -- Federal investigator who implied Dapper Don Collins was
|
|
responsible for the Taylor murder.
|
|
Parker, C. C. -- Owner of bookstore visited by Taylor on the afternoon
|
|
before his murder.
|
|
Parsons, F. -- L.A.P.D. policeman on the scene shortly after the body was
|
|
found.
|
|
Passe, J. E. -- British secret service agent reportedly working on the
|
|
Taylor case.
|
|
Peavey, Henry -- Taylor's valet and cook at the time of the murder,
|
|
discovered Taylor's body on the morning of February 2, 1922, thought
|
|
Mabel Normand killed Taylor.
|
|
Peete, Lofie Louise -- Stated killers of J. C. Denton also killed Taylor.
|
|
Pinkerton, Mrs. Robert -- Stated Taylor killed because of Irish feud.
|
|
Pratt, Myrtle -- Neighbor of Taylor.
|
|
Proctor, Miles -- Stated Taylor killed by Peavey.
|
|
Purviance, Edna -- Actress in Chaplin films, neighbor of Taylor, called
|
|
Mabel Normand and told her Taylor was dead.
|
|
Reddick, Mrs. C. F. -- Neighbor of Taylor.
|
|
Reineque, Henri -- Questioned by police regarding Taylor murder.
|
|
Remar, George -- Claimed to have seen Sands in Long Beach in 1936.
|
|
Richardson, Friend -- Governor of California who made cover-up accusations
|
|
regarding the Taylor case.
|
|
Rinaldo, Russo -- Confessed to killing Taylor, discredited.
|
|
Robertson, Capt. W. A. -- Friend of Taylor, questioned by investigators.
|
|
Robins, Edward -- Married Taylor's ex-wife, knew Taylor in New York.
|
|
Robins, Ethel May Hamilton -- Taylor's ex-wife.
|
|
Romier, "Frenchy" Georges -- Questioned by police regarding Taylor case,
|
|
reportedly he was with Mabel on the afternoon Taylor was killed.
|
|
Ross, Gene -- Stated she saw Taylor with Claire Windsor on the Saturday
|
|
before he was killed, and that Taylor was very nervous.
|
|
Rupp, May -- Made statement linking Taylor murder with bootleg ring.
|
|
Roloff, S. F. -- Suspected of being Sands, cleared.
|
|
Salisbury, Edward -- Explorer and film maker, stated he thought Taylor was
|
|
killed by drug ring for interfering with their sales.
|
|
Sanborn, Harry -- Suspected of being Sands, cleared.
|
|
Sands, Edward -- Taylor's former valet and cook, accused of embezzling money
|
|
from Taylor, real name Edward F. Snyder.
|
|
Sans, Albert -- Confessed to Taylor murder, discredited.
|
|
Schrenkeisen, Frank -- Lawyer hired by Ethel Daisy Tanner to handle Taylor
|
|
estate.
|
|
Scott, Homer -- Taylor's former cameraman, was cameraman for Mabel Normand
|
|
at the time of the Taylor murder.
|
|
Sennett, Mack -- Producer of Mabel Normand's films and her former lover.
|
|
Shelby, Charlotte (a.k.a. Pearl Miles Reilly) -- Mother of actress Mary
|
|
Miles Minter.
|
|
Shelby, Margaret (a.k.a. Alma M. Reilly or Margaret Fillmore) -- Sister of
|
|
Mary Miles Minter, in 1937 accused her mother, Charlotte Shelby, of
|
|
killing Taylor.
|
|
Smith, Jim -- Worked for D.A. Woolwine, reportedly was staying in Casa
|
|
Margarita on the night Taylor was killed.
|
|
Snively, C. E. -- Former L.A. Chief of Police, wrote letter accusing film
|
|
industry of cover-up.
|
|
Stewart, James -- Reportedly a bootlegger who was delivering liquor to
|
|
Taylor, heard a shot and saw a woman leave, discredited.
|
|
Stockdale, Carl -- Actor and friend of Charlotte Shelby, stated he was with
|
|
Shelby on the night of the murder.
|
|
Stone, Mrs. M. S. -- Saw mysterious man on the murder night.
|
|
Tanner, Ada -- Taylor's sister-in-law.
|
|
Tanner, Ethel Daisy -- Taylor's daughter.
|
|
Taylor, Ruth Wing -- Wife of Ted Taylor, reportedly stated Taylor killed by
|
|
man hired by Sennett, retracted.
|
|
Taylor, Ted -- William Desmond Taylor's publicity agent at the time of the
|
|
murder.
|
|
Taylor, William Desmond -- Real name William Cunningham Deane Tanner,
|
|
Hollywood film director murdered on February 1, 1922.
|
|
Taylor, William Edward -- Claimed to be Taylor's son.
|
|
Thiele, Walter -- Reportedly committed burglary on night of murder,
|
|
suspected of Taylor murder, cleared.
|
|
Thomas, James -- Stated drug gang killed Taylor.
|
|
Tiffany, Earl -- Former chauffeur of Taylor, fired by Taylor, questioned by
|
|
investigators.
|
|
Tiffany, Mrs. Earl -- Wife of former chauffeur, stated she saw Sands
|
|
downtown L. A. on the day before the murder.
|
|
Traeger, William -- L. A. County Sheriff at the time of the murder, charged
|
|
police with dragging feet.
|
|
Underwood, Walter -- Made statements suggesting his involvement in the
|
|
Taylor case, discredited.
|
|
Van Trees, James -- Taylor's cameraman, son of Julia Crawford Ivers.
|
|
Wachter, Arthur -- Neighbor of Taylor, saw Mabel and Taylor together on the
|
|
night before the murder.
|
|
Wah, Tom -- Arrested on narcotics charge, rumored link to Taylor case.
|
|
Waldron, J. A. -- Sennett studio manager, shielded Mabel Normand after the
|
|
murder.
|
|
Wallis, Hubert. -- L.A.P.D. detective investigating the Taylor case.
|
|
Waterman, Louis -- Deputy Public Administrator, worked on Taylor's estate.
|
|
Waybright, Mrs. -- Gave Taylor dancing lesson on day he was killed.
|
|
Whitney, Charlotte -- Secretary of Charlotte Shelby, questioned by Sheriff's
|
|
deputy, made statements to Keyes and Fitts.
|
|
Williams, Harry -- Former song writer sought in connection with drugs and
|
|
the Taylor murder.
|
|
Willis, Richard -- Taylor's former agent and publicity director.
|
|
Windsor, Claire -- Actress, dated Taylor a week before the murder.
|
|
Wing, Lester -- Former chauffeur of Taylor.
|
|
Winn, Jesse -- L.A.P.D. detective investigating the Taylor murder.
|
|
Woolwine, Thomas Lee -- Los Angeles District Attorney at the time of the
|
|
Taylor murder.
|
|
Wylie, Lila -- Reportedly sought for questioning, left Los Angeles the day
|
|
Taylor was killed.
|
|
Ziegler, Thomas -- L.A.P.D. policeman, one of the first on the scene after
|
|
Taylor's body was found, testified at the coroner's inquest.
|
|
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
|
|
Clara Beranger Comments on "The World's Applause"
|
|
|
|
"The World's Applause" was probably the first film inspired by the Taylor
|
|
case. The following interview with scenario writer Clara Beranger was made
|
|
before the film was produced. At that time, the film had the working title of
|
|
"Notoriety."
|
|
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|
|
|
May 7, 1922
|
|
Louella Parsons
|
|
NEW YORK TELEGRAPH
|
|
If all writers were able to sell their ideas with as little ceremony as
|
|
Clara Beranger did when William De Mille handed her a pencil and paper to
|
|
write the plot of "Notoriety," lest one solitary scene should escape her
|
|
memory, the old sob tales of crackers in a garret would be out of date. Miss
|
|
Beranger, who is now working as busily as our old friend the bee to get ready
|
|
to take a script of "Clarence" to the Coast next week, told us something of
|
|
how she happened to write her original.
|
|
"I had been reading numerous scandals in the papers, and I marveled at
|
|
the amount of space given these unsavory tales, and the thought came to me,
|
|
these women mixed up in these scandals can never wash their skirts clean, even
|
|
though they are innocent of wrong doing. Why not write a scenario showing how
|
|
impossible it is for a girl to get back her standing once her precious name is
|
|
headlined throughout the country. I told Mr. De Mille such a picture would
|
|
have interest. He told me to stop everything and write a synopsis to file
|
|
with Frank Woods, the scenario editor. I filed my synopsis and a few weeks
|
|
later completed the scenario."
|
|
"'Notoriety,'" Miss Beranger explained, "had the alternate title of
|
|
'Limelight,' but when Mr. De Mille started casting and making arrangements for
|
|
its production he chose my first title. Bebe Daniels will play the role of
|
|
the girl who is innocently dragged into a sensational murder case, and
|
|
afterward asked by the father of the boy she loves, to give him up because she
|
|
is unfit to marry him.
|
|
"'I will not give him up,' the girl cries. 'I have done no wrong and I
|
|
shall clear my name and marry him'
|
|
"Then," said Miss Beranger, "I show how impossible it is for her to
|
|
convince the world she is the same girl she was before her name bas bandied
|
|
about as common property."
|
|
"Aren't you eager to start work on this pet child of yours?" Miss
|
|
Beranger was asked.
|
|
"Naturally," she said, "but 'Clarence' will be produced before
|
|
'Notoriety' goes into work. I will be out in California when Mr. De Mille
|
|
begins operations. Under my old contract I furnished eight continuities a
|
|
year; now that I work only for William De Mille I only write four. That gives
|
|
me an opportunity to see my work through from the story to the screen. It
|
|
makes it possible for me to go over my script scene by scene with the
|
|
producer, so he can make the picture with almost no changes. In the old days
|
|
I had to keep my nose to the grindstone continually so as to finish the eight
|
|
pictures in time for the different directors for whom I was writing."...
|
|
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
Back issues of Taylorology are available on the Web at any of the following:
|
|
http://www.angelfire.com/az/Taylorology/
|
|
http://www.etext.org/Zines/ASCII/Taylorology/
|
|
http://www.uno.edu/~drif/arbuckle/Taylorology/
|
|
Full text searches of back issues can be done at http://www.etext.org/Zines/
|
|
For more information about Taylor, see
|
|
WILLIAM DESMOND TAYLOR: A DOSSIER (Scarecrow Press, 1991)
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|