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Taylorology Issue 04
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* T A Y L O R O L O G Y *
* A Continuing Exploration of the Life and Death of William Desmond Taylor *
* *
* Issue 4 -- April 1993 Editor: Bruce Long bruce@asu.edu *
* All reprinted material is in the public domain *
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What is TAYLOROLOGY?
TAYLOROLOGY is a newsletter focusing on the life and death of William Desmond
Taylor, a top film Paramount film director in early Hollywood who was shot to
death on February 1, 1922. His unsolved murder was one of Hollywood's major
scandals. This newsletter will deal with: (a) The facts of Taylor's life;
(b) The facts and rumors of Taylor's murder; (c) The impact of the Taylor
murder on Hollywood and the nation. Primary emphasis will be given toward
reprinting, referencing and analyzing source material, and sifting it for
accuracy.
What were issues 1-3 of TAYLOROLOGY? They were printed issues several
years ago. The first issue reprinted the complete transcript of the Coroner's
Inquest; that transcript was subsequently reprinted again in A DEED OF DEATH
by Robert Giroux. The second issue had a list of over 100 possible errors
found in Sidney Kirkpatrick's A CAST OF KILLERS; that list was expanded in
the book WILLIAM DESMOND TAYLOR: A DOSSIER (hereafter called WDT DOSSIER) by
Bruce Long. The third issue was a large collection of press clippings
pertaining to Taylor's life in hollywood; those clippings (and many more)
were all reprinted in WDT DOSSIER. Because the essence of those first three
issues can be found in hardcover, there are no present plans to reprint those
issues here.
Reader input is welcome, in the form of "Letters to the Editor," short
articles, and contributed source material.
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CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
A Few Murder Suspects
Fragments from Taylor's Life
Suggested Reading
"The Humor of a Hollywood Murder":
Foreword (by Kevin Brownlow), Introduction, Prelude, Bon Mots
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A Few Murder Suspects
Within a few years of the murder, the press had printed a wide range of
rumors and speculations about Taylor's death. The endnotes indicate sample
references for each theory. It was suggested that Taylor was killed by:
1. A jealous woman:
a. Actress Mabel Normand [1]
b. Screenwriter Julia Crawford Ivers [2]
c. An unidentified woman (many variations)[3]
2. A jealous man who was in love with one of Taylor's female friends:
a. Producer Mack Sennett[4]
b. Director Marshall Neilan [5]
c. Pencil-fortune heir Tommy Dixon [6]
d. Actor Rudolph Valentino [7]
e. Albert Sans [8]
d. An unidentified man (many variations) [9]
3. Taylor's ex-servant, Edward F. Sands [10]
4. A member of a mystic homosexual opium cult [11]
5. An unidentified blackmailer [12]
6. A Canadian soldier whom Taylor had court-martialed during
World War I [13]
7. Noted prohibition gangster "Dapper Don" Collins [14]
8. Taylor's servant, Henry Peavey [15]
9. A burglar [16]
10. A drug peddler whose trade Taylor had interfered with
a. Wong Lee [17]
b. Tom Wah [18]
c. Harry Lee [19]
d. Jack Kramer [20]
e. "Morphine Mose" [21]
f. An unidentified drug peddler (many variations) [22]
11. A gang of bootleggers whom Taylor had threatened for attempting to sell
him inferior liquor [23]
12. An old enemy from the Klondike Gold Rush [24]
13. Rivals in a "film war" for control of the movie industry [25]
14. A small child, accidentally [26]
15. Taylor's brother, Denis Deane-Tanner [27]
16. Someone who mistook Taylor for a notorious criminal [28]
17. Charlotte Shelby, mother of Mary Miles Minter [29]
18. Someone to whom Taylor had privately lent money (the killer was
attempting to avoid repayment) [30]
19. A disgruntled studio employee whom Taylor had fired [31]
20. Irish nationalists [32]
21. The brother of a girl who had committed suicide after Taylor had
deserted her [33]
22. A moral fanatic, attempting to take action against the "evil" film
industry [34]
23. A "society man" whose hatred Taylor had innocently incurred and who had
already tried to kill Taylor once [35]
24. Someone Taylor asked to kill him [36]
25. An actor whom Taylor had rejected for a film role [37]
26. Newspaperman Honore Connette [38]
27. Actor Gareth Hughes [39]
28. The Ku-Klux-Klan [40]
29. A deranged drug addict [41]
30. Aleister Crowley's Ordo-Templi-Orientis [42]
31. Songwriter Harry Williams [43]
32. Walter Kirby [44]
33. Mr. Anderson [45]
34. Taxi driver Daniel O'Shea [46]
35. A lunatic movie fan [47]
36. A friend of the person victimized by Peavey [48]
37. A movie man verbally branded a "slacker" (for avoiding military service
in World War I) by Taylor [49]
38. Others unidentified [50]
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Fragments from Taylor's Life
November 27, 1920
Ray Davidson
DRAMATIC MIRROR
The growth and development of motion pictures have disclosed one
outstanding fact--that the successful film director MUST know life. If
dealing with one particular phase his knowledge of that angle should be
perfect. And of course it stands to reason that the man of widest experience
is best able to accurately reproduce the humanities of a story.
How many times one hears, "I don't think the maker of that picture was
ever inside of a mine" or "Certainly English society doesn't act like THAT!"
and so on as various discrepancies are flashed on the screen.
"To portray life--one must have lived it."
Certainly this axiom proves especially true in the case of William D.
Taylor, now a producer of special productions for Realart. Mr. Taylor has
gained a very particular reputation for human photoplays, plays of real
people acting in a real way under different circumstantces. He will be
particularly remembered for HUCKLEBERRY FINN, TOM SAWYER, THE VARMINT, THE
SOUL OF YOUTH, THE FURNACE and a score of other pictures, all of them
remarkable for their reality.
The reason is not far to seek. For certainly of all the present day
producers Mr. Taylor stands foremost in the matter of life experiences.
Successively Irish student, Kansas rancher, Klondike miner, construction
engineer of large industrial projects, actor and director of film features,
he has encompassed an unusual segment of human activity.
Mr. Taylor was born on the country estate of his grandfather, near
Mallows [sic] in County Cork, Ireland. His mother was an Irish gentlewoman,
his father a Colonel of English troops. The elder wished his son to become
an army officer and in preparation he was sent to Clifton College for
preparatory work in engineering, then going to Germany and France for
training in those countries.
Always, however, he had been fond of the play and cherished ambitions to
tread in the footsteps of Sir Henry Irving and others. His father frowned
severely upon anything connected with the stage and discouraged these
ambitions.
Shortly after his eighteenth birthday the Young Taylor was in
Manchester, England, when the famous Charles Hawtry was appearing in THE
PRIVATE SECRETARY. The present film producer applied to Hawtrey, told him he
had "lots of experience"--and was given a small part.
Friends of the family saw him on the stage in London and called his
father post-haste. The result was that the boy was banished to a farm at
Harper, Kansas!
This did not cure him, however, for after a year and a half farming he
signed to play with Fanny Davenport, taking for three seasons the juveniles
in such well-known old plays as LA TOSCA, GISMONDA, FEDORA, CLEOPATRA and
JOAN OF ARC.
Miss Davenport's death and the Klondike rush came simultaneously.
Remembering he was a licensed engineer he went north, made and lost a fortune-
-and then returned to play with Sol Smith Russell, Castle Square (Boston)
stock and in the leading roles of such famous old productions as MEN AND
WOMEN, BUTTERFLIES, THE GIRL WITH THE GREEN EYES, SOWING THE WIND and MADAME
SANS GENE. After this came another trip to the Klondike, a barnstorming
engagement to the Orient with Harry Corson Clarke and on return he built a
big paper mill at Swanson Bay, B.C.
Shortly after this he entered motion pictures with the old Kay Bee,
doing THE ICONOCLAST. Then came engagements with Ince and Vicagraph. Balboa
gave him his first chance to direct. He made five pictures with them, then
going to American for production of the famous old sixty-reel serial DIAMOND
FROM THE SKY. By this time he had become a seasoned director, signing with
the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation with whom he remained until his
affiliation with Realart.
Among the pictures he did for Famous were DAVY CROCKETT and PARSON OF
PANAMINT, Dustin Farnum; PASQUALE, George Beban; REDEEMING LOVE, OUT OF THE
WRECK, Kathlyn Williams; THE WORLD APART, Wallace Reid; JACK AND JILL; THE
VARMINT, MILE A MINUTE KENDALL, Jack Pickford and Louise Huff; UP THE ROAD
WITH SALLIE, Constance Talmadge; HOU COULD YOU JEAN?, JOHANNA ENLISTS, Mary
Pickford. For Realart he has done ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, JUDY OF ROGUE'S
HARBOR, NURSE MARJORIE and JENNY BE GOOD with Mary Miles Minter and in his
own right, THE SOUL OF YOUTH, THE FURNACE and THE WITCHING HOUR.
Mr. Taylor is very grateful that he has had a life of such unusual
variety.
"I find use every day for some phase of it," he tells his friends. "It
is an invaluable possession to a man called upon to reproduce real life. A
story can't be presented on the screen in a human, gripping manner unless the
director has been actually in contact with the situations depicted. A
director of limited human experience must sooner or later 'come a cropper'.
It is a profession which demands the knowing of something about a great many
people and things.
"For instance--I never thought at the time that being marooned all one
winter in the backwoods of Alaska would be one of the most valuable things
that could have happened to me. It was a terrible period. I had only a
train of sledge dogs for company. But it was being with these dogs so
constantly that gave me a love for animals, an ability to handle them. It
has been said that I have been exceptionally successful in the use of 'animal
stuff' in pictures. If this is so--it is entirely do to the six months alone
with the dogs.
"Army life? My father was a military man and I served in the British
army. Mining, fishing, hunting, construction of industrial projects? When
such problems come up there is always a niche somewhere in my memory which
has stored up the information wanted.
"How would a man act if he were about to be killed by a crazy man--or in
danger of death from any source? I can assuredly answer the first part of
that question--and tell my players should such a situation arise in the
stories I do. For while in the Klondike one time my cabin was entered by a
man who calmly announced that he was going to kill me, quoting certain
passages from the Bible as authority. I took down a Bible--showed him where
his quotation was wrong--and he forgot all about the killing!
"But that's only by way of illustration. Life isn't made up of such
melodramatic incidents. Mostly it flows along smoothly with certain
characteristics in youth, maturity and middle age. There are some features
in life that are the same anywhere--others are different according to
locality. I found a month's hunting and fishing trip along the Mississippi
River invaluable in working out the character of 'Huckleberry Finn'--assuring
its accuracy. For certainly the boy of the Big River has different pleasures
than the boy of Massachusetts, say.
"In the same manner the memory of fashionable London in my father's time
helped immeasurably in making correct the English society scenes of THE
FURNACE.
"A man must know these things himself to get them right. All the
technical directors in the world won't help if the man who is making the
picture doesn't know LIFE as it really is."
Again comes the original statement, "To portray life--one must have
lived it." Certainly this has proven true of William D. Taylor, student,
engineer, miner, farmer, actor and director of feature productions.
Such variety in life is bound to be reflected in Mr. Taylor's
productions. They will teem with real life and real people because he has
lived life among real people. He has been through the tempestuous school of
experience the slogan of which is "the survival of the fittest." Naturally
he brings the fruit of his knowledge to his directorial tasks. And that is
why one is very apt to see the absorbing, the natural, the life-like
pervading his photoplays.
Take THE FURNACE which is being shown in New York. It is a story
purporting to show the trials and tribulations of people who enter the state
of matrimony, some to be burnt beyond recognition, others to be purified by
the scorching fire of successful adjustment to new and strange conditions.
Mr. Taylor sought to get away from the conventional. He wanted to do a big
theme in a big way. And he succeeded, because he was true to his purpose.
He was conscientious to a fault in bringing out domestic detail, in fitting
the action to the titles.
And it has been this way with Mr. Taylor throughout his motion picture
career. And his picturesque life has lent color to his productions that they
would not otherwise have had. No details of life on the farm or in the mine,
in college, on the stage are lacking in truthfulness in the films that he
directs. He sees to that. The result is a picture in which the human
quality is uppermost. And when photoplays reflect this human quality they
are art. Trust William D. Taylor! He is a sincere and intelligent director.
He believes in motion pictures. And motion pictures will be the greater
because of him.
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Suggested Reading
For those interested in additional information about Taylor,
particularly the famous murder which ended his life, the following sources
may prove useful. Most published recaps of the murder are filled with errors
and all information must be carefully sifted for accuracy. In addition to the
sources listed below, many books have chapters on the Taylor murder
(including HOLLYWOOD HEARTBREAK, TALES FROM THE HOLLYWOOD RAJ, ACTS OF
MURDER, WHODUNIT?--HOLLYWOOD STYLE, HOLLYWOOD R.I.P., KILLERS UNKNOWN, TEN
REAL MURDER MYSTERIES, CELEBRITY MURDERS, UNSOLVED MYSTERIES, etc.), but they
are not listed below because they add nothing to the established literature,
and are filled with the usual errors--the same can be said of the many
discussions of the case in "crime encyclopedias." Of course the original news
papers of the time are also very useful; in addition to the five Los Angeles
papers of 1922 (TIMES, EXAMINER, RECORD, HERALD, EXPRESS) the CHICAGO
AMERICAN must be seen for its ultra-sensational coverage.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Most Valuable Sources:
Robert Giroux, A DEED OF DEATH (Knopf, 1990). Well-written recap of the case,
superb photo selection. Includes the complete transcript of the coroner's
inquest, and an index. This book advocates the theory that Taylor was killed
by drug gangsters; the only major fault in the book is that the Shelby-as-
killer theory is too quickly brushed aside.
Sidney Kirkpatrick, A CAST OF KILLERS (Dutton, 1986). Contains some material
from the police file, and many rumors attempting to prove that Charlotte
Shelby killed Taylor. This book was a best-seller and was followed by
paperback editions containing minor revisions.
Bruce Long, WILLIAM DESMOND TAYLOR: A DOSSIER (Scarecrow, 1991). Includes
recaps of the case written by two detectives involved in the investigation,
and extensive annotated criticism of the Kirkpatrick and Giroux books.
Mack Sennett and Cameron Shipp, KING OF COMEDY (Doubleday, 1954). This book
has three chapters on the murder, including some transcripts from the
District Attorney's file which have not been published elsewhere.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
General Recaps of the Taylor Murder (Often Error-Filled):
Kenneth Anger, HOLLYWOOD BABYLON (Straight Arrow, 1975), pp. 32- 41.
Harry Carr, "Who Killed William Desmond Taylor?" SCREEN SECRETS (April 1929)
pp. 24ff.
William H. A. Carr, HOLLYWOOD TRAGEDY (Fawcett Crest, 1976), pp. 49-72.
Betty Harper Fussell, MABEL (Ticknor & Fields, 1982). Better than most
others.
Erle Stanley Gardner, "William Desmond Taylor," THE LOS ANGELES MURDERS, ed.
by Craig Rice (Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1947), pp. 85-119.
Alan Hynd, "Murder in Hollywood," AMERICAN MERCURY (November 1949), pp. 594-
601.
Morris Markey, "Who Killed William Desmond Taylor?" ESQUIRE (November 1950),
pp. 65ff.
Colleen Moore, SILENT STAR (Doubleday, 1968), pp. 78-89.
Ellery Queen, "The Taylor Case: The Murder Hollywood Can't Forget," AMERICAN
WEEKLY (October 26, 1952).
Capt. J. A. Winn, "Who Killed William Desmond Taylor?" FRONT PAGE DETECTIVE
(June 1937) pp. 56ff.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Special Material Pertaining to the Murder:
Frank Bartholomew, BART: MEMOIRS OF FRANK H. BARTHOLOMEW (Vine Press, 1983),
pp. 26-27. A reporter's memoirs.
Kevin Brownlow, HOLLYWOOD: THE PIONEERS (Knopf, 1979), p. 112. Brief
statement by Mary Miles Minter.
Edward Doherty, GALL AND HONEY (Sheed & Ward, 1941), pp. 196-202. A
reporter's memoirs.
Charles Higham, CELEBRITY CIRCUS (Delacorte, 1979), pp. 109-117. Rare
interview with Mary Miles Minter.
Edward Knoblock, ROUND THE ROOM (Chapman and Hall, 1939), pp. 306-308. He
lived in Taylor's house at the time of Sands' theft.
Bruce Long, "The William Desmond Taylor Murder Case," CLASSIC FILM COLLECTOR
(Winter 1977) pp.24-32. Reprints statements made by many Hollywood
celebrities after the murder.
Florabel Muir, HEADLINE HAPPY (Holt, 1950), pp. 100-102. A reporter's
memoirs.
Adela Rogers St. Johns, THE HONEYCOMB (Doubleday, 1969), pp. 106-110. A
reporter's memoirs.
Sidney Sutherland, "Mabel Normand--Comedienne and Madcap," LIBERTY (Sept. 27
and Oct. 4, 1930). Mabel Normand's most detailed statement of her activities
on the day Taylor died.
Walter Wagner, YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1975), pp. 81-83.
Statement by Claire Windsor.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Taylor's Film Career and History:
Truman B. Handy, "The Colorful and Romantic Story of William D. Taylor's
Remarkable Life," MOVIE WEEKLY (March 18, 25, April 1, 8, 15, 1922). Highly
fanciful version of Taylor's life story.
Richard Koszarski, "The William Desmond Taylor Mystery," GriffiTHIANA (October
1990), pp. 253-256. Critical examination of Taylor's extant films.
Bruce Long, "Julia Crawford Ivers, circa: The Taylor Murder," CLASSIC IMAGES
(December 1985). Reprints items pertaining to Taylor's main screenwriter, and
her thoughts about Taylor.
Douglas J. Whitton, "The Career of William Desmond Taylor," CLASSIC IMAGES
(February, March, April 1983).
Richard Willis, "William D. Taylor," MOVIE PICTORIAL (June 6, 1914).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Fictionalizations of the Murder (entertainment value only):
Dewitt Bodeen, 13 CASTLE WALK (Pyramid, 1975).
G.M. Bumpus, THE MAN WHO KILLED: THE SOLUTION OF HOLLYWOOD'S GREATEST MURDER
MYSTERY (Logan Dillon, 1945).
J.E. Chrisman, "The Taylor Murder Case as a Fiction Thriller," MOTION PICTURE
(Aug. 1931) pp. 32ff. Mystery writer S. S. Van Dine (author of the "Philo
Vance" series) speculates about dramatizing the case.
Kim Deitch, "The Mysterious Death of William Desmond Taylor," SLEAZY SCANDALS
OF THE SILVER SCREEN (Cartoonists Co-Op Press, 1974).
H. L. Gates, "Has Mabel Normand Solved the Taylor Murder?" ILLUSTRATED
DETECTIVE MAGAZINE (Nov. 1931- Jan. 1932).
Franklin Hall, BEN TURPIN, PRIVATE EYE (Aran, 1985).
Gavin Lambert, RUNNING TIME (MacMillan, 1983).
Samuel A. Peeples, THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1976).
Gore Vidal, HOLLYWOOD (Random House, 1990).
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"The Humor of a Hollywood Murder"
by Bruce Long
(This was originally intended to be a book published in hardcopy form, but
efforts to find a publisher were unsuccessful. So it will be serialized
within this newsletter.)
Foreword
by Kevin Brownlow
No amount of money would have induced me to write an introduction to a
book about the "humour" of the Taylor case. But Bruce Long tempted me with
copies of exceptionally rare 1913 issues of Photoplay, and as the saying went
in Hollywood in those days, the only way to cope with temptation is to give
in to it.
Few of Taylor's films survive, but I was very impressed with his 1920
production of "Soul of Youth," about juvenile delinquency, made with an
almost Dikensian feel for the squalor and brutality of reform schools.
But my interest in Taylor lies beyond his work. My friend Liam O'Leary
once took a picture of the house in Cappoquin, Co Waterford where Taylor grew
up. I showed it to my wife, Virginia, and she had to sit down. It was the
same house in which she had grown up. His family, the Deane-Tanners, were
Anglo-Irish landowners; it is perfectly accurate to call him "British" but it
would be closer to the truth to call him Anglo-Irish. They were a special
breed, dying out now, but worthy of a few volumes of their own. (My wife's
brother, Molly Keane, has done sterling work in this regard, but she recalls
the Deane-Tanners only vaguely from her youth, and feels there are dark deeds
associated with them.)
The Irish are the most humorous people imaginable, and had Taylor
survived the shooting, he might have cracked some jokes about it. Somehow,
the idea of the press finding humour in the event causes one less amusement
than indignation. America's yellow press, particularly the tabloids owned by
Hearst, were far worse than anything represented by Hollywood. How they got
away with their repellent stories, gory photographs and sanctimonious
hypocrisy, while women's clubs got steamed up about the charming love-making
of silent films, is beyond me.
On the other hand, this is the press of The Front Page era; you can
imagine the tough reporters, their hats tilted back on their head, swigging
their prohibition gin from hip flasks, their prose flushing as purple as
their noses. This book is a fascinating comment on American society.
Introduction
by Bruce Long
On the surface there was nothing whatsoever amusing about the unsolved
cold-blooded murder of top Hollywood film director William Desmond Taylor on
February 1, 1922. The single gunshot which punctured his left lung not only
ended Taylor's life but also helped ruin the careers of two top female stars
and fueled unprecedented public outcry against Hollywood. Most of the nation
was not amused; Hollywood certainly was not. But as days passed and the many
bizarre threads of the case came to light, more and more humorous commentary
began to appear in the press.
The Taylor case has been written about many times and has inspired three
full-length books, but authors have generally ignored the humor inspired by
the case. This series is a collection of that original humorous press
material.
The Hollywood film industry has come under verbal public attack at
various times throughout its existence, but those attacks were never greater
than in the month following Taylor's murder. The revelations accompanying the
Taylor case prompted the disclosure of other sensational allegations against
Hollywood, and national anti-Hollywood sentiment peaked at this time.
Subsequently, Will Hays assumed control of the movie industry and was able to
placate much of the anti-Hollywood sentiment. With the passage of time,
public morality changed and people were no longer so outraged by the
activities of the film colony. The humorous aspects of that anti-Hollywood
sentiment falls within the scope of this series.
A substantial part of this series contains "unintentional humor" which
was intended to be taken very seriously, but which nevertheless may seem to
be amusing from our current perspective.
Some of the material has been edited, and some material has been
arbitrarily assigned to one chapter instead of another because there is some
overlapping of subject matter.
A few stereotyped comments which are offensive today but were relatively
commonplace in 1922 have been included for historical purposes.
It should be kept in mind that the material presented in this series has
been selected for humor, not for veracity. Incidents and characterizations
should not be blindly accepted as fact. This volume contains very little
factual information about the Taylor case, but a great deal of information
about the social and cultural attitudes of the press, the public and
Hollywood in the aftermath of Taylor's murder. It is hoped that this series,
while presenting a substantial collection of source material useful to
scholars, will also be entertaining and humorous by today's standards.
Prologue
February 15, 1922
Alvaro Shoemaker
SEATTLE UNION-RECORD
We ought to be glad this thing happened down in Los Angeles--that is,
glad that it happened in Los Angeles instead of Seattle. It was a "big"
murder, as the news boys put it, and--like all big things--we need the
distance to give us a proper perspective.
We were just about to despair of the movies giving us any thrills other
than those in the films themselves.
Fatty Arbuckle gave us a good show--while it lasted. [51] But he has gone
through his second trial, and it drew so poorly that District Attorney Brady
threatens positively to withdraw it after one more performance.
Things were slowing up badly. California was having a rotten winter.
Tourists were leaving.
And then--
Action! Action!
William Desmond Taylor, world's greatest movie director, British army
captain, art connoisseur, traveler, dilettante, divorcee, bon vivant,
occultist, et cetera, et cetera, as well as sole proprietor of the finest,
best appointed, most frequently visited and most generously occupied love
nest in the city of Los Angeles--William Desmond Taylor, Love Avalanche of
Alvarado, [52] is found dead!
Once again Los Angeles triumphed over her ancient, jealous sister. San
Francisco could claim the Arbuckle affair. It was small, sordid; did not
offer the element of mystery; just a plain drunk, with a killing for a
chaser. Bah!
In Los Angeles a real he-man bit the dust--a sure-enough lady killer,
with more handkerchiefs, gloves, powder puffs and pale-and-thin lingerie in
his trophy list than an Arbuckle could ever hope to bag with all the seeming
advantage of superior booze and top weight.
And compare the women in the case. Fatty's list of "those present" might
be the register of the Home for Dessicated, Debilitated and Flatfooted
Hashers. Who remembers them? Fatty had to bait with booze for his moths in
order to get them to circulate around the formless, only partly combustible
hunk of tallow that was Arbuckle, in the hope that one at least might get
drunk enough to fall in.
Now look--if your eyes be not too dazzled--look, look at the lambent
flame of Desmond Taylor. Mark that classy galaxy that moves in queenly strides
around the central orb. Think you they are drawn and held by sordid things?
Not so. S'love, s'love!
The Arbuckle setting was one of corks, empties, cigarette butts and
katzenjammers. [53]
Taylor died surrounded by incense, code love notes, monogramed hankies
and pink teddy-bears. [54]
The sauce piquante of the Taylor affair would be a fetching dressing to
pour over even the classiest of chicken served up on the silver screen.
Bon Mots
February 4, 1922
DES MOINES REGISTER
The recent movie tragedy was too realistic for the director's health.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 4, 1922
PITTSBURGH SUN
It is absolutely useless for anyone to try to compete with the movie
folks for front page scandal position.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 4, 1922
KANSAS CITY STAR
The late Mr. Taylor, movie director, was known among his friends as
being "very reserved." So, apparently, is his murderer.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 4, 1922
OMAHA BEE
Nothing shown on the screen has so far exceeded in weirdness the things
actually done by the movie players.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 6, 1922
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
The question now is, who saw Director Taylor last. Until recently, the
burning issue among the movie queens was, who saw him first.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 6, 1922
MEMPHIS NEWS SCIMITAR
The latest angle to the movie murder in Los Angeles is that the victim
led a double life. Those double lives have an unhappy way of leading to a
single grave.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 6, 1922
PITTSBURGH SUN
Strange that the movie stars should be resenting all this fine
advertising the Taylor case offers them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 6, 1922
NASHVILLE TENNESSEAN
The shooting of a movie director has caused considerable disturbance in
Los Angeles. Must have shot the wrong one.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 7, 1922
NASHVILLE BANNER
Every cloud has a silver lining. For instance, the publicity department
of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce takes a rest every time there is a
Hollywood mystery murder.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 7, 1922
DES MOINES TRIBUNE
Surely one of those wonderful movie detectives ought to be able to solve
the movie murder mystery.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 7, 1922
BALTIMORE EVENING SUN
And if the authorities are not careful, the Associated Drug Peddlers of
Hollywood will become offended and leave.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 7, 1922
SAVANNAH NEWS
It is suggested that in the movie business Will Hays may have more
trouble handling the females than he had in moving the mails. [55]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 7, 1922
PITTSBURGH SUN
Nowadays a great many screen luminaries are being tried and found
wanton. [56]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 8, 1922
TOPEKA CAPITAL
Adolph Zukor says that the Hollywood movie colony is no worse, morally,
than the stock exchange colony on Wall Street. We have always suspected as
much.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 8, 1922
BOSTON HERALD
A "gruelling" examination, as the police employ the term, is one
expected to put its recipient in the soup.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 8, 1922
PITTSBURGH POST
Only by the exercise of supreme self-restraint has Congress refrained so
far from appointing a commission to go on a California excursion to
investigate picture studio shenanigan.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 9, 1922
INDIANAPOLIS STAR
A movie funeral seems to be one thing that will get the Los Angeles
people out to church.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 9, 1922
KANSAS CITY STAR
The roisterers who lived in the Roman empire days weren't pikers at
heart. They did the best they could, but were handicapped by the fact that
chemistry and drugs had not been perfected up to the Hollywood stage.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 9, 1922
DALLAS TIMES-HERALD
One man suggests that Motion Picture Director Taylor was killed by some
actor to whom he refused to give a job. Once in a while the public feel that
way about an actor who has been given a job.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 9, 1922
INDIANAPOLIS NEWS
The persistent claim of Los Angeles that it is different from the rest
of the world is now conceded.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 10, 1922
PASADENA STAR-NEWS
The person who is liable to be murdered mysteriously in Los Angeles
should take good care to bury his or her family skeleton too deep for
resurrection.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 10, 1922
COLUMBIA STATE
In the modern murder case it is not only cherchez la femme, but cherchez
la lingerie.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 10, 1922
DETROIT FREE PRESS
Those opium parties which are said to have been given in the movie
centers of California must have one advantage over the ordinary kind in that
no guests can be accused of impoliteness if he goes to sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 10, 1922
KANSAS CITY STAR
Los Angeles means "The City of the Angels." Fallen angels, huh?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 10, 1922
PASADENA STAR-NEWS
The person who is fortunate enough to escape being killed in traffic in
Los Angeles, may become the victim of a mysterious murder.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 10, 1922
COLUMBIA STATE
"Taylor's Slayer 'Unknown Person' Verdict Declares." Apparently that
lets out everybody connected with the film industry.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 11, 1922
WICHITA EAGLE
The father of Mary Miles Minter, who is a newspaper proof-reader, says
it's all a mistake about Mary. Thinks it a typographical error, doubtless.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 11, 1922
DALLAS NEWS
Life insurance agents should find Hollywood a receptive field now.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 11, 1922
SEATTLE UNION-RECORD
Cheer up, you old birds. Look at the kick murdered Film Director Taylor
was getting out of life at the age of 50.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 11, 1922
DES MOINES TRIBUNE
Incidentally, the Hollywood tragedy has brought home to some women the
advisability of omitting initials from nighties.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
FEBRUARY 11, 1922
Helena Independent
The serial "Gumming up the Cops" seems to be in full rehearsal at
Hollywood.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 11, 1922
PHILADELPHIA RECORD
"May Never Solve Taylor Mystery," says the headline. No, but we're
learning a lot about Mr. Taylor and his friends.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 11, 1922
INDIANAPOLIS STAR
In their efforts to dissect the Taylor case the authorities are finding
too many knots in Hollywood.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 11, 1922
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
As for the movies, they would better take Hays while there are stars to
shine. [57]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 11, 1922
SEATTLE UNION-RECORD
Editor contemplates abandoning his Back to Nature Society and starting a
Hollywood Movie Colony. Thinks he'll get more of a kick out of it--more
nature.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 12, 1922
DES MOINES REGISTER
Houseman Peavey appears to be the innocent Negro in the Hollywood pile.
[58]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 12, 1922
NEW ORLEANS STATES
It seems that California would be perfectly happy if she could find a way
to get rid of the Hollywood colony of movie stars without losing, at the same
time, the money they spend.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 12, 1922
ST. LOUIS STAR
After all the bizarre stuff that is being written about the Taylor
murder we wouldn't be surprised to find out that he isn't dead.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 12, 1922
WICHITA EAGLE
With the whole biographical dictionary to choose from, the great movie
director chose for himself the name of Bill Taylor. Democratic soul!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 12, 1922
DALLAS NEWS
We wish Hollywouldn't.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 13, 1922
KANSAS CITY STAR
The movie folks imagine that they have been picked upon to carry the
blame for all modern humanity's depravity, but they are mistaken. They are
expected to bear the blame for only half of it. The jazz producers will carry
the other half.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 13, 1922
PASADENA STAR-NEWS
The William D. Taylor murder mystery is becoming a graveyard of
reputations.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 13, 1922
BOSTON HERALD
And fast earning the name of Follywood.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 13, 1922
KANSAS CITY STAR
The suggestion to burn Hollywood up--or down--would be well enough, were
it not for the suspicion gained from current dispatches that Hollywood is too
"wet" to burn. [59]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 14, 1922
BOSTON TRANSCRIPT
If Hollywood wants a new name, what about Whollybad?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 14, 1922
DES MOINES TRIBUNE
There is this to be said about the Hollywood affair from the newspaper
folks' standpoint. It was not a difficult matter to get hold of pictures of
the various persons involved.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 14, 1922
SEATTLE STAR
Every time there is a shooting scrape in the movie colony some screen
star finds out where the rest of her clothes are.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 14, 1922
NEW YORK TELEGRAPH
If it were as easy to catch murderers as it is to discover claimants for
estates of murdered men, detectives would find their occupations gone.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 14, 1922
NASHVILLE BANNER
To paraphrase an old saying: "See Hollywood and die." [60]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 14, 1922
HOUSTON POST
Carl Laemmle says only a few of the film stars are bad. The worst of it
is, some good stars are bad and some bad stars are good.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 14, 1922
LOUISVILLE TIMES
If William Desmond Taylor had married all the women to whom he is
reported to have been engaged, he would not have been murdered. He would have
been safe in the penitentiary.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 14, 1922
SAN FRANCISCO BULLETIN
"Do you know who killed Taylor?" Jack Dempsey was asked.
"Sure. Everyone knows that Volstead killed Old Taylor," he answered. [61]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 15, 1922
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
If Hollywood wants to keep strictly up to date, it ought to devise a
theory that will make the sun spots responsible.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 15, 1922
SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD
We ought to have a pretty clean sort of a country after the police get
through scouring, sweeping and combing it for the slayer of a movie director.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 15, 1922
Tom Cannon
GARY POST-TRIBUNE
Probably the best thing about Hollywood is the first car out of town.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 15, 1922
NEW YORK MAIL
The girl who's born to blush unseen will never be a movie queen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 16, 1922
PORTLAND JOURNAL
To someone somewhere the Taylor murder mystery is not a mystery.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 16, 1922
DES MOINES TRIBUNE
The detectives who are at work on the Taylor case evidently couldn't
solve a mystery in a 300 page novel.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 16, 1922
Joe Webb
AUSTIN AMERICAN
If Mabel Normand's press agent got a bonus for each time her picture
appeared in a paper, he probably made several fortunes last week.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 16, 1922
BOSTON ADVERTISER
Police in Hollywood have not thought of questioning the movie bathing
girls. Experience proves they conceal little.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 16, 1922
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
A few more "close-ups" of Hollywood and there will be a demand to close
up Hollywood.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 17, 1922
DES MOINES REGISTER
"Well, anyhow," commented the barber shop philosopher, "Mary Miles
Minter, Mabel Normand and a few other movie stars are not hand-me-downs. They
are Taylor maids."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 17, 1922
MIAMI HERALD
The movies are often called an infant industry, but they seem to have
gotten well past the milk stage, judging from the reports from Hollywood.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 17, 1922
ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS
Movie men's utterances make one feel that some excellent bishops have
been lost in very mediocre screen directors.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 18, 1922
MIAMI HERALD
From the lack of progress in the investigation of the Taylor murder we
are beginning to wonder why they call it a "motion" picture tragedy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 18, 1922
DES MOINES REGISTER
If the late Director Taylor were to return and read all the stuff
passing as his life history, he would probably fail to recognize himself.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 18, 1922
ARKANSAS GAZETTE
Los Angeles dispatch says Mabel Normand's chauffeur was "placed on the
grill." Why not on the radiator?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 18, 1922
TAMPA TRIBUNE
None of the stars whose names have been connected with the Taylor
mystery has complained as yet about somebody else having been given a more
prominent part.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 19, 1922
KANSAS CITY STAR
You may have your prejudices against the Hollywood school of acting, but
you must admit that a lot of actors are coming out of there very definitely
finished.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 19, 1922
NASHVILLE BANNER
A paragrapher declares that if all the pink pyjamas in Hollywood were
placed end to end they would reach from Sodom to Gomorrah. More than that,
even from Dan to Beersheba, from Cape Cod to Kalamazoo, or, as a certain
enthusiastic politician once expressed distance, "from hell to breakfast."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 19, 1922
Otis Lorton
TULSA WORLD
Mr. Sands, late of Los Angeles, is just about the most retiring, modest
and unobtrusive butler we ever heard of.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 20, 1922
LOUISVILLE TIMES
Residents of Hollywood, Illinois, want to change the name of their town.
Of course, they would never listen to such suggestions as Taylorsville,
Normandy or Mintersburg.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 20, 1922
BOSTON ADVERTISER
Every once in awhile we hear of a new slang expression. "Do tell," is
now the favorite in Hollywood.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 20, 1922
KANSAS CITY STAR
In the past, when a person or an institution passes from our view, we
have been in the habit of saying "so-and-so has gone to join the dodo."
Hereafter, we shall say it has gone to join Arbuckle, Minter, Normand & Co.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 21, 1922
SEATTLE UNION-RECORD
Looks like some Hollywood headliners will soon be breadliners.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 21, 1922
MIAMI HERALD
Great progress has been made in solving the Hollywood murder case. The
detectives have about decided that Taylor was killed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 22, 1922
PITTSBURGH DISPATCH
If the murderer of Taylor doesn't come in soon, the Los Angeles
detectives will be threatened with old-fashioned nervous prostration.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 22, 1922
Phil Armstrong
FLORIDA TIMES-UNION
Let some evangelist knock "l" out of Hollywood and make it Holywood--
that ought to help some.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 22, 1922
KANSAS CITY TIMES
Miss Lillian Gish, addressing a church audience in New York Sunday night
said she had heard of "bad people" in the movies, "but," she added, "I have
never met any of them." Which speaks volumes for Miss Gish's chaperon,
whoever she happens to be.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 23, 1922
PITTSBURGH SUN
Count that day lost whose low descending sun finds no new Taylor clue
played out and done.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 23, 1922
WHITTIER NEWS
Movie hint: A shooting star falls.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 23, 1922
Tom Sims
HELENA INDEPENDENT
"It would take 10 years to move Hollywood," protests one. Yes, yes, they
must get their clothes from their neighbors' houses.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 23, 1922
NEW YORK MAIL
If they don't look out somebody will tell the truth about that motion
picture murder.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 24, 1922
INDIANAPOLIS NEWS
It's a dull town that does not come forward with at least one suspect in
the Taylor murder mystery.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 24, 1922
MEMPHIS NEWS SCIMITAR
Another day gone by and the Japs haven't attacked California. But maybe
they're afraid of those bad movie folks.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 25, 1922
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Hollywood will go a long way toward helping itself if it takes the
bungle out of bungalow.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 25, 1922
PHILADELPHIA RECORD
Mabel Normand is reported to be ill as a result of the Taylor case.
Well, all the rest of us are rather sick of it, too.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 25, 1922
PITTSBURGH POST
In addition to a suggestion that it might be called Alcohollywood,
Chinese opium circles may know it as Hoppywood.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 25, 1922
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
The Taylor case is getting closer and closer to a solution, the same as
the sun is getting closer and closer to the star Alpha in the constellation
Hercules.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 26, 1922
BALTIMORE SUN
Scandal may cure country girls of the movie fever, but think of the
bucolic swains who will long to become directors.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 27, 1922
KANSAS CITY STAR
Society note: Goshwatta Strutt of Hollywood, Cal., will arrive in Kansas
City tomorrow morning. It is not known as yet what hotel he will be requested
to leave tomorrow night.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 27, 1922
BOSTON GLOBE
Every time the detectives tell us that they are regarding the Hollywood
murder mystery from a new angle, they remind us that they are going around in
circles.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 27, 1922
BALTIMORE SUN
Whatever the motive that inspired the killing of Taylor, it wasn't that
of boosting the picture business.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 28, 1922
NEW YORK TELEGRAPH
Somebody seems to be pulling the first syllable of his name over the eyes
of Attorney Woolwine, of Los Angeles.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 28, 1922
Houston Chronicle
O. O. MCINTYRE
The Hollywood affair brings to me one glint of the silver lining,
however. I rejoice that I never became a movie fan. At my age I have lost too
many illusions already.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Febru
ary 28, 1922
Joe Webb
AUSTIN AMERICAN
We don't know whether or not it was a dopehead who killed Director
Taylor, but we'd be willing to bet that dopeheads have been writing some of
the bunk that has been published concerning the case.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 28, 1922
COLUMBIA STATE
The police are still after Taylor's valet. It seems that the police
theory is that not even a film magnate is a hero to his valet.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 28, 1922
LOUISVILLE TIMES
The California orange crop is said to have suffered seriously from the
recent cold spell. Also, in passing, it might be said that the Hollywood
"peach" crop hasn't prospered lately.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 1, 1922
COLUMBIA STATE
"Mabel Normand almost well again." Another return to Normandcy. [62]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 2, 1922
LANSING CAPITAL NEWS
A sea serpent of great length is said to have been sighted off Long
Beach, California. Probably the man who saw it was just returning from one of
those Hollywood parties.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 2, 1922
LIFE
The moving picture colony in California seems determined to turn itself
sinside out.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 3, 1922
NEW YORK TRIBUNE
Until they began to arrest people for the murder of Taylor we had no
real conception of the vast size of Los Angeles' population.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 5, 1922
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
What really ails the movie stars is that someone dammed the flattery
flood.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 5, 1922
FLORIDA TIMES-UNION
Los Angeles detectives now are said to be looking for "toe holds" in the
movie murder mystery. What they seem to need is head holds.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 6, 1922
Joe Webb
AUSTIN AMERICAN
It is against the law in Los Angeles for members of the police force to
appear in motion pictures. Los Angeles evidently doesn't want her cops
corrupted.
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March 7, 1922
DETROIT FREE PRESS
Hollywood is much like other varieties. It can be handled much more
easily after it is dried.
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March 9, 1922
SAVANNAH NEWS
If the Los Angeles police lock up everybody that has been suggested as
possibly guilty of the Taylor murder they'll have to have two or three new
jails.
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March 9, 1922
DES MOINES TRIBUNE
The new "bomb-shell" in the Taylor case Saturday was probably another
"stink bomb."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 9, 1922
DETROIT FREE PRESS
The public is beginning to suspect that a star of the first magnitude is
one who loves the director.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 13, 1922
Joe Webb
AUSTIN AMERICAN
A movie fan writes in to tell us that some of the movie stars may not be
as bad as we think they are. He's probably right, too. Darned if we see how
they could possibly be as bad as we think they are.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 13, 1922
DES MOINES TRIBUNE
The charge that movie actors are drug fiends may explain some of the
awful acting we have been compelled to witness.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 16, 1922
DETROIT FREE PRESS
At the movies: "I always though her such a sweet girl, but I can see now
she looks kinda depraved."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 18, 1922
ARKANSAS GAZETTE
One detective says that Taylor was not killed by a woman; another says
he was not killed by a man. If these two sleuths can get together, they might
produce convincing evidence against the big ape that plays in the animal
comedies.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
(continued next issue)
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NEXT ISSUE:
The Connette Episode
Deposition by Leslie Henry
"The Humor of a Hollywood Murder":
Wild Hollywood Parties--Fact or Fiction?, William Desmond Taylor
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NOTES:
[1] See CHICAGO AMERICAN (February 21, 1922).
[2] See BALTIMORE AMERICAN (February 7, 1922).
[3] See LOS ANGELES RECORD (March 27, 1926).
[4] See CHICAGO AMERICAN (February 10, 1922).
[5] See LOS ANGELES RECORD (February 8, 1922).
[6] See NEW YORK JOURNAL (February 6, 1922).
[7] See VARIETY (February 17, 1922).
[8] See LOS ANGELES TIMES (July 27, 1923).
[9] See CHICAGO HERALD-EXAMINER (February 6, 1922).
[10] See DENVER POST (March 3, 1922).
[11] See LOS ANGELES RECORD (February 17, 1922).
[12] See CHICAGO AMERICAN (February 14, 1922).
[13] See SAN FRANCISCO CALL-POST (February 28, 1922).
[14] See PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER (February 5, 1922).
[15] See SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (October 16, 1925).
[16] See LOS ANGELES RECORD (March 27, 1926).
[17] See NEW YORK NEWS (February 25, 1922).
[18] See SANTA ANA REGISTER (February 28, 1922).
[19] See LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (March 4, 1922).
[20] See LOS ANGELES EXPRESS (December 20, 1922).
[21] See NEW YORK NEWS (February 22, 1922).
[22] See LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (February 27, 1922).
[23] See LOS ANGELES TIMES (March 3, 1922).
[24] See LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (February 8, 1922).
[25] See NEW YORK JOURNAL (February 9, 1922).
[26] See OAKLAND TRIBUNE (February 15, 1922).
[27] See DENVER POST (February 10, 1922).
[28] See LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (February 5, 1922).
[29] See LOS ANGELES RECORD (October 4, 1922).
[30] See LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (February 14, 1922)
[31] See CHICAGO AMERICAN (February 28, 1922).
[32] See CHICAGO HERALD-EXAMINER (February 15, 1922).
[33] See SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (February 13, 1922).
[34] See SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (February 9, 1922).
[35] See LOS ANGELES RECORD (February 21, 1922).
[36] See SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (March 10, 1922).
[37] See DALLAS TIMES-HERALD (February 9, 1922).
[38] See HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN (April 28, 1922).
[39] See HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN (April 25, 1922).
[40] See MOVIE WEEKLY (March 24, 1923).
[41] See SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (February 9, 1922).
[42] See DETROIT TIMES (February 10, 1922).
[43] See LOS ANGELES RECORD (February 13, 1922).
[44] See LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (March 19, 1922).
[45] See CHICAGO AMERICAN (February 22, 1922).
[46] See BOSTON ADVERTISER (February 19, 1922).
[47] See SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER (February 8, 1922).
[48] See SAN FRANCISCO CALL-POST (March 3, 1922).
[49] See LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (February 16, 1922).
[50] See LOS ANGELES EXAMINER (March 9, 1922).
[51] Comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was accused of causing the death of
Virginia Rappe resulting from a party in San Francisco. Juries in the
first two trials were unable to reach a verdict; in the third trial he
was acquitted. For details see Andy Edmonds, FRAME UP! (Morrow, 1991)
and David Yallop, THE DAY THE LAUGHTER STOPPED (St. Martin's, 1976).
[52] Taylor lived on Alvarado Street.
[53] "katzenjammer"-- hangover.
[54] "teddy-bears"-- one-piece female undergarment.
[55] Will Hays, soon to become head of the movie industry, was the U.S.
Postmaster-General.
[56] Parody of: "tried and found wanting."
[57] Parody of: "make hay while the sun shines."
[58] Parody of racist stereotype: "n____ in the woodpile."
[59] "wet"-- containing plentiful alcohol.
[60] "See Paris and live!" was a travel slogan.
[61] The Volstead Act enacted prohibition which outlawed the sale of alcohol,
including Old Taylor brand whiskey.
[62] Parody of: "return to normalcy" (Harding's campaign slogan).
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