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Taylorology Issue 62
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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 62 -- February 1998 Editor: Bruce Long bruce@asu.edu *
* TAYLOROLOGY may be freely distributed *
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CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
Reporting the Taylor Murder: Day Four
Who's Who in the Taylor Case
Clara Beranger Comments on "The World's Applause"
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What is TAYLOROLOGY?
TAYLOROLOGY is a newsletter focusing on the life and death of William Desmond
Taylor, a top 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; (d) Taylor's associates and the Hollywood
silent film industry in which Taylor worked. Primary emphasis will be given
toward reprinting, referencing and analyzing source material, and sifting it
for accuracy.
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Reporting the Taylor Murder: Day Four
Below are some highlights of the press reports published in the fourth day
after Taylor's body was discovered.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 6, 1922
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Suspect, Two Witnesses Questioned by Police
Following the detention earlier in the day of a suspect and two material
witnesses in the Taylor murder case, the escape of the slayer of William
Desmond Taylor from the dimly-lighted court on South Alvarado street was re-
enacted last night in the very shadows where the murderer lurked last
Wednesday night awaiting his chance to kill the famous film director.
The dramatic action was precipitated by the taking into custody of three
men by Al Manning, criminal superintendent of the Sheriff's office, and Deputy
Sheriff Harvey Bell. The suspect and the two men who were wanted as material
witnesses against him were detained after an investigation lasting two days,
and as the result of information that an automobile said to resemble one owned
by the suspect was seen at the scene of the crime on the night of the 1st
inst.
The suspect was taken to the scene of the crime after a long cross-
examination at the Sheriff's office, and after he was unable to state
definitely where he was at the time Taylor was killed. Accompanied by his
captor and Detective Sergeant Herman H. Cline, the man was taken to the
vicinity of the slaying for the purpose of re-enacting the tragedy. No
positive identification was made, however, and the man was released, with
instructions to remain in touch with the investigating officers. The suspect
is a motion-picture actor. He admitted the ownership of the automobile, but
denied he was the man seen leaving the Alvarado street court.
Immediately after the suspect was taken away from the vicinity, Capt.
Adams, Detectives Cline, Cahill and Cato, in charge of the investigation, and
several members of the motion-picture interests, now working in an effort to
solve the slaying of one of their members went into conference in the Taylor
apartment.
A new reconstruction of the crime, and a general checking up of all known
facts and factors in the case was the purpose of the gathering, according to
the announcement by the officers and by Frank E. Garbutt and Charles F. Eyton,
general manager of the Famous Players-Lasky Company.
"We are going to take every known fact and factor and check all available
information. We have nothing new, but we want to make certain of all we
have," was the only announcement after the conference.
The large table in the Taylor apartment was piled high with papers and
letters when the officers and film officials went into the conference.
A thorough check of every document, picture, telegram and letter was promised,
with a view of gleaning, if possible, some clew that would assist in the
search for the slayer. None of the furniture in the room has been disturbed.
The half-dozen detectives detailed to the solution of the crime yesterday
were particularly active. The chocolate-colored automobile seen to leave the
vicinity of the Taylor home at 404-B South Alvarado street has been
identified, it was learned, and eliminated as bearing on the case.
Henry Peavey, colored houseman for Mr. Taylor, and the man who found the
body, yesterday was in conference with some of the detectives.
He is declared to have wanted to leave Los Angeles to go north and sought
permission to do so. He is said to have added little new information to the
case. Peavey left the Taylor home while Mabel Normand was there and more than
a half hour before the assassin shot his victim through the heart.
Many letters, bills and other correspondence found among the effects of
Mr. Taylor were closely examined during the day for possible information.
Among those letters were messages of greeting and friendly notes from many
film stars including Blanche Sweet and Gloria Swanson.
The correspondence and other papers including many canceled checks threw
considerable light on the acquaintances and activities of Mr. Taylor but
little on the question of who shot him.
Detectives Cahill and Cato responded to a "hot tip" early in the
afternoon coming from a downtown address but nothing definite developed.
A great number of "tips" have been reported to the police station and although
many of them are not regarded as valuable on the surface all are being
carefully checked that no clew be overlooked.
Throughout all the investigation thus far the name of Edward F. Sands or
Edward Fitz or Edward Fitz Strathmore--all of which names he used-0-has been
prominently projected into the mystery. Sands, a former secretary who was
accused of robbing Mr. Taylor and of forging many checks on his bank account,
is being sought.
The police are anxious to find him because of the knowledge he may have
of Mr. Taylor's past life. The uncovering of the dual existence led by the
prominent director, whose name became a household word throughout the country,
has strangely muddled the situation. Many new motives and possibilities have
been brought to the front because of Taylor's dual life and mysterious past.
The discovery of a deserted wife and daughter who knew Mr. Taylor as
William Cunningham Deane Taylor [sic] before he suddenly left New York in 1908
has been one of the puzzling chapters in the man's past life. His frequent
trips to the Far North also add color to many theories of real or fancied
wrongs of his acquaintances in his wandering days forming the background of a
revenge slaying.
Mabel Normand's missing letters were sought by the detectives yesterday.
Miss Normand probably the last friend to see Mr. Taylor alive, attempted
Saturday to recover some letters written by her to the slain man and known to
have been in the home.
Detective Sergeants Herman Cline, Cato, Cahill, Winn, Wallace and Zeigler
state they have not found these letters. Captain of Detectives Adams also
denies having them. The officers say they do not know who has them. Chief
Dep. Dist.-Atty. Doran says also that he has seen nothing of them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 6, 1922
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Says He Loved Miss Normand.
But Taylor's Houseman Hints He Was Scorned.
More Light is Thrown on Relations of Two.
Once Said They Were to be Married, He States.
"Mr. Taylor loved Miss Normand very much, but I do not believe that she
returned his love to any great extent."
This is what Henry Peavey, Taylor's colored house servant, said early
yesterday evening when questioned by reporters of The Times.
"I was in Mr. Taylor's house for almost six months," declared Peavey,
"and I know that Mr. Taylor was very much in love with Miss Normand. At times
I thought that she returned his love and then again it seemed to me that she
was tired of him.
"One night almost a month before Mr. Taylor was killed Miss Normand came
to the house for dinner. After dinner she went into the front room with Mr.
Taylor and they were talking. I passed through the room and she stopped me.
She told me then that she and Mr. Taylor were to be married. He was sitting
there and didn't say a word. She wanted to know if I would work for them and
I told her that I was afraid that I would be unable to please her. She stated
that I was pleasing Mr. Taylor and that therefore I would please her.
"Miss Normand never came to the house very often. During the time I
worked there she was only in Mr. Taylor's home about a dozen times. She was
there the night before the murder and again the night that Mr. Taylor was
killed. I know that she was with Mr. Taylor on the Tuesday night, before the
Wednesday that he was killed, because she told me so. Wednesday night when
she came in Mr. Taylor asked her to have some pudding. She said while I was
in the room that she did not care for any pudding that night, but had enjoyed
the pudding that she had the night before. Then I learned for the first time
what had happened to some pudding that I had left in the ice box on Tuesday
night and that was gone Wednesday morning when I arrived at the Taylor home.
"In my job as houseman I was in a position to know quite a bit about Mr.
Taylor's business. He wrote a litter to Miss Normand almost every day of the
week. His driver would take the notes to Miss Normand's home by automobile
after breakfast in the mornings. A week never went by that he did not write
to her at least three times.
"Mr. Taylor always sent Miss Normand flowers at least three times a week.
He purchased the flowers from a wholesale place on Los Angeles street between
Second and Third streets. Once I paid for some of them, the single bunch cost
$35. He would have the flowers sent out from the wholesale house direct.
"While Miss Normand was in New York finishing her last picture Mr. Taylor
send her a telegram every evening of his life. He would give them to me and I
sent them on my way home. I always gave them to the same girl in the Western
Union main office. She is still working there. Miss Normand answered his
telegrams and almost every morning just after I arrived at the Taylor home the
boy would come with Miss Normand's telegram. Mr. Taylor saved them all, but I
don't know where he kept them.
"I remember one evening when Miss Normand was with Mr. Taylor in his home
she saw his new music box and while I was in the room she asked him if they
were going to have one like it when they were married. He told her that they
would keep the one he had just purchased if she liked it.
"A year ago last Christmas Miss Normand gave Mr. Taylor a set of diamond
shirt studs and diamond cuff links. Last Christmas she sent him a large
silver cigarette case and a match holder and a cigarette holder. Some time
after Christmas the match and cigarette holder disappeared, but he had the
case on him the night that he died. I don't know what Mr. Taylor gave Miss
Normand for Christmas, but I know that he was always sending her something or
other.
"Mr. Taylor used to talk to Miss Normand over the telephone a great deal.
He always asked me to get the number for him. Sometimes some one would answer
me and when I said that Mr. Taylor wished to speak to Miss Normand they would
hang up the telephone. It was then that I would believe that Miss Normand did
not care for my master like he did for her.
"Only once during the time that I worked for Mr. Taylor did Miss Normand
ask me about other girls. She stopped me once when she was in the home and
ask me what other girls had dinner with Mr. Taylor. I told her that there was
only one. She ask me who the one was an I told, Miss Normand. She laughed at
me and said that Mr. Taylor had me well trained.
"Miss Normand was with Mr. Taylor the last time I saw him alive. My
master asked me to mix up some cocktails and I did. I placed the liquor in
the shaker on a tray with two glasses and Mr. Taylor and Miss Normand were
drinking when I left for the evening. They both said good night to me and I
left the house. When I next saw Mr. Taylor he was dead on the floor of his
living-room."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 6, 1922
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Woman's Night Robe in House
Silk Garment at Taylor's Home Adds to Mystery
Former Servant Accused of Spying on Employer
Gown Not Merely Keepsake, Was Servant's Theory
A woman's pink silk nightgown found in the bachelor apartments of William
Desmond Taylor, celebrated film director, who was slain in his home last
Wednesday night, yesterday added another puzzling phase to the deepening
mystery of circumstances surrounding his death.
From former employees of Mr. Taylor it was learned that silken things
unknown in a man's wardrobe were among the effects of Mr. Taylor. That the
police found evidence of this was learned for the first time yesterday,
following the stories related by two former employees.
Henry Peavey, the houseman who discovered the body on Thursday morning,
declared he had seen at least one pink silk nightgown there.
In connection with this, it also was learned yesterday how Edward F.
Sands, former secretary, accused robber and forger and now being sought as a
material witness in the murder case, spied on his employer while working for
Mr. Taylor.
Sands related his observations to Earl Tiffany, former chauffeur for Mr.
Taylor, so Mr. Tiffany says. He observed silken things of pink hue in the
upstairs rooms of the expensively appointed apartment. His curiosity was
aroused.
So Sands folded the garments in a trick manner, according to the story
related by Mr. Tiffany, who was employed at the same time as was Sands. The
result of the servant's trap were that he became convinced the garments were
not merely kept there for sentimental reasons. He paid particular attention
to the visitors to the Taylor home, it was declared, and drew his own
conclusions.
Peavey stated last night he remembered seeing at least one pink
nightgown. If his memory serves him right, he added, it was there the day
Mr. Taylor was killed. Police officers yesterday were evasive as to the
whereabouts of the lingerie. They declined to say whether or not they are
devoting part of their efforts to that phase of the mystery.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 6, 1922
CHICAGO HERALD-EXAMINER
Film Star Denies She Holds Clew;
Ex-Husband Sought
Los Angeles, Feb. 5.--The moving picture actress who has been sought for
three days in connection with the mysterious murder of William Desmond Taylor
has been found by the police, it was learned today.
They refuse to give her name, but she was questioned at length this
afternoon. She professed ignorance as to the crime or any motive for it.
The actress was divorced from her husband several months ago and her ex-
husband, it is said, has made open threats that he would "get" all the friends
of his wife whom he blamed for their trouble.
This actress and Mr. Taylor, it was said, were very close friends and
were seen together frequently, but it was denied that there was any affair of
the heart. The husband, according to the story told the police, was wildly
jealous of his wife, and quarrels over her association with certain well known
actors and actresses are said to have precipitated a divorce action, the wife
getting the divorce several months ago. At that time he is reported to have
made threats, not only involving Mr. Taylor, but others in Hollywood.
Police today are searching for the husband, who is known to be in Los
Angeles.
A prominent motion picture actor, who was placed under surveillance
yesterday until his movements before and after the crime can be thoroughly
checked, is said to be a friend of this fair divorcee.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 6, 1922
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
Photo of Winifred Kingston Honored by Slain Director
On the desk of William Desmond Taylor stood one framed photograph.
In his entire bungalow, filled with photos of celebrities and friends,
mostly women, this picture alone was framed--and framed beautifully in
naturally finish hardwood.
It was the likeness of Winifred Kingston, film star.
"Engaged ever?" Miss Kingston was asked yesterday in her beautiful West
Hollywood home.
"Ridiculous!"
"Mr. Taylor and I were the best of friends--nothing more. I knew him
perhaps as intimately as any woman friend could, but there had never been a
whisper or thought of love between us. Certainly not.
"It so happened that both Mr. Taylor and I were English--that is, he was
Irish, but a British subject and educated as an Englishman and with the
British army traditions behind him and his family.
"We Britishers are naturally reserved and don't usually tell intimate
things to others. But early in the history of the films, Mr. Taylor and I
became acquainted, back in the 'Balboa' days. As I was English we became
somewhat more friendly than most and at various times he told me many things,
perhaps, which everyone did not know.
"For example, he told me about having been married and having a child,
and also about having been divorced. I never thought anything in particular
about it and don't even remember the occasion of his telling me--whether I
asked him or whether he volunteered the information.
"But any number of us in the film colony knew his and those who didn't
know had to reason to--they weren't the sort of people or weren't close enough
to Mr. Taylor to be told. I don't see why any one is surprised to learn about
that.
"It's not unusual, either, that he should have had my photograph on his
desk. He directed me in any number of pictures and for years we have been
good friends. I gave him that picture for Christmas one year and he probably
had it framed as a matter of course.
"As a matter of fact, one is more liable to frame a picture of an old,
though platonic friend, that a picture of one in whom he is but momentarily
interested.
"I never knew, of course, that he had changed his name on coming out
here, but that fact doesn't seem to be important.
"As a matter of fact, I don't see where any of this old history is
important in the solution of the mystery of his death. I think everything
points to this man Sands."
Miss Kingston threw some very interesting light on Sands' career, details
gleaned, she said, from various conversations with Taylor.
"While Edward Knoblock was living at Mr. Taylor's home," she said, "Sands
went down to a well known department store in town and bought at various times
a considerable amount of lingerie. I understood he gave this to a girl he was
interested in--a very young creature who lived at home with her mother. All
of this he charged to Mr. Taylor's account, a matter which greatly enraged the
director when he returned from abroad.
"Sands had frequently done shopping for him, but Mr. Taylor told me
humorously that he would hardly have sent a servant to pick out ladies'
underwear.
"During this same period, when Mr. Knoblock was a guest of Mr. Taylor's
and was supposed to pay for nothing, Sands presented the English author with a
bill amounting to some hundreds of dollars for groceries he had used while at
the house. Mr. Knoblock, being a gentleman and not wanting a row, however
little he understood the matter, paid the bill. When Mr. Taylor returned he
was naturally dumbfounded.
"On another occasion Sands did another peculiar thing. Mr. Taylor had
two thermos bottles around the house, neither of any particular value. There
were many other things Sands easily could have stolen of more value, but he
took one of these bottles to present to some girl. Her mother did not
understand the act at all and didn't want the girl to take it.
"Most unusual of Sands' actions, however, was a document he once drew up.
"One day, to show his affection and regard for Mr. Taylor, he wrote, in
his own handwriting, a sort of servile contract, in which he said that he
would be Mr. Taylor's servant for life and would always be his slave.
"Mr. Taylor told me about the document and laughed. I don't know what
every happened to the paper, but Sands apparently took it seriously.
"All of this led me to believe that the man was mentally deranged and he
is the only man I can think of who might have killed Mr. Taylor."
Miss Kingston said that she could find no possible intimation or
statement made by Taylor to her that might form the basis for a motive growing
out of an old feud. Nothing of the kind was ever said to her, she stated.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 6, 1922
Lannie Haynes Martin
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
Taylor Often in Moods of Despondency
Baring in detail her entire acquaintance with William D. Taylor for the
past seven years Miss Neva Gerber, his former fiancee, yesterday afternoon
graphically told of his fits of utter despondency that gripped the dead man at
times and of his many mysterious disappearances, for two and three weeks at a
time continuing over a period of several years, and admitted that she had
received thousands of dollars in checks from the dead director.
"At times Mr. Taylor would sink to such depths of despair, said Miss
Gerber, "that his whole body seemed racked as if in physical torture. He
would walk the floor and wring his hands exclaiming, 'Why do I have to keep up
this battle? Is it worth while to keep up this struggle of existence? With
all of these odds against me is the struggle worth while?' and when I would
ask him what he meant by these strange words he would say, 'Oh, my health is
so bad--I have no stomach left--I can't eat anything,' but there were other
times when he would say 'I have had bad news from home,' but he never told me
just what the news was.
"There would be times just after he had finished directing a picture when
he would say he was so nervous he would have to go away for awhile and that he
was going out into the mountains where he could rest and would see no one.
Sometimes he would be gone as long as three weeks and I would not hear from
him, although he would telegraph from some nearby point just as he was leaving
and just before his return. Once he told me that had been driving down from
the Northern part of the State alone for three days and later when mentioning
an incident of the trip he said 'the man who was with me in the car said this
was a dangerous piece of road.' I said 'I thought you were alone,' and he
very plausibly explained it was a man he had picked up and was giving a lift,
and although I did not exactly have any suspicions about anything I often
wondered about these trips.
"It is true that Mr. Taylor gave me three cars, first an old one that he
had used and later two new ones which were purchased in my name. When he
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 t
he 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,
heard shot, reportedly first to enter Taylor's apartment after Peavey
found body,
Jewett, Christine -- Maid of Douglas and Faith MacLean, heard man pacing in
alley prior to the murder, heard shot.
Jones, Tommy -- Suspected of being Sands, discredited.
Kearin, H. -- Questioned by Woolwine regarding the Taylor case.
Kee, Lim -- Killed in Chinatown, rumored link to Taylor murder.
Keyes, Asa -- Los Angeles District Attorney after Woolwine, eventually
imprisoned for accepting a bribe on an unrelated case.
King, Ed -- Detective investigating the murder for the district attorney's
office.
Kirby, Walter -- Named by May Rupp as conspirator in Taylor murder,
questioned in Mexico when identified by Andrew Cock, released.
Kirkwood, James -- Actor/director, had relationship with Mary Miles Minter.
Knoblock, Edward -- Writer, lived in Taylor's home while Taylor was in
Europe.
Kosloff, Theodore -- Actor/dancer, says strange man had confronted Taylor.
Kramer, Jack -- Identified as Taylor's killer by John Marazino, discredited.
Lawrence, Mr. -- Neighbor of Taylor, heard Taylor and Mabel walk to her car
prior to the murder.
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.
MacLean, Douglas -- Actor, Taylor's neighbor, heard shot.
MacLean, Faith -- Taylor's neighbor, heard shot, saw man walk away from
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.
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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."...
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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)
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