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Taylorology Issue 98
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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 98 -- 2009 Editor: Bruce Long bruce@asu.edu *
* TAYLOROLOGY may be freely distributed *
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CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
Was William Desmond Taylor a Drug Pusher?
Did Antonio Moreno Hear the Fatal Shot?
When Did Mabel Normand First Return to the Murder Scene?
The NAACP and the Taylor Case
The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill and the Taylor Case
Were Taylor and Robert W. Service Roommates?
Why were Minter's Love Letters Given to the Newspapers?
Eulogy Fragments
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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
on reprinting, referencing and analyzing source material, and sifting it
for accuracy. If you prefer "live links", copy the text of this file and
e-mail it to yourself; the links should then become clickable.
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"Aimesley Jordan, Genealogy Detective" at http://aimesley.blogspot.com
contains fascinating information on people connected to the Taylor case
including: a photograph of Julia Crawford Ivers; confirmation that Taylor was
at the George Cleveland-Victory Bateman wedding in 1910; more indication
that Charles Maigne was probably the tenant in the other half of Mabel
Normand's duplex in February 1922; and information that Hazel Gillon had
lived at 404-B S. Alvarado prior to Taylor.
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The USC digital library page at
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search/controller/view/examiner-m5765.html
has some photos taken in February 1937, including a photo of the coat Taylor
was wearing when he was shot. A larger version of the photo can be seen at
http://www.taylorology.com/photo/TaylorCoat.jpg
The label on the coat is "Chas. Levy & Son". Levy was also a tailor for
other Hollywood notables, and after Taylor's death, newspapers reported that
Charles Levy sent flowers to Taylor's memorial service.
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0208a/LAEx0208j.jpg
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"Famous Players, the Mysterious Death of William Desmond Taylor" by Rick
Geary, is a nicely-done black-and-white graphic novel which can serve as a
solid introduction for people unfamiliar with the Taylor case. Containing
relatively few errors, the artist has very effectively evoked the era
portrayed. An interview with the artist, discussing his long interest in
the Taylor case, is at http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080917-Rick-Geary.html
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"Fallen Angels, A Blackwood McCabe Hollywood Mystery" by Dominic Lagan, is a
recently-published novel which centers on the Taylor case.
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We have many Taylor-related clippings which were not used in past issues of
Taylorology, and other clippings which were edited when used. In the hope
that our clippings will be of use or interest to others, they are in the
process of being scanned and placed in the archive at
http://www.taylorology.com/press.php
Several indexes to the clippings have also been added.
*****************************************************************************
Film director Kimberly Peirce has an interview published in the 2009 book
"Filming Difference" in which she states her opinion that Mary Miles Minter
killed Taylor, and a few pages are devoted to the subject (pp. 317-319).
We look forward to whatever evidence Peirce will hopefully reveal about the
case, as well as a detailed clarification of the reasoning behind her
conclusions. Hopefully her "half a room full of research" will eventually be
fully shared with as many other people as possible.
*****************************************************************************
Betty Harper Fussell's 1982 book "Mabel" (p. 126) reported an allegation by
Eddie Sutherland that actor Hugh Fay was the drug pusher responsible for
getting several silent film stars (including Mabel Normand) addicted to
narcotics. Kevin Brownlow has confirmed that Sutherland's statement naming
Hugh Fay was made during Brownlow's own interview with Sutherland.
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A 1946 newspaper publicity item stated: "The old William Desmond Taylor home
became a part of the Hollywood scene again when it served as a background
recently for location shooting of Columbia's 'Crime Doctor's Man Hunt', with
Warner Baxter starring in the title role. Thus, the murder scenes of
Columbia's new thriller were filmed in a house that still contains the secret
of the real murder mystery surrounding the death of Taylor, early-day
Hollywood director." But nothing in the movie appears to have been filmed at
the Taylor home. One exterior was filmed outside a large mansion, no other
exterior scenes look like they were filmed on location, and none of the
interiors seem to match structural layout of 404B S. Alvarado.
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Was William Desmond Taylor a Drug Pusher?
Most of the rumors linking drugs to the Taylor case fell into two opposite
categories: (1) Taylor the Drug Pusher, with rumors that Taylor had been
supplying drugs to members of the Hollywood community, including Mabel
Normand; (2) Taylor the Anti-Drug Crusader, with rumors that Taylor had been
actively fighting the drug traffic in Hollywood, and was trying to rescue
Mabel Normand from drug addiction. Rumors of Pusher Taylor appeared in the
press a few days earlier than rumors of Crusader Taylor, so Pusher Taylor
has historical priority as published rumor. But the Crusader Taylor rumor,
once it appeared, quickly gained prominence and was the main drug-related
rumor to endure over time. Indeed, Robert Giroux's book "A Deed of Death"
attempts to establish the historicity of Taylor the Anti-Drug Crusader.
One reason the viewpoint gained prominence is because a specific, credible,
first-person witness emerged to support the Anti-Drug Crusader rumor:
Assistant U.S. District Attorney Tom Green,
http://www.taylorology.com/press/02w4/aLAEx0224c.jpg
Additional support was given by Capt. Edward A. Salisbury,
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0214a/NYWorld0214.jpg
and Marcus Loew,
http://www.taylorology.com/press/03w1/MovingPictureWorld0304c.jpg
On the other side, no credible first-person witness supported the rumor of
Taylor the Drug Pusher.
But all that seemed to change in year 2000, with the publication of Charles
Foster's "Stardust and Shadows," which presents a prominent witness
supporting Taylor the Drug Pusher. The witness, noted film director Marshall
Neilan, reportedly told Foster (pp. 246, 247, 255, 336) in an interview given
before Neilan's death in 1958:
1. Neilan himself had been addicted to drugs, and the drugs were supplied
by Taylor.
2. Taylor had been supplying drugs to the Hollywood community as early as
1918, and his other customers included Jack Pickford, Mabel Normand, and
Wallace Reid.
3. Customers would arrive at Taylor's home carrying a hollowed-out book
containing cash, and would depart carrying a hollowed-out book containing drugs.
4. There were hundreds of people in Hollywood who hated Taylor enough to
kill him, because Taylor's drug dealing had ruined the lives of so many people.
5. Taylor was selling drugs, while at the same time pretending to lead the
film industry drive against the drug dealers.
Neilan's drug use was indeed rumored in these February 8, 1922 dispatches of
Wallace Smith and Edward Doherty:
Doherty: http://www.taylorology.com/press/0208a/NYNews0208a.jpg (note the
double meaning of the word "sweet")
Smith: http://www.taylorology.com/press/0208b/ChiAm0208.jpg
and the rumors were later mentioned in the L.A. Times:
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0219/LATimes0219.jpg
Here are some contemporary press rumors suggesting Taylor had been pushing
drugs:
One of the present theories of the police is that Taylor, alias
William Deane-Tanner, the man of the double life and the friend of
many women, was receiving "dope" for one of his feminine
acquaintances. It was rather definitely reported that she was a
star whose friends had sought to keep her favorite "dope," morphine,
away from her and that she had found in Taylor a willing agent.
One of her admirers, it was theorized, learning that Taylor had
been secretly holding the young woman a slave to the drug--and
perhaps to his fancies--confronted him with the fact and killed
him.
Original clipping at http://www.taylorology.com/press/0206b/ChiAm0206.jpg
Sealed and secret letters of William Desmond Taylor, slain film
director, that link him with the gangs of drug smugglers and
bootleggers who have grown rich on the depravities of Hollywood,
today were in the possession of the district attorney...
Every effort was being made by certain leaders of the film
industry to keep the epistles from the public. Enough of them was
known, however, to demonstrate that Taylor, the eccentric, shattered
Federal laws right and left at the whim of his dope-dazed high-
stepping actress friends of Hollywood...
It strengthened an earlier theory that Taylor, because of his
position in the moving picture world, had been hired by the drug
peddlers to assist them in their campaign to put all Hollywood, if
possible, in their thrall.
Original clipping at http://www.taylorology.com/press/0213b/ChiAm0213.jpg
The following clippings are slightly more restrained, suggesting that Taylor
was an intermediary for a drug pusher:
...Close upon the heels of these declarations came the report
that the police were searching for a drug peddler, who, it is
pointed out, had sought through Taylor to make delivery of drugs to
an actress, who found it difficult to make her purchases direct.
Original clipping at http://www.taylorology.com/press/0206b/MilwJour0206a.jpg
The disappearance of a drug seller has given the District Attorney
and the police a new clew. He is a man who knew Taylor well and though
Taylor had not the reputation of a drug user, it is said this
mysterious peddler had much business with him.
Perhaps Taylor was purchasing opium or morphine or heroin or ether
for some of the women who could not procure it for themselves.
Original clipping at http://www.taylorology.com/press/0211a/NYNews0211c.jpg
Analysis of the Foster/Neilan Story
For those familiar with the Taylor case, the Foster/Neilan tale of
hollowed-out books implies that the book which Mabel Normand picked up at
Taylor's house on the evening of his death was a similar drug-filled,
hollowed-out book. It could also explain the curious book traffic that day:
one book was delivered to Mabel's home by Taylor's chauffeur, but she had to
go to Taylor's home to pick up other book herself. Why didn't Taylor just
have his chauffeur deliver both books, and save her the trip? Could it be
because he didn't trust his chauffeur to deliver the other book, and Taylor
wanted to personally place it into her hands?
Another item which comes to mind is the telegram which Mabel sent to Taylor
when he was in England in 1921. The telegram began "powderbox wonderful",
seemingly her expression of thanks to Taylor for giving her a powderbox.
Obviously, "powderbox" usually has a totally innocent cosmetic meaning, and
that meaning has overwhelmingly been accepted. But the allegation that
Taylor was supplying Mabel with drugs brings the contemplation of a
drug-related meaning of "powderbox". An image of the telegram is at
http://www.taylorology.com/press/02w3/aLAEx0221f.jpg
Any attempted analysis of the Neilan/Foster story requires a look at two
layers of credibility. Is Foster credible in what he has written? Even if
Foster is totally credible in accurately presenting the words of Neilan, is
Neilan credible?
Let's examine Neilan first. In the book, Neilan states that Taylor had
"much money" on him when he was killed (p. 246). But no such money was found
on Taylor's body, and there was no evidence in Taylor's lifestyle or
surviving estate of the extra income that selling drugs might have provided.
In the book, Neilan states that he was not personally mixed up in the Taylor
scandal (p. 259). On the contrary, the questions asked of Mary Miles Minter
in her official statement (pages 8 to 12) make it clear that Neilan was
considered a suspect by the investigators; Minter admitted that Neilan had
proposed to her two months earlier. Contemporary newspapers did print rumors
that Neilan (though his name was not mentioned) was a suspect. For example:
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0208b/MoberlyDemocrat0208.jpg
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0210b/LARec0210f.jpg (suspect 3)
and District Attorney Woolwine was directly asked by reporters if he
planned to question Neilan:
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0210a/RichmondTiDisp0210b.jpg
In Foster's book, Neilan supposedly states that he hated Taylor; the
relationship between Taylor and Neilan is portrayed as strictly business,
a pusher and his addicted client. But on page 18 of Minter's official
statement she stated, "Marshall and Mr. Taylor were extremely good friends...
they were most affectionately fond of each other," and she described some
details of that friendship.
So Neilan does not seem to have been truthful, even if he was quoted
accurately by Foster.
As for Foster, let's examine some non-Neilan material Foster writes about
the Taylor case. Foster states that on the night of the murder, Edna
Purviance was home and saw a "rough man" leave Taylor's home and she stated
that the man "looked like my idea of a motion picture burglar" (pp. 333-4).
But other accounts state that Edna Purviance was not home that evening, and
she did not arrive home until around midnight (see her statements in
Taylorology 66). The words "my idea of a motion picture burglar" were the
exact words used by Faith MacLean in her official statement to describe the
man she saw departing from Taylor's home. No official statement was taken
from Edna Purviance, because she was not considered a witness to anything.
Foster's apparent transposition of Faith MacLean's statement to Edna
Purviance does not inspire confidence in Foster's historical accuracy.
Foster also writes that after hearing the shot, Douglas MacLean looked out
the window and noticed that Mabel Normand's car had already departed. That
purported statement by MacLean is not found elsewhere, and if it were part
of his official statement surely Sennett would have included it in "King of
Comedy", since it would help exonerate Mabel Normand. That purported
statement is also not referred to in Sidney Sutherland's interview with
Mabel Normand, wherein she says that it was only the testimony of Edna
Purviance's neighbor who was sitting on his porch reading and heard Mabel
and Taylor talking and walking to her car, which saved her from "a ghastly
fate" (being suspected of the crime).
Foster also has the wrong age for Minter at the time of Taylor's death,
erroneously states that Minter's handkerchief was found on the floor of the
murder scene (the handkerchief was in Taylor's dresser), and has some
incorrect details of Mabel Normand's life.
The Foster/Neilan story portrays Taylor with a very bad reputation in
Hollywood, stating "there were hundreds of actors, actresses, directors,
writers, you have it, who hated him enough to kill him." (p. 247) It's very
difficult to align that negative characterization with the real historical
Taylor who was popular enough to have been thrice elected president of the
Motion Picture Directors' Association, was elected vice chairman of the
Affiliated Picture Interests of California, and was so strongly eulogized
after his death. (See "Eulogy Fragments" below.)
There was nearly a half-century between the time Foster interviewed Neilan,
and the time the information was published. Why wait so long? If indeed
Foster possessed the interview, why not at least make it public in 1990, to
refute the premise of Giroux's book? And if the recorded interview still
exists, why not put it on the internet, to remove any doubts as to whether
the statements attributed to Neilan were actually made by him?
It should be noted that Foster also claims to have heard Mack Sennett
confess to the Taylor murder (p. 335-6), supposedly because Taylor "stole
Mabel by giving her drugs". But if Sennett had such a murderous hatred of
Taylor, would Taylor have been one of the eleven guests invited to a surprise
birthday party for Mabel, held in Sennett's home just three months earlier?
See http://www.taylorology.com/press/1921/LARec111221.jpg
Another factor possibly bearing on the credibility of the Foster/Neilan story
is the Porter/Sweet/Moreno story. The 2005 biography "Howard Hughes: Hell's
Angel," by Darwin Porter, includes some new "information" about the Taylor
case which purportedly was told to Porter by Blanche Sweet, who purportedly
heard it from Antonio Moreno. Supposedly, Moreno had actually been talking
to Taylor on the phone when the fatal shot was fired; Moreno immediately
drove to Taylor's home, entered and found the dead body, removed some
photographs, and left. There are some severe credibility problems with
this Porter/Sweet/Moreno story, and those problems are discussed below.
But if that story is true, and if the Foster/Neilan story is also accurate,
then it's very strange that Sweet's story made no mention of Neilan or drug
pushing in connection with Taylor. The dispatches of Smith and Doherty
which told of Neilan's rumored drug use also told of Sweet's rumored drug
use, and of the close relationship between Neilan and Sweet (they would be
married a few months later, and Sweet had been publicly named 10 months
earlier as the "other woman" in Neilan's divorce trial--see Los Angeles
Times, March 17, 1921). If Taylor was indeed supplying Neilan with drugs,
then he may have also been supplying Sweet. At the very least, Sweet was
probably very aware of the true relationship between Neilan and Taylor; if
that relationship was strictly addict and pusher, and if Neilan hated Taylor
so strongly, it seems probable that Sweet would have mentioned it if she was
confiding important long-hidden information regarding Taylor and his death.
But even if we set aside the Porter/Sweet/Moreno story, the other problems
with the Foster/Neilan story are sufficient to create skepticism.
The Foster/Neilan story of Taylor the Drug Pusher, if presented with solid
credibility, could have forced a major reassessment of commonly-held
perceptions about William Desmond Taylor. Instead, it is just another
curious tale told about the case.
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Did Antonio Moreno Hear the Fatal Shot?
In his statements to the press, Antonio Moreno said he learned of Taylor's
death on the morning of February 2. But according to Darwin Porter's 2005
book "Howard Hughes: Hell's Angel," in 1983 Blanche Sweet said that Antonio
Moreno told her he was actually talking on the phone with Taylor when Taylor
was shot and killed. Supposedly, Moreno immediately went to Taylor's home,
entered, removed some photographs (of Moreno and Howard Hughes) and a
screenplay, and left. This was on the evening of Feb. 1, 1922, long before
Taylor's body would be "discovered" the next morning. If the story is true,
Moreno was the first person, aside from the killer, to know Taylor had been
murdered.
When Mabel Normand arrived at Taylor's home shortly after 7:00 p.m. on
Feb. 1, Taylor was talking on the phone with Moreno. It does seem that
Taylor cut short that phone conversation to greet Mabel, so perhaps he did
indeed telephone Moreno again to continue the conversation after Mabel's
departure. But Taylor's phone was not at his desk near the door, it was back
in what was described by others as "a sort of a telephone room -- an out of
the way nook" (Charlotte Shelby), "the little place underneath the
stairsteps" (Mabel Normand), "his telephone booth" (Eleanor Barnes). If he
was shot there, that means he either staggered quite a bit to collapse in
front of the desk (and if he staggered that much toward the desk and door,
wouldn't the killer have fired a second time to stop him from possibly
staggering out the door?), or else the killer unexplicably dragged the body
over near the desk. And the strange path of the bullet is very difficult to
account for, if Taylor truly was back in the "phone nook", although perhaps
it might account for his left arm being raised if holding the telephone
earpiece.
No explanation is made as to how Moreno supposedly entered Taylor's locked
home.
According to the Porter/Sweet/Moreno story, Moreno was convinced that
Charlotte Shelby was the killer, but it is not stated whether this belief is
based on anything Moreno heard on the phone during that final telephone call
with Taylor, during which Taylor was (supposedly) shot. Also, according to
this story, Moreno knew that Taylor (supposedly) had a sexual relationship
with Charlotte Shelby, and Taylor ended that relationship on the same day he
was killed, (supposedly) because Taylor was planning to marry Mary Miles
Minter and take over management of her career. (Of course, if press reports
were correct, Minter's contract prohibited her from marrying; so if she
married, Famous Players-Lasky could terminate her contract, which would be
very detrimental to her career.) Plus, according to the Porter/Sweet/Moreno
story, Taylor's private collection of (supposedly) nude celebrity photos
(supposedly) included a nude photo of Minter. Our degree of familiarity with
the facts of the case, and the historical material regarding the
personalities of those individuals, leaves us with scoffing skepticism at
this story, and unacceptance of the strange characterization of Taylor
elsewhere in Porter's book. (Some material in the book seems to have been
lifted from a previous fanciful novel of Porter's. In Porter's earlier
novel, one Taylor incident takes place in 1919, but in Porter's
supposedly-factual biography of Howard Hughes, the incident has been shifted
to 1921, even though one of the people who supposedly was there, Robert
Harron, was already dead by 1921. And we have seen no contemporary evidence
that Howard Hughes and William Desmond Taylor ever met.)
Moreno's public statement to reporters indicated that he was having dinner
with Arthur Hoyt in the dining room of the L.A. Athletic Club when Taylor
was shot and killed. If that statement is false, then it is reasonable to
assume that Moreno had persuaded Hoyt to agree to support Moreno's fake
dinner story. Detective Ed King describes later questioning Hoyt in his
room with other detectives, and "After about two hours' grilling Hoyt broke
down and wept. He told us that it was not his desire to break confidence
with his dead pal and friend, but that he believed he would have to do so if
it would help to unravel the mystery surrounding the murder." Hoyt then
told of Taylor's story regarding a late-night visit by Minter. (See
http://www.taylorology.com/issues/Taylor50.txt ). If Hoyt had also been
covering-up for Moreno, it seems likely that he would admitted it during this
breakdown.
There are too many problems with the Porter/Sweet/Moreno story. Did Moreno
really say he had been talking to Taylor on the phone when Taylor was shot?
Did Blanche Sweet really say that Moreno said that? The tale cannot be
considered credible without supporting evidence, something stronger than the
book's written words.
*****************************************************************************
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When Did Mabel Normand First Return to the Murder Scene?
"News of Taylor's death sent Miss Normand rushing to the bungalow..."
(Erle Stanley Gardner, "The Case of the Body at the Desk,"
Washington Post and Times Herald, Sept. 25, 1955)
One of the commonly-repeated anecdotes about the Taylor case: Supposedly, on
February 2, 1922, the morning Taylor's body was discovered, Mabel Normand
went to the murder scene and was frantically searching for letters she had
sent to Taylor. Is this tale true? If the tale is false, how did it
originate? Perhaps it can be determined by sorting through the press
evidence, keeping in mind that many inaccuracies were reported.
Newspaper reports published during the week after Taylor's death made no
mention of any visit by Mabel on Feb. 2. They did report that Mabel returned
to the murder scene on Feb. 4, after the inquest.
After testifying at the inquest on Feb. 4, Mabel went to the Taylor house at
the request of the police, to show them how the furniture had been arranged
during her visit on Feb. 1. Newspapers reported that while in the house,
Mabel asked the officers for her letters. She said she knew exactly where
they were, since Taylor had shown them to her in the top drawer of his
dresser upstairs during a previous visit. They went to the dresser and
looked, but the letters were gone.
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0205/LATi0205d.jpg
A photo of Mabel and the dresser can be seen in the books by Giroux and
Higham.
Although some newspapers claimed her primary purpose in going to the house on
Feb. 4 was to get those letters, she denied it in interviews published on
Feb. 6, stating: "I never did go to the house to search for them. I only
went to show the police how the furniture had been arranged." (In other
words, she did not go there to search for her letters. But as long as she
was in the house, she asked for them.)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0206b/LAExp0206b.jpg
On Feb. 7, a few papers tried to make a huge deal out of the missing
letters, with a rumor that someone like Sennett had tried to obtain the
letters two weeks earlier, and that those letters were the reason Taylor was
killed.
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0207a/BostonAdv0207a.jpg
On Feb. 8, Mabel's missing letters were found in the toe of a boot in
Taylor's home, and on Feb. 9 the tale finally appears, with Hearst papers
stating, "The letters, it was learned, were those which Mabel Normand, soon
after discovery of the tragedy, admitted she had sought vainly in a hurried
visit to Taylor's residence." But no context is given for this startling new
"admission", nor is it treated as anything new. (This "admission" is not
found in any of her interviews. When was the "admission" made, and to whom
was it supposedly made?)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0209a/SFEx0209a.jpg
The Hearst tale was soon picked up by Associated Press: "Letters of Mabel
Normand to Taylor which, she said, she feared would be misinterpreted if
revealed to the public, and which Taylor treasured, were the object of a
search by Miss Normand at the Taylor house on the day following the murder."
(Note that everything in that sentence is true except the final six words.)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0211a/ClevPlainDeal0211.jpg
From that point on, the story of Mabel searching for her letters on Feb. 2
became part of Taylor case mythology, because the old newspaper clippings
were often used as sources for subsequent press stories and later recaps of
the case, including the two recaps written by Erle Stanley Gardner.
The accounts of Mabel seeking her letters became even more confused on the
afternoon of Feb. 9, when the L.A. Express told a strange tale of Mabel's
"statement for use by the district attorney's office" in which she supposedly
stated that her visit to Taylor on Feb. 1 (the night he was slain) was for
the specific purpose of getting her letters back:
Mabel Normand, slated as one of the chief witnesses today, already
has made a statement for use by the district attorney's office. This
statement, relative to her letters which mysteriously disappeared for
seven days, corroborates her previous assertions regarding them.
Her testimony in this regards reads in part:
"I went to Mr. Taylor's home on Wednesday evening (just previous
to the slaying of the director) to get back the letters I had written
him. He said, 'I mailed them back to you yesterday.' I replied that
they had not yet arrived and then he said, 'I think either Eyton or
Garbutt have them.' Then I told him that I did not care if the world
saw them them except that it might be embarrassing to both of us
because they might be misunderstood."
Miss Normand also added that her physical condition was such at
the time of her asserted conversation with Taylor that she could not
remember much of his actual conversation with her. She was on the
verge of a nervous breakdown at that time, she said.
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0209b/LAExp0209a.jpg
Where did this crazy "statement" come from? It has her seeking the letters
before Taylor was even killed, and also contradicted her other statements
regarding her mental condition during that visit with Taylor.
It seems probable that the Express had obtained a copy of page 17 of Mary
Miles Minter's official testimony of Feb. 7,
http://www.taylorology.com/official/MMM1922.pdf
but they didn't know exactly what it was. Perhaps they obtained from the
trash a carbon paper used when typing Minter's testimony page, or a copy of a
page of shorthand notes; only the bottom half of page 17 was used for the
Express story. It is not stated on that page that it was Minter's testimony,
or that the person quoted on the page is Neilan. So it appears the Express
mistakenly concluded that the testimony was Mabel's and the the person quoted
was Taylor. Then the Express rephrased the testimony to make Mabel's
"statement". Let's examine the material attributed to Mabel in the Express
story, and compare it with the the actual verbatim statements spoken on
page 17 of Minter's testimony:
"Mabel" in the Express Minter's Testimony, p. 17
"I replied that they [the letters] ...I said, "No, I haven't received the
had not yet arrived...he said, letters today."...He said, "They are
'I think either Eyton or Garbutt in Charley Eyton's hands now." He
have them.'" either said Charley Eyton or Mr. Garbut...
...her physical condition was such... ...I was so tired at the time I could
that she could not remember much of hardly hear him...it was hazy. I don't
his actual conversation with her... know the exact words he spoke.
...on the verge of a nervous ...I strained all my nerves to hear...
breakdown at that time...
"Then I told him that I did not "Well, there is nothing in the letters
care if the world saw them except that the world can't read except that it..."
that it..."
The writer who wrote the Express story on Feb. 9 did not seem to realize that
he was making such a drastic change in Mabel's story. But other writers
realized it, and amplified the story accordingly,
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0210a/SFch0210a.jpg
Editorial writers even began making jokes about it,
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0212/DavenportDemLead0212b.jpg
The supposed "statement" of Mabel, was denied by Woolwine:
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0210a/NYTrib0210.jpg
denied by Mabel and Doran:
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0210b/NOItem0210.jpg
and denied by Eyton, who demanded a retraction
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0212/SFCh0212c.jpg
Of course, those denials received only a tiny fraction of the press
coverage given to the original story. So this fake story also became part
of the mythology of the Taylor case, appearing in later recaps like Carr's
"Hollywood Tragedy".
There is no real indication that Mabel sought to get her letters back prior
to Taylor's murder. But after the murder, when did she first return and look
for her letters, on Feb. 2 or Feb. 4? Despite all the later press stories,
has any specific individual ever claimed to personally have seen Mabel
Normand at Taylor's home on the morning the body was found?
The only person we are aware of is (supposedly) Alma Rubens. In her
serialized autobiography published in newspapers in 1931, and recently
reprinted in the 2006 book "Alma Rubens, Silent Snowbird", Rubens writes
that she lived near Taylor, and on the morning Taylor's body was found,
Rubens joined the curious crowd that gathered around the house. "We saw
Mabel Normand drive up...Mabel was inside quite some time and when she came
out her face was tear-stained and her shoulders shook with body-wracking
sobs. A little later Mary Miles Minter came by. She, too, was weeping
hysterically." But that account was published after Rubens' death, so it
was probably heavily ghostwritten, and was possibly spiced up for serialized
newspaper publication. (Possibly spiced up by inserting the "known fact" of
Mabel's visit to the bungalow that morning.)
In the newspapers of Feb. 2 and Feb. 3, after Taylor's body was discovered,
aside from the actors who lived in the Alvarado Court apartments (MacLean,
Purviance) the only actor reported in the press as having been at the murder
scene on Feb. 2 was Mary Miles Minter. Wouldn't someone have quickly
mentioned Mabel's presence that morning if she had been there?
In Mabel's later interview discussing Feb. 2, no mention is made of having
visited the murder scene that morning. Mabel states that after Edna
Purviance telephoned and told her the news of Taylor's death, "Soon there was
a wild ringing at my doorbell and a wilder clamor outside, and when the door
was opened the wildest mob I ever saw tumbled into my living room--detectives
and newspaper men and press photographers and curious strangers. They eddied
around me and hurled a million questions that I couldn't understand, much
less answer coherently." (See Sutherland's "The Mystery of the Movie
Director" in Taylorology 16, http://www.taylorology.com/issues/Taylor16.txt )
From that point on, there were reporters and others outside her home, and the
studio sent assistants to prevent any more unwanted visitors from entering
her home and bothering her.
When Mary Miles Minter arrived at Mabel's house that morning, she had to go
through the various people outside in order to get in and see Mabel.
All of which seems to indicate that Mabel did not go to the murder scene that
morning. As soon as Peavey told reporters at the murder scene that Mabel had
been with Taylor when Peavey left the previous evening, some of the reporters
went to Mabel's home, and the siege began.
One of the reporters at the murder scene that morning was Frank Bartholomew.
In his autobiography he says that he arrived at the murder scene the same
time as the deputy coroner, while the body was still there. He mentions Mary
Miles Minter's arrival that morning, but does not mention Mabel Normand as
being there.
Sidney Kirkpatrick's "A Cast of Killers," says the police file indicated that
Mabel Normand did not visit the bungalow on the morning the body was found.
Let's use logic. When Mabel went to the murder scene on Feb. 4 after the
inquest, she asked for her letters and stated she knew where they were: in
Taylor's dresser. She was surprised to find the letters were gone from the
dresser. If Mabel had somehow indeed gone to the murder scene on the morning
of Feb. 2 and looked for her letters at that time, she would have known on
Feb. 4 that they were not in the dresser. She would not have tried again to
find them in the dresser on Feb. 4, and not have been surprised that they
were not there. Her behavior on Feb. 4 implies this was her first return to
the murder scene.
The reasonable conclusion: Mabel did not return to the murder scene until
Feb. 4, after the inquest.
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The NAACP and the Taylor Case
(For background, see "The Kidnapping of Henry Peavey" in Taylorology 10, or
the clipping at http://www.taylorology.com/press/02w4/aLATi0222b.jpg )
March 11, 1922
CHICAGO DEFENDER
Los Angeles, Calif.
...The local branch of the N.A.A.C.P. under the leadership of
Prof. J. C. Banks, president and Mrs. Beatrice Thompson, secretary, is
taking up the fight on the Los Angeles Examiner wherein it alleged that
agents of the Examiner shamefully abused Henry Peavey, a Race valet-cook
of the slain film director, William Desmond Taylor, in their endeavor to
extract a confession from him. The branch wrote the Examiner a letter
about a week ago, but so far there has been no reply. No Ku Klux Klan
methods were tried on any other suspects, they all being white. Many
readers of the Examiner have stopped the paper.
http://www.taylorology.com/press/03w2/ChicagoDefender0311.jpg
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The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill and the Taylor Case
When the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was being filibustered on the floor of the
U.S. Senate, one of the Southern senators brought up the Taylor murder.
Sample press coverage:
November 29, 1922
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION
...Senator McKellar inquired if penalties by the bill applied to
murderers of white persons as well as negroes and when Senator
Shortridge, republican, California, in charge of the measure, said it
applies to all violence when the several states failed to prosecute
the guilty persons, the Tennessee senator asked if it could be used
by the federal government to ferret out the murder of William
Desmond Taylor, the Los Angeles motion picture director.
Senator McKellar also inquired how long states would be given
under the bill to take action and after Mr. Shortridge said it would
depend on each case and that a year might be sufficient in some
cases, Mr. McKellar observed that "the commonwealth" of California
has for more than a year failed to prosecute the murderer of
William Desmond Taylor.
http://www.taylorology.com/press/22-3/AtlantaConst1129.jpg
November 29, 1922
NEW YORK TIMES
...Senator Shortridge...stated that the bill gave the states a
reasonable time to bring offenders to justice, and then, and only then,
would the Federal Government intervene.
"Would it intervene in the case of William Desmond Taylor, murdered
in Los Angeles, I believe, over a year ago?" Senator McKellar asked.
"That case is still being investigated. Of course, I deplore the
delay in bringing the guilty to justice," replied Senator Shortridge.
http://www.taylorology.com/press/22-3/NYTimes1129.jpg
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Were Taylor and Robert W. Service Roommates?
..."in the Yukon, he [William Desmond Taylor] is said to have
shared a cabin with Canadian poet Robert W. Service..."
(Robert Giroux, "A Deed of Death", p. 71)
Robert W. Service was a renown poet and novelist, particularly famous for his
writings about the Yukon gold rush. Taylor was in Dawson at various times
between 1909-1912, and Service was in Dawson at the same time. The only
accounts linking Taylor to Service in the Yukon seem to be these two
published interviews:
William D. Taylor, slain film director, was the dude of Dawson
City, according to Adelbert Bartlett of Santa Monica, who knew him
in Alaska in 1910. He wore tweeds, a soft crush hat, tasteful
haberdashery, and was immensely popular with the women. He played
crack tennis...
"...Robert W. Service, the poet; Mr. Taylor and myself have
played together."
Original clipping at http://www.taylorology.com/press/0208a/LATi0208h.jpg
...A man who says he lived with the famous film director...
gave The Times a word sketch of the life of William D. Taylor
in the Yukon..."Red" Ashford, an old miner from Alaska, now living
at Redondo Beach...[stated that] Tayor, Ashford, and a poet,
seeking health in the far north, lived together for nearly
two years, according to Ashford..."He [Taylor] was like a man
with 'a grief you can't control,' to use the phrase from one
of the poems of the poet, who lived with us..."
Original clipping at http://www.taylorology.com/press/0207a/LATi0207k.jpg
Ashford does not explicitly identify Service as the poet, but the phrase
"a grief you can't control" is from Service's poem, "The Ballad of
Blasphemous Bill", published in the 1909 book "Ballads of a Cheechako".
So it is naturally assumed that Service was the poet Ashford is referring to.
The cabin in which Robert W. Service lived during those years has become a
historical site.
See http://www.robertwservice.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=834
However, in his autobiography "Ploughman of the Moon," Service indicates that
he lived in the cabin alone (except for a dog and cat), and no mention is
made of Taylor or Ashford. Biographies of Service written by others also
seem to indicate that Service lived alone at this time. Taylor himself was
not quoted as having mentioned Service. So the tale of Taylor and Service
living together in Dawson is unconfirmed and seems doubtful. Six weeks after
the Taylor murder, there was an opportunity to get Service's response to the
tale, when Service was in Hollywood and was interviewed for a local
newspaper. But aggravatingly, the reporter failed to ask Service about
Taylor.
http://www.taylorology.com/press/03w3/HollywoodCitizen0323.jpg
Adelbert Bartlett, whose statement socially linking Service and Taylor seems
reliable, became a successful photographer, and his archives are at UCLA,
including folders on Dawson, the Klondike, and Service.
See http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf2r29n934
Perhaps somewhere in those archives is a photo of Taylor, or something
specific linking Service to Taylor. But until more substantial evidence is
found, it is reasonable to assume only that Taylor knew Service in Dawson.
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Why were Minter's Love Letters Given to the Newspapers?
Was Mary Miles Minter's film studio deliberately releasing to the newspapers
the love letters she wrote to William Desmond Taylor? The idea seems
illogical. The publication of such letters certainly would (and indeed, did)
fan the flames of the Taylor murder scandal even higher, and give the
reformers and editorial writers more ammunition to use against "evil"
Hollywood. Famous Players-Lasky had already incurred a monetary loss on
Arbuckle films which could not be released due to the Arbuckle scandal; the
publication of Minter's letters might provoke a similar backlash against
Minter films. So the idea that the studio was giving Minter's love letters
to the press sounds totally crazy.
And yet, crazy or not, strong evidence exists they did exactly that. On
page 35 of Mary Miles Minter's official statement of Feb. 7, 1922, she
discussed the letters she had written to Taylor and she stated: "I think
Mr. Neilan told me this, too, that Harry [Fellows] had gotten the letters and
taken them to Jim Van Trees, the camera man, whereupon I remarked, 'I will
bet Mrs. Ivers had them,' and I think he said, 'Jim gave them to Mr. Eyton,'
and that Mr. Eyton turned some of them over to the Examiner." Minter also
talks about Neilan going to the head of the Examiner in an attempt to get
Minter's letters back.
(It is reasonable to assume that Mabel Normand's letters also went from
Fellows to Van Trees to Eyton, since Eyton later returned the Normand letters
to the investigators by placing them in one of Taylor's boots.)
So why would Eyton have given some of the Minter letters to Hearst's
Examiner, despite the certain problems it would cause?
Perhaps the studio was concerned about rumors of Taylor's homosexuality.
The studio might have thought that releasing Minter's love letters would
divert the press into focusing on, and speculating about, the Minter-Taylor
relationship. They might have considered homosexuality to be so detested by
mainstream America, that it would be much better to have people think that
Taylor was having sex with Minter, even though it would damage Minter's
career and the film industry. If the public thought Taylor was homosexual,
what might the reaction have been, even in Los Angeles? Well, only a few
years earlier, the L.A. Times had rather strongly editorialized against even
sympathizing with homosexuals:
...certain men and women dare speak with a shameless face on
behalf of the sodomites whose infamy has disgraced a community...
Oscar Wilde has been defended in a hundred books and by ten
thousand lips, women have wept over his punishment and certain
men--not superior to suspicion themselves--have called him a martyr.
May God damn such vicious sophistry as inculcates the sentiment
for foul crimes and fetid abominations! May an indignant and
real self-respecting commonwealth rise in anger, if needs be,
to silence the justifying sympathy for wretches who acknowledged
their iniquities... (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 29, 1914)
That type of attitude might have been devastating to the Hollywood movie
industry, when combined with many more newspaper stories like this one by
Edward Doherty:
http://www.taylorology.com/press/03w1/DenverPost0303.jpg
An alternative possible reason for releasing Minter's letters to the press
would be in order to gain leverage over Minter or Charlotte Shelby. Perhaps
Minter or Shelby had been making some sort of demand on the studio,
threatening that if some demand was not met, a specific course of action
would be taken which would be very detrimental to the studio. By releasing
the letters to the press, the studio was applying counter-leverage. One of
the published Minter letters ended with a romantic fantasy:
"...I'd go to my room and put on something soft and flowing,
then I'd lie on the couch and wait for you. I might fall
asleep for a fire always makes me drowsy--then I'd wake to
find two strong arms around me and two dear lips pressed on
mine in a long sweet kiss---"
(The last paragraph of this letter is being withheld by The
Examiner from publication at this time.)
Original clipping at http://www.taylorology.com/press/0208a/LAEx0208l.jpg
The possibility exists that in the "withheld" final paragraph, the fantasy
continues with more explicit physical contact between Minter and Taylor.
The threat to publish that final paragraph (or other letters from Minter to
Taylor) would now be a very strong lever to make Minter or Shelby behave and
to withdraw any previous threats they had made. Indeed, as Walter Anthony
reported:
One of the stars whose name has been brought into the case with
regularity--not Miss Normand--went so far as to threaten one of the
newspapers with a libel suit but changed her mind when informed that
a photographic copy of the letter that had been partly published,
was kept and would be exhibited in court should suit be brought.
There will be no suit.
Original clipping at http://www.taylorology.com/press/0216/pSFBulletin0216.jpg
Or were the letters released simply to reduce Mary's contract? A deposition
by Leslie Henry, made public in 1933, stated:
"Mrs. Shelby declared the studio was using the situation to gain a
further reduction in Mary's contract," the deposition continued:
"that certain letters had been written by Mary to Taylor, and had
been given to studio officials, who had turned them over to a Los
Angeles newspaper." (Oakland Tribune, July 1, 1933)
In any event, if Famous Players-Lasky deliberately gave Minter's letters to
the press, they must have had a very compelling reason why they felt it was
necessary to do so.
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Eulogy Fragments
Some of the praises for William Desmond Taylor expressed after his death
could be possibly dismissed as "Hollywood circling the wagons" (praising any
departed member of the film community to prevent supplying anti-Hollywood
reformers an opening to attack) or simply "speak no ill of the dead." But
others expressed sentiments which appear genuine and heartfelt; here are over
a dozen selected short extracts from such comments. For those who currently
have a high opinion of Taylor, these comments may serve as a refreshing
breeze to help dispel those tales which attribute to Taylor a sinister
character.
Roscoe Arbuckle:
Arbuckle's eyes filled with tears..."Taylor was the best fellow on the
lot," he said... (San Francisco Bulletin, Feb. 2, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0202/SFBulletin0202.jpg
Monte Blue:
"William D. Taylor was one of the cleanest, finest men I ever knew."
(Ohio State Journal, Feb. 6, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0206a/OhioStateJour0206.jpg
Mrs. Theodore Brown:
"Billy Taylor was one of the finest men I ever met...He used to come to
our house and call on Neva Gerber, a motion picture actress who was staying
with us..." (Denver Post, Feb. 6, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0206b/DenvPost0206.jpg
Harry Corson Clarke:
"Taylor was one of the finest gentlemen that God ever made, and to be
with him was an education." (New York American, Feb. 9, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0209a/NYAm0209c.jpg
Stuart E. Cooling:
"I wouldn't believe wrong of him, no matter what anybody said."
(New York Times, Feb. 7, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0207a/NYTi0207b.jpg
Charles Eyton:
"...I have lost the best friend I ever had. I have known Bill Taylor for
nine years and we have worked side by side for the entire period without an
argument or unfriendly word. (Los Angeles Record, Feb. 3, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0203b/LARec0203l.jpg
William Farnum:
"Bill Taylor was a man's man and one of the best men that ever lived.
He was honest, hard working and one of the most lovable men I ever met...
He was my friend--a pal...You can't say too many things about poor Billy.
Don't surmise about him. (New York Daily News, Feb. 4, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0204a/NYNews0204b.jpg
Frank A. Garbutt:
"He [Taylor] lived near my home where he was a welcome guest...I have
known many directors, but Mr. Taylor is the only one I ever had to tell not
to work so hard. Him I have told that a hundred times. William Desmond
Taylor was as fine and conscientious a gentleman as ever lived."
(Los Angeles Times, Feb. 13, 1937)
Neva Gerber:
"I have never known a finer, better man than Mr. Taylor."
(Los Angeles Examiner, Feb. 4, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0204a/LAEx0204e.jpg
Frances Harmer:
"...Mr. Taylor...I knew personally, admired, liked and respected
tremendously...Mr. Taylor's life, during his stay in this studio, was
flawless as far as the eye of his associates could see.
(Hollywood Citizen, Feb. 17, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0217/pHollywoodCitizen0217e.jpg
Julia Crawford Ivers:
"Without reservation I can say he was the man of highest ideals, of
noblest thoughts, loyalty and honor with whom I ever have been associated...
a man of keen intellect, sympathetic understanding and unbounded kindliness,
a truly great man." (Los Angeles Examiner, Feb. 3, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0203a/LAEx0203f.jpg
Antonio Moreno (interviewed by Mrs. Charles J. Sharp):
He [Moreno] told me how he loved William Desmond Taylor, and that he
considered him the sweetest man he had ever known, that he was one of his
best friends... (Birmingham News, April 19, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/04/BirminghamNews0419.jpg
Mary Miles Minter:
"He [Taylor] never, by look or by word or by deed gave me any reason to
doubt any of my ideals that were placed in him absolutely." (p. 5, Statement
of Mary Miles Minter, Feb. 7, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/official/MMM1922.pdf
Mabel Normand:
"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." (Los Angeles Examiner, Feb. 6, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0206a/LAEx0206a.jpg
Edna Purviance:
"I always heard him spoken of as a man with a reputation above reproach
and a nature that was kind and generous."
(Los Angeles Examiner, Feb. 3, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0203a/LAEx0203d.jpg
Herbert Rawlinson:
"I could never speak too highly of Bill Taylor."
(San Francisco Call-Post, Feb. 10, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0210b/SFCallPost0210b.jpg
Eddie Sutherland:
"I have never met a cleaner, finer gentleman in my experience."
(Los Angeles Examiner, Feb. 3, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/0203a/LAEx0203g.jpg
Ted Taylor:
"I knew William D. Taylor personally. It was my fortune never to have
known a finer gentleman, in every sense of the word--anywhere, including the
worlds of the cinema, the newspaper, or the church.
(Chicago Herald-Examiner, Mar. 7, 1922)
http://www.taylorology.com/press/03w2/ChiHerEx0307.jpg
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Back issues of Taylorology are available on the Web at
http://www.taylorology.com
http://taylorology.googlepages.com
For more information about Taylor, see
WILLIAM DESMOND TAYLOR: A DOSSIER (Scarecrow Press, 1991)
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