***************************************************************************** * 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 * ***************************************************************************** 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 ***************************************************************************** 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. ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** "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. ***************************************************************************** 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 ***************************************************************************** "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 ***************************************************************************** "Fallen Angels, A Blackwood McCabe Hollywood Mystery" by Dominic Lagan, is a recently-published novel which centers on the Taylor case. ***************************************************************************** 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. ***************************************************************************** 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. ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** 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. ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** 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. ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** 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. ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** 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 ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** 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 ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** 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. ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** 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. ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** 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 ***************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************** 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) *****************************************************************************