Are you ready for another cold case? Let's take a look at the murder of film director, William Desmond Taylor.

 

Pretty intense looking, isn't he?

William Desmond Taylor was found shot dead, in his bungalow, on February 2, 1922, by his chauffeur Henry Peavey (who found him, OK?).  He was lying on his back, in the middle of the living room of his bungalow.  Who had done the dastardly deed to a man nicknamed in Hollywood, "the gentleman director"? No one was ever conclusively proven to be his killer, and it remains officially unsolved to this day.  However, I don't believe that any murder can ever be characterized as such.  So, let us begin by looking at his life.

First of all, his name wasn't William Desmond Taylor.  He was, in fact, born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner.  Whoa, that's a looooooong handle, eh? He apparently grew up in County Carlow, Ireland, the son of retired officer, Thomas Kearns Deane-Tanner.  Jesus, it seems that everyone in his family had these 10 gallon hat hyphenated names.  As a young man, Taylor (for clarity, I am gonna stick with his 'stage name') attended Marlborough College, located in England.  However, this was an odd young man, clearly drawn to romance and adventure... and he ended up working on a dude ranch in Kansas.

I know, I know...not exactly the place for swashbucklers, was it? Oh well, let's continue:

Somehow, while he was wrangling cattle, or whatever, he was bitten by the acting bug, and ended up moving to New York City.  Even in the beginning years of the 20th century, there were really only 2 meccas for actors--the other one being Los Angeles.  

Shortly after his arrival in NYC, Taylor began courting an aspiring actress, Ethel May Hamilton.  The couple tied the knot in December, 1901.  A daughter followed shortly thereafter, somewhere around 1903.  Aren't inexact facts fun? From the scanty details of his life at this time, he wasn't exactly jumping for joy at his new life:  clubbing, drinking, and f*&cking anything that had a pulse.  Then, in 1908, he dumped his wife and daughter, disappearing completely from their radar screen.  Biographers of Taylor surmise that he may have been suffering from severe depression, or perhaps might have been bi-polar.  We'll never know.  

Taylor drifted for several years--no one really knows what he did or where he went.  The next time he surfaced, was in San Francisco, ca. 1912.  It was then that he changed his name to William Desmond Taylor.  I guess he really didn't want his wife or daughter to find him.  What a nice man (not).

In 'Frisco, Taylor was able to borrow money that allowed him to move to L.A., in order to begin again.  He began his brief, but busy acting career in 1913, starring in a score of forgettable silent films.  By 1914 though, he was directing films.  He worked for several smaller film companies, before coming to Famous-Players-Lasky, where he would make the rest of his films.  This oddly named film company, was the result of a merger between Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company.  Strange name, huh?

It's of interest to note, that in 1915, Taylor's sister-in-law moved to Monrovia, California, where they briefly made contact.  She was staying at a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients.  His brother, had deserted her too, leaving the sick woman to try and care for their two daughters.  What a lovely couple of 'bros' yeah? Schmucks.  

Taylor's adventures took on a military cast, towards the end of WW1, where he briefly enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, ending up back in England, at least for a time.  He eventually rose to the rank of major, and returned to L.A. in 1919. He was heartily feted by the Hollywood glitterati of the day.

William resumed his directorial career, going on to work with some of the best names in the business at that time, such as Mary Pickford, and Wallace Reid.  But, in 1919, he directed a film that was to have quite an impact on his life:  Anne of Green Gables, starring an ingenue named Mary Miles Minter.  Check her out:

Quite the looker, wasn't she?

Enter Miss Minter

Born Juliet Riley (Jesus, did everyone change their names in those days?), Mary was acting almost continually since early childhood.  As she grew into such a lovely young woman, the new medium of silent film was an obvious career move.  Between 1912, and 1922 (or 23), she appeared in over 50 movies.  But, Anne of Green Gables was the first film she made with Taylor.  According to Minter's later statements, she began a romantic liaison with Taylor, around this time.  However (and this is a big however, folks), Taylor was almost 30 years her senior.  Many of his friends swore up and down, that he never returned Minter's romantic feelings.

Now, here is an interesting wrinkle in the story...

There were a lot of rumors about William Desmond Taylor, circulating around Hollywood.  One that I find to be intriguing (and perhaps explanatory) concerns his possible homosexuality.  While his name was linked with several attractive women, its' entirely possible that his real love interest was most likely George James Hopkins, a playwright, set, and production designer.  Check him out:

Not too B A D, as my Dad used to say.

If Taylor was gay, then this puts a radically different complexion on his life's story, doesn't it? If he was a gay man, living in a straight world where such people were vilified, then the abandonment of his wife and daughter makes a little more sense.  Gay men and women often found themselves trying to live a "normal" life, with tragic results.  Its' not really possible to continuously live a lie, is it?  

If one takes into consideration, Taylor's seeming inability to sustain a long term relationship with a woman, then perhaps it is reasonable to assume that he found love with Hopkins.  It is known that the two formed a firm friendship, often attending the same public functions, although not together.  It is also apparent, that the two men became less secretive about their relationship, as time went on.  

Although few of their collaborative efforts survive today, it is still possible to watch "Tom Sawyer", if you're curious.  Just click on that link, and it'll take you to the right site, OK?

Also, here is a link to "Nurse Marjorie" starring Minter, and directed by Taylor:

His mysterious death

So, let us return to the murder.  Little is known conclusively about the events of the night before Taylor's death.  One of his neighbors, reported to police that she had seen a figure exiting his home the night before, wearing a rain coat.  However, the witness didn't get a good look at the face, and her testimony ultimately led nowhere.  

But, there were lots and lots and lots of suspects:

• Mary Miles Minter, or perhaps her mother Charlotte Shelby (she has been described as a classic uber stage mom, who was freaked out by a possible romantic liaison between Taylor and her daughter.
• Edward Sands, an itinerant, who was also most likely a confidence man.  He worked briefly for Taylor as a chauffeur and houseman.  However, he disappeared after stealing money from Taylor, and sort of trashed the apartment when his employer was away.  However, there is some evidence that Sands signed in for work at a lumber yard in Oakland, CA, on the day of the murder.
• Margaret Gibson, a.k.a. Patricia Palmer, a.k.a. Pat Palmer.  Now, this is an intriguing suspect.  Gibson worked briefly in films, but also had a somewhat checkered career as an opium dealer.  She may also have been a prostitute.  Prior to 1910, she acted in several plays, and a few films opposite Taylor.  However, in post-Hayes Commission Hollywood, it would have been virtually impossible for her to work in film.  Their relationship remains ambiguous.  What makes Gibson (a la Palmer) so interesting, is that she reputedly confessed to Taylor's murder on her deathbed in 1964.

She really was quite lovely.

With the passage of so many years, wild theories still abound regarding Taylor's death.  I don't know that the truth will ever be conclusively proven, and that is a shame.  But, who knows? Someone, somewhere might find a hidden cache of who-knows-what, that may yet shed light on the murder.  

In the end, though, it all ended with this: