Hollywood. February 2, 1922. The crime: murder. And what would become one of the biggest scandals to rock early Hollywood. The victim: film director William Desmond Taylor. Known by his friends as Bill. Born in Carlow, Ireland on April 26, 1872. Directing more than 40 films for what is now known as Paramount and working with Tinseltown’s brightest stars. William Desmond Taylor films that would define Hollywood and would later serve as President of the Motion Picture Directors Association for several years. By all accounts, William Desmond Taylor was a glimmering beacon in the cinema firmament.
William Desmond Taylor assumed to be killed from natural causes
Picture if you will the scene of the crime. Nestled on the corner of Alvarado and Maryland, in the posh L.A. neighborhood of Westlake Park, sits the luxurious apartment of William Desmond Taylor. The time: 7:30 a.m. February 2. Taylor’s valet, Henry Peavey, arrives at his usual time to make breakfast for Taylor. Upon opening the door, Peavey spots the obscured feet of his boss on the ground. He calls out to Taylor. No response. Creeping in a bit farther, Peavey discovers to his horror the body of William Desmond Taylor, fully dressed, lying face up with blood around his mouth. No sign of a struggle is immediately apparent. It’s assumed he died of natural causes. Peavey’s shouts alert the neighbors, many of them Hollywood stars and starlets themselves, who gradually shuffle into Taylor’s apartment.
8:00 a.m. The police arrive on the scene. 8:40 a.m. Coroner William Macdonald arrives to move and examine the body. And it becomes quite obvious; this death was not due to natural causes. They lift Taylor’s body to reveal a pool of blood staining the carpet where Taylor lay. A .38 caliber bullet had entered the left side of his back. Based on the placement of the bullet holes in Taylor’s jacket and vest, officials conclude that his arms were raised at the time he was shot. Bizarrely, the police would later consider this could mean Taylor was embracing somebody who then shot him in the back.
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Police also supposedly find a silky garment, pinkish in color that “resembled a nightgown.” Detectives Sargent Edward King later tells reporters he thinks it belonged to a woman. A robbery is ruled out as Taylor’s wallet was left behind with $78 cash inside, as well as other valuable items in the home. Shortly after the discovery of the bullet wound, the Alvarado Court Apartments are filled with reporters and photographers from every L.A. newspaper, as well as several papers outside of L.A.
Amidst the chaos of the crime scene, one detail worth mentioning is the fact that before police and reporters arrived, Paramount’s studio manager Charles Eyton visited the crime scene upon hearing the news. It’s believed that Eyton removed evidence from Taylor’s apartment that morning in an attempt to avoid or at least minimize the scandal. Some even believe he may have planted false evidence such as pink lingerie, perhaps to hide the fact that, as one theory had it, William Desmond Taylor was a homosexual.
Possible that Paramount exec Charles Eyton removed evidence from crime scene
Detective Sargent Edward King, who was assigned to the Taylor case, is among those who believed Paramount was taking measures to keep silent their stars who may have had useful information on the chance that it would implicate them. When considering their roster of stars associated with the case, the motive for the studio interfering was quite strong. Though, this only leads to more questions. What was Eyton cleaning up? And whom was he covering for?
The night that Taylor was shot. 7:45 p.m. Hollywood comedy star Mabel Normand, the last person known to have seen Taylor alive, leaves Taylor’s home and is driven off by her chauffeur, William Davis. 8:00 p.m. A sound that could have been a gunshot is heard by actor and neighbor, Douglas MacLean, and his wife, Faith. This possible gunshot is also heard by apartment manager, E.C. Jeseren, who writes it off as a misidentification when no other disturbance follows.
Mabel Normand was the last one to see the Hollywood legend alive
After hearing this sound, Faith MacLean spots a man outside Taylor’s home. She does not get a good look at the man’s face, but sees that he is clean shaven, white, of medium build, around 5’9″, and dressed in dark clothing and a cap. She would later say, “he was dressed like my idea of a motion-picture burglar.” The man seems to notice Faith watching him, but does not appear to be alarmed or in any hurry. Faith sees the man look back into Taylor’s home for a moment as if saying goodbye. Then, the man leaves, closing Taylor’s door behind him. At the time, Faith does not think much of it.
8:15 p.m. Howard Fellows, Taylor’s chauffeur at the time of his death, moves Taylor’s car into the garage. When he goes to drop off the keys at Taylor’s apartment, Taylor does not answer his door, despite the lights being on inside. It’s assumed by police that Taylor was already dead at this time. The next day, police would find six cigarette butts in the alley behind Taylor’s and the MacLean’s apartments. The MacLean’s maid, Kristina Jewett, heard footsteps in this alley around the time of the supposed gunshot. Perhaps the killer bided his time until he saw an opportunity to strike.
Strange man had inquired about where William Desmond Taylor lived on the night of his murder
Also left out was the testimony of two men who claimed an unknown man inquired where Taylor lived around 6:00 p.m. on the night of murder at a nearby gas station. The man’s description was similar to Faith MacLean’s. Although, this man was wearing a dark suit.
Exiting the events of that night, let’s examine odd events that, perhaps, foreshadowed Taylor’s demise. Towards the end of 1921, Taylor had received several mysterious and unnerving phone calls seemingly with nobody on the other end of the line when he answered. Additionally, Taylor’s home was robbed on December 4, 1921. The thief had taken jewelry and the special imported cigarettes Taylor smoked, which had gold tips. On December 27, he received a strange package.
William Desmond Taylor Murder Suspects/Theories
The first suspect is Edward F. Sands
He had previously served as Taylor’s secretary slash valet slash cook. In 1921, Sands had forged checks from Taylor for more than $5,000. Also taking jewelry and clothing before eventually disappearing. Sands had previously been court-martialed for embezzlement and dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Navy. According to actress Clair Windsor, Taylor had voiced his intention to skill Sands if he ever saw him again.
This conversation was several days before Taylor himself was murdered, further demonstrating a grudge. Sands had spent time digging up dirt on Taylor’s private life before finally absconding with his money. This snooping brings us to one of the weirdest twists in the case. The revelation that Taylor wasn’t who he said he was and Sands, perhaps, knew it.
Speculated that stolen jewelry was pawned off as part of a way to taunt William Desmond Taylor
As mentioned before, Taylor had received a strange package on December 27. The package was postmarked from Stockton, California and contained a pawn slip for the jewelry that was stolen on December 4th. The pawn slips had been signed William Deane-Tanner, which as Taylor’s murder investigation would reveal, was Taylor’s real name. Along with the pawn slip was a note that read, “so sorry to inconvenience you, even temporarily. Also observe the lesson of the forced sale of assets. A Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.” Also notable was the name used to sign the note. “Alias Jimmy V.” This could possibly be a reference to the film “Alias Jimmy Valentine,” a movie about a thief who frequently alludes the cops.
More importantly, this note suggests the thief, possibly Sands, stole the jewelry and then pawned it off using Taylor’s real name to taunt him as Sands likely knew there was a reason Taylor had changed his name. Before making the change, Taylor had started and deserted a family. A past he had hidden to preserve his reputation. Perhaps knowing this, Sands sent this note and jewelry pawn slips to mock Taylor. It’s worth mentioning, the handwriting on this note was similar to Sands. Police attempted to lure Sands to Los Angeles via a woman he’d dated, a ploy that did not work. And police were never able to question their major suspect.
The second suspect is Mabel Normand, the Queen of Comedy.
Mabel was the last known person to see Taylor alive and it had been long rumored that Mabel and Taylor were intimate, a fact that Mabel denied. Though, it’s easy to see why this was believed. One of the valuables found in Taylor’s pocket was a silver locket containing a photo of Mabel Normand, engraved with “to my dearest.” Mabel also admitted that she and Taylor had exchanged letters, which the press dubbed the “Blessed Baby letters,” named after Taylor’s pet name for Mabel, which she used when signing her letters to him. However, the letters were not found at Taylor’s apartment. Some believe these letters could have been among the evidence removed from Taylor’s apartment by studio manager Charles Eyton.
Mabel said she wouldn’t have minded if people read them, but thought that they might be “misunderstood.” Eyton would eventually turn over some of Taylor’s personal papers to the police. But it’s possible that he still retained papers the studio didn’t want them to see.
Police searched Mabel’s home and found two guns
On February 9, the “Blessed Baby letters” were turned over to the Chief Deputy DA W.C. Doran. One read, “sorry I cannot dine with you tomorrow, because I have a previous engagement with a Hindu prince. Some other time. Blessed Baby.”
At the behest of District Attorney Thomas Lee Woolwine, Detective Sargent King had Mabel’s home searched in response to a tip that the murder weapon would be found in her house. During that search, two guns were uncovered, but both were .25 caliber and did not match the murder weapon. One theory holds that while Mabel didn’t murder Taylor herself, Mabel’s addiction to drugs, her association with drug dealers, and Taylor’s known insistence in helping Mabel get off drugs possibly led to someone from Mabel’s world doing the job.
Captain Edward A. Salisbury, an explorer and colleague of Taylor’s, was quoted saying, “Billy Taylor threatened to make an example of the drug peddlers in Hollywood, but they evidently got him first.”
The third suspect is Mary Miles Minter.
She is a 19-year-old silent film star who was vocal about her most likely unreciprocated love for Taylor, who had directed her in the past.
A few love letters written by Mary to Taylor were found amongst Taylor’s possessions. One of which read, “Dearest, I love you. I love you. I love you. X X X X X X X X X X. Yours always, Mary.” Other letters were bizarrely written in code. Though, when decoded, contained nothing but the written affections of a young girl.
Another item turned over to police on February 9 was a lace and silk handkerchief embroidered with Mary’s initials of M-M-M. Rumors began that the pink nightgown found in the apartment also had the initials M-M-M. Both of these items could possibly place Mary in his apartment at least at some point.
Though, interestingly, Mary claimed that she and Taylor had never been intimate. Mary also stated that she did not believe that any of the men she had rebuffed would be jealous enough to kill Taylor. After hearing that Taylor had been shot, Mary showed up at his apartment in dramatic fashion as reporters took note.
Aside from a possible motive of killing Taylor due to being rejected, there isn’t much to implicate Mary. It’s more likely her relationship with Taylor boiled down as a way to escape from her overbearing stage mother, Charlotte Shelby. Who, by the way, is our fourth and final suspect.
Charlotte Shelby is the fourth suspect:
She is the mother of Mary Miles Minter, pushed her daughter into acting at a young age. Mary was actually originally named Juliet and Shelby even went as far as having Mary steal the identity of a dead cousin named Mary Minter to make Juliet older on paper so that Mary slash Juliet could continue working. From then on, Juliet went by Mary Miles Minter.
Shelby was a reported suspect because she’d been angry with Taylor for her belief that he deflowered her daughter. Once Charlotte Shelby learned of this, she started several arguments with Taylor for getting too close to her daughter. Shelby’s relationship with her daughter was already strained to begin with and it’s conceivable that there was jealousy that she was losing her daughter to an older man.
According to some accounts, Shelby had even threatened to kill Taylor on more than one occasion if he got too close to Mary again. Both an author of a book on the case, as well as a film director who planned to adapt the case into a film believed that Shelby is the most likely culprit. If you’ll recall, police speculated that Taylor was shot during an embrace. Perhaps that embrace was a faux-olive branch extended by Shelby to Taylor to lure him into a trap.
There were rumors that Shelby and District Attorney Thomas Lee Woolwin were friends and perhaps, romantically interested in one another, opening the door for some to suspect a cover-up.
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