The William Desmond Taylor Murder: Mystery, Murder, Movie-Stars, Mothers, Morphine, MMM and Mabel

When it comes to unsolved mysteries, the murder of William Desmond Taylor is one that continues to fascinate. There have been reams written about this case. This is just a tiny summary of an endlessly intriguing mystery. Like everyone else, I have no answers, only questions.


One of the things I love about the old Hollywood stories is how people from all over the country flocked there and invented a new identity for themselves. Many times it was just a name or history, but often they were running from a past they'd rather forget. This story is loaded with those who ran to Hollywood, but couldn't run away from themselves.

the scene of the crime

On the morning of February 2, 1922, Taylor was found murdered in his home on on Alvarado street in downtown Los Angeles. One of Hollywood's most respected directors had been shot to death. That much is known. The rest remains speculation.

Who was William Desmond Taylor?

At the time of his death, William Desmond Taylor was a pillar of the Hollywood community. Born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner in Ireland, he sailed for America at the age of 18, became an actor in New York and married a lady by the name of Ethel May Hamilton.  Ethel's family was well-to-do and set up their new son-in-law in business in an antique shop. Tanner and Daisy were well known in New York society and eventually had a daughter named Daisy. After a few years of married life, Tanner, who not only had the wanderlust, but a wandering eye, as well, abruptly abandoned his family and headed west where, a few years later, he turned up as an actor named William Desmond Taylor. Like so many of Hollywood's early inhabitant, he invented a new life and a new identity and left the old one behind. Why? We will never know.

Captain Alvarez

In 1914 he had some success in a serial called "Captain Alvarez," with Taylor playing the title character. He moved from acting to directing and, in 1918, at the age of 46, joined the Canadian army and attained the rank of major for his service during World War I. Upon his return to Hollywood after the war, he was welcomed home as a hero. Meanwhile, Ethel found out what happened to her missing husband one afternoon at the movies while watching "Captain Alvarez."  Taylor established contact with his daughter, Daisy, and remained in touch with her until his death. One common thread that runs through all accounts of William Desmond Taylor: despite his rather mysterious background, everyone who came in contact with him, including his abandoned family, spoke of him as a gentleman of the highest principles. Even an ex-fiance, actress Neva Gerber, said "I have never known a finer or better man." 

From 1919 until his death, Taylor was one of Hollywood's busiest directors, steering films that featured such stars as Mary Pickford, Wallace Reid and Mary Miles Minter. After his death, he emerged as a man nobody really knew. Was he having affairs with multiple women? Was he homosexual? Was he working against the drug syndicate? So many questions, but none were answered.

Mary Miles Minter

The very picture of beautiful, blonde innocence, Mary Miles Minter was once a serious rival to Mary Pickford. Not much of an actress, her youthful beauty and seeming purity was quite popular for a time until the Taylor murder killed her career. Not as innocent as she looked (who is?), MMM was born Juliet Reilly. In order to elude the child labor law enforcers, her mother, Charlotte Shelby, changed little Juliet's name to that of a deceased cousin who happened to be old enough to work (if she had lived - so complicated). Thus, little Juliet became Mary Miles Minter. The young girl's beauty was undeniable and useful in Hollywood, so off they went: Mary, mama and big sister Margaret. MMM would work to support them all. While working with Taylor on a film, Mary fell hard for the older man and pursued him relentlessly. The general consensus is that he did not reciprocate her feelings. After Taylor's death, MMM never wavered in her devotion to Taylor, proclaiming her love for him until her dying day. By all accounts, she grew quite eccentric (read nutty as a fruit cake) as she got older. Here's a 1970 audio interview with Mary where she recalls seeing Taylor's body at the mortuary:

Lordy!

 

Mother

Ah, Charlotte Shelby, the mama from hell. Wildly protective of her little meal ticket, she regularly shooed men away from her sweet little darling like flies at a picnic. Did she really disguise herself as a man and shoot Taylor? Did she manage to pay off the LAPD in exchange for their silence? Was she having a an affair with Taylor at the same time her daughter was? Did she fake her death and live out her years years after under an assumed name? This was one shifty, unlikable woman and she makes a great suspect. Whether she did it or not, it seems Charlotte Shelby should have been locked up for something.

Mabel Normand

Unlucky Mabel Normand - the last person to see Taylor alive

Poor Mabel Normand. If you've never seen Mabel in action, you are missing one of the most delightful personalities in movie history. Generally accepted as the screen's first great comedienne, Mabel Normand was a jolly girl in her films, but an unlucky and tragic one in real life. Mabel's great love, Mack Sennett, did her wrong. Added to other unhappy romances, Mabel became a drug addict and that, along with tuberculosis, severely impacted her health. Always striving to improve herself, Mabel and Taylor struck up a deep friendship. Whether or not there was a romance is unknown. However, Taylor was reported to have been trying to get Mabel off drugs and cared very deeply for her. After a brief visit to his home on February 2, 1922, Mabel got into her car and left Taylor behind. She was the last person to see him alive. Although never a suspect, her association with Taylor added to her many troubles that lead to the end of her career and early death.

Studio Cover-Up and the LAPD

District Attorney Thomas Woolwine

Taylor's murder came fast on the heels of the Fatty Arbuckle scandal and Hollywood did not want another blemish on its already suspect reputation. Once word of Taylor's death got out, Paramount Studios acted fast. It is reported that compromising items were removed before the police got there (or with the LAPD's knowledge). However, a mash note from Mary Miles Minter and either a nightie or a hankie belonging to MMM was also found. Why would the Paramount masterminds (as Norma Desmond called them) leave those incriminating items behind? Did they actually plant them?Many people were interviewed, many leads were followed, but, in the end, they lead no where, either by lack of evidence or by design. District Attorney Woolwine and later DA Buron Fitts were suspected of being paid off by Mrs Shelby, but it was never proven. Studio intervention, bad reporting and a corrupt police force all combined to make this the Hollywood scandal that wouldn't die.

Theories and Suspects
There are lots of theories about who shot William Desmond Taylor. Some of the most popular are:
Mary Miles Minter killed him in a fit of jealous passion.
Margaret Shelby donned a man's overcoat, plugged Taylor and calmly walked away.
Edward Sands, a con man and once Taylor's valet, turned up to murder his old boss.
Henry Peavy, Taylor's valet and the man who discovered his body, killed him apparently because he was homosexual and black.
A professional hit man hired by local drug lords targeted Taylor because he was trying to stop the drug trafficking at the movie studios.

Margaret Gibson Confession

Throughout the years following Taylor's murder, there were a handful of confessions that amounted to nothing. However, one confession is intriguing. Margaret Gibson was an actress who worked with Taylor during his earliest days in Hollywood. She acted under a series of different names, was a drug addict and, shortly after the Taylor murder, was charged with extortion and blackmail (but not convicted). She fled the country and lived in Singapore for many years and did not return to the USA until 1949, when she returned to Hollywood and lived in obscurity. She made a deathbed confession in 1964, but the people who heard the confession did not even know who William Desmond Taylor was. 

Conclusion
The conclusion is that nobody really knows and the case remains unsolved.

Sources and references
A Deed of Death by Robert Giroux. Giroux advances the professional hit man as killer theory.
A Cast of Killers by Sidney Kirkpatrick. Here, King Vidor's and Colleen Moore's research is related, with the conclusion being that Charlotte Shelby was the culprit.
Murder in Hollywood by Charles Higham. This one is big on the bisexuality of Taylor angle and not as well researched as the first two.
Taylorology: a voluminous amount of articles related to everything and anything about the William Desmond Taylor murder. Endlessly fascinating reading! www.taylorology.com


For more on the life, works and murder of William Desmond Taylor, check out www.william-desmond-taylor.org. There are some interesting upcoming developments!


As for all the theories put forth by authors, it's a case of pick your poison. You can't make this stuff up.

Taylor's daughter used his real name on his grave. In the end,
there is no escaping who you really are.

Each of the characters involved has a fascinating story. Once you start digging into this story, you've fallen down the rabbit hole and never hit bottom.