A site designed for all of the wonderful people out there in the dark and dedicated to the unabashed passion for silents, early talkies, all stars and all films.
Welcome to 2013 - a year of scandals at A Person in the Dark. Yes, I love movies, but I confess I am a sucker for those juicy Hollywood scandals of old.
May's scandal: Mabel Normand and Edna Purviance party down!
Best buds Mabel & Edna party with playboy Courtland Dines on his yacht
Poor Mabel Normand! Trouble seemed to just follow the high spirited and beautiful comedic actress wherever she went. First, her engagement with erstwhile suitor Mack Sennet was busted up, literally, when Mabel caught Mack in a compromising position with actress Mae Busch, who conked Mabel over the head with a vase and put the poor dear in the hospital. She then engaged in an affair with Samuel Goldwyn that may or may not have produced a stillborn child. Next, she had the very bad luck to be the last person (except the killer) to see doomed director William Desmond Taylor alive (Click here for more about the 1922 Taylor murder). Although Mabel was never a real suspect, tales of drug abuse surfaced and her reputation was badly tarnished.
Mabel had managed to make a comeback in 1923 (working with Sennet again) with 2 popular films – “Suzanna” and “The Extra Girl” – but on New Year’s Day 1924 trouble again found Mabel.
Lovely Mabel Normand
Edna Purviance is chiefly known as Charlie Chaplin’s leading lady from 1915-1923. Not only was she his love interest on the screen, for some time she served as his love interest off the screen. Charlie being Charlie, Edna was eventually replaced by a younger model. But, Edna didn’t let any grass grow under her pretty feet.
The Beautiful Edna Purviance
Courland Dines was a Denver socialite and business man who was sweet on Edna and even sweeter on booze. After a second divorce in 1923, Dines went west to Los Angeles to seek a fortune in oil.There he met Edna and her pal, Mabel, and a happy little threesome was formed. Courtland’s parents were not so pleased that he was dating an actress, but he and Edna and Mabel were just having a swell time together.
All hands (and other body parts) on deck.
New Year's Day found Edna and Mabel at Dines' apartment. Around 7 p.m. Mabel's chauffeur, Horace Greer, showed up at the apartment, later stating that he had been called to pick up Mabel and take her home. For reasons that were never clear, Greer thought that Mabel was being held in the apartment against her will. Pretending to be a deliveryman. Gaining entry to Dines' apartment, Greer found Mabel on the couch, Dines sitting at a table and Edna in the bedroom (allegedly powdering her nose). According to Greer, when Mabel reluctantly agreed to leave with her driver, Dines tried to prevent them from leaving by threatening to hit Greer with a liquor bottle. Greer's reaction to this was to shoot Dines three times. With Mabel's gun. Ouch.
Mabel's gun
Throwing her powder puff aside, Edna rushed to the living room to find Dines shot and without a bottle in his hand. Instead of calling an ambulance, the 2 ladies and Greer got Dines into bed and tried to provide some first aid. This, apparently, didn't go too well, and, Greer decided to leave the patient and drive to the nearest police station, where he turned himself in. This prompted both the police and the medics to descend upon Dines' abode, where the wounded one was found bleeding and smoking a cigarette. The press described both Mabel and Edna as elegantly dressed and "excited" (which was a code word for one gimlet too many).
It was never really clear why Greer shot Dines. It was speculated that he had a secret crush on his employer, but Mabel denied it. Courtland Dines pulled through just fine and declined to appear in court at Greer's trial (claiming he was too drunk that night to remember what happened). While Greer refused to testify in his own behalf (for fear of harming Mabel), both she and Edna were painted as examples of Hollywood's worst behavior. The scene at the apartment was described as a debauched and drunken affair with - gasp - Dines only in an undershirt. Greer was acquitted (but arrested 2 hours later for possession of liquor). After the Fatty Arbuckle and William Desmond Taylor scandals, the public saw this as yet another example of Hollywood's wanton ways. Mable's films suffered at the box office and Edna's film, Chaplin's "A Woman of Paris," also suffered because of the scandal. Trouble always seemed to find Mabel, who succumbed to tuberculosis in 1930. Edna retired from film and, while she didn't marry Courtland Dines, she did have a later happy marriage to airline pilot and executive, Jack Squires. Courtland Dines went on to marry a total of four times before dying at age 55 in Denver.
For a loving tribute to these fun loving ladies, see 1987's "Good Morning, Babylon," and Italian film about brothers who come to Hollywood to work on D.W. Griffith's massive sets for "Intolerance." There they meet and fall for two beautiful and struggling actresses named Edna 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.
Eighth in a series about strong women in film. Strong women are independent, beautiful, sexy, feminine and just want everything in life that a man wants and believe that they have every right to have it!
Mabel Normand: A Breath of Spring
Being beautiful is not easy (or so I've heard), nor is being funny. Being funny, smart, beautiful and a woman, too? Those wonderful ladies who mange to pull it off surely belong among the rarefied company of angels.
"Say anything you like, but don't say that I like to 'work.' That sounds like Mary Pickford, that prissy bitch. Just say that I like to pinch babies and twist their legs. And get drunk" - Mabel Normand to reporters.*
Before Carole Lombard, Judy Holliday and Lucille Ball, there was the talented, sassy and funny Mabel Normand. Mabel was the trailblazer who opened the door (and let in some fresh air) for all of the delightful ladies who followed. It is to her that they (and we) owe a debt for all of the female cinematic beauty and laughter that has come since. Unfortunately, trailblazers don't have those who have gone before them to lean on for advice and counsel. Movies were new in the early teens and even 20s and they were making it up as they went along. Mabel embodies all of the excitement, energy and joy of those early days. Sadly, the pitfalls were new and deep. Being free is not always easy.
Mabel was born Amabel Ethelreid Normand in 1892 inStaten Island, New York into poverty. Growing from tomboy into a beauty, she became an artist's model at age 16. Charles Dana Gibson, the creator of the "Gibson Girl," knew a beauty when he saw one and the lovely young Mabel was one of his models. Mabel sat for a variety of artists during her teens, her lovely face gracing advertisements for all kinds of goods.
Mabel as a Gibson Model
In 1910 Mabel and fellow model Alice Joyce, decided to give the fledgling movie industry in New York City a try. Mabel landed first at Kalem, next at Biograph and ultimately at Vitagraph. In 1911 She returned to Biograph and D.W. Griffith at the urging of Mack Sennet. While not Griffith's biggest star, Mabel learned her craft and developed a reputation as a high-spirited, fun-loving and big-hearted girl. She is credited with being the first person to throw a pie in film. Everyone loved Mabel.
Mack Sennett:
Mabel's Mr. Big
Mable's beauty, sense of fun and athleticism earned her a lot of time in from of Griffith's camera. But, the "Mr. Big" in Mabel's life was Mack Sennett, and when Mack, already in California with Griffith, decided to strike out on his own and form the Keystone Studios, Mabel was right at his side. While at Keystone Mabel was co-starred with a new fellow by the name of Charlie Chaplin (who she convinced Sennett to keep employed after a shaky start). She and Charlie made many short films together and, while during this period Charlie was not quite "Chaplinesque," Mabel is wonderfully natural and adorable, but always a strong and self-assured presence. At this time, Mabel was also directing a fair amount of her films, as well as starring in them and has the distinction of being one of the very few people to have directed Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin is reported to have had a brief romantic interest in Mabel, but she was much too strong and feisty a woman for Charlie. Well, you can't blame a guy for trying.
Mabel with Chaplin & Marie Dressler in "Tillie's Punctured Romance"
Mabel's biggest film with Chaplin was the feature-length hit "Tillie's Punctured Romance," also starring Marie Dressler.
Mabel was a fine swimmer and diver and audiences
loved seeing her in action in her one-piece suit!
Mabel's most important co-star at Keystone was Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. The Fatty and Mabel comedies presented both at their most delightful and were tremendous hits with the public.
Roscoe & Mabel - so cute, so young, so funny
Even better things were to come. "Mickey," one of Mabel's greatest feature length hits was released in 1918 to an adoring public. Not only did they fall in love with "Mickey", but the title song was also popular. "Mickey" was the only film made by "The Mabel Normand Feature Film Company," a company set up by Sennett (probably to protect him from some convoluted business dealings at Keystone).
The world fell in love with Mabel as "Mickey"
Things were going swimmingly for Mabel at Keystone and her engagement with Sennett was announced, but the marriage never took place. It's alleged that Mabel caught Mack cheating (probably with Mae Busch) and it was all down hill from there. The actual break-up occurred in 1915, but they continued to work together. Sometime before "Mickey" was released to the public, a final break resulted in Mabel leaving Keystone and Sennett for Samuel Goldwyn.
From then on, things did not go well for Mabel. The time spent working for Goldwyn was not a happy one for Mabel. While Goldwyn presented Mabel in some very fine films, her personal life was falling apart. Goldwyn paid Mabel a much better salary than Sennett and she began spending that salary on drugs. On top of this, Goldwyn fell deeply in love with Mabel and pursued her relentlessly. While Mabel seemingly did not care for him, she did engage in an affair with the producer. The result was a stillborn child, another broken relationship and a further deterioration of her health.
Beautiful and Troubled Mabel Normand
At this point, Mabel's private troubles began to overshadow her professional life. While she did attempt to improve her mind and launched a determined self-improvement campaign, her well-known "in the wrong place at the wrong time" role in the William Desmond Taylor murder scandal in 1922 almost wrecked her career (along with that of Mary Miles Minter). While Mabel was never a real suspect, information about her drug addiction and her good friend Taylor's efforts to get her away from the drug pushers made the headlines that never seemed to go away.
After the Taylor murder and the resulting bad publicity for Mabel, her films were banned in many states. Taylor's death and the 1921 Arbuckle scandal fueled the arguments of those who saw Hollywood as the sin capitol of the nation.
She returned to Sennett where she was given another opportunity to shine. As the little wardrobe girl who doesn't make it in the movies, she got to show her comedy skills in 1923's "The Extra Girl," as as she unknowingly leads a lion around the studio, thinking she has the studio dog on a leash.
Sennett had hoped things would get back on track again both professionally and personally with Mabel, but it was not to be.
In 1924, Mabel and her good friend, Chaplin leading lady Edna Purviance, were getting ready to attend a New Year's Eve party at the the home of their mutual friend, Courtland Dines. While it's not 100% clear what happened (there appeared to be a lot of drinking going on), what is known is that Mabel's chauffeur, Horace Greer, shot Dines with Mabel's pistol. Greer, an escapee from a chain gang, said he was defending Mabel's honor. Dines was only wounded, but Mabel's career was almost dead. Her films were again banned in many states.
The misfortunes of 1924 were not yet over. During the filming of "The Extra Girl," Mabel fell off a horse and broke her collarbone. While recuperating in the hospital she met a patient by the name of Norman Church. Mrs. Norman Church later claimed that Mabel and Church had an affair while together in the hospital! Mabel sued for libel and lost the case. Although Mabel proclaimed her innocence, I kind of hope that one is true (what a way to get healed!).
After her brief reunion with Sennett, she went to work for Hal Roach and continued to work from 1926 - 1927, all the while looking pale, worn and older than her age. Roach considered her "the wildest girl in Hollywood and the dirtiest girl you ever heard." By now, however, the jolly Mabel that audiences loved was gone. Stories of her drug addiction were rampant. Sadly, Mabel was not only addicted to drugs, she also suffered from tuberculosis.
Finally, Mabel's health could not withstand the pressures from within and without, and she passed away at age 37 on February 23, 1930 (managing to fit a marriage to actor Lew Cody in before her death). She was a grand gal who paid the price for an undisciplined life and suffered because she had no one to guide her through such uncharted waters.
The pall bearers at her funeral included Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, L.B. Mayer, Sid Grauman, D.W. Griffith, Sennett and Goldwyn. Both Sennett and Goldwyn never forgot her. Goldwyn remembered her generous spirit.When his studio fell upon hard times, Mabel gave Goldwyn $50,000 in Liberty Bonds to help him through the crisis. Goldwyn also claims to have witnessed Mabel giving $1,000 to a "poor girl stricken with tuberculosis." For Goldwyn, who evidently never stopped caring for her, Mabel was "a creature of impulse." Sennett remained a bachelor. He later said, "I never married. There was only one girl"
Mabel Normand left behind a legacy of skill and joy that is as fresh today as it was 100 years ago. Cheers, Mabel!
For more information about Mabel and her friends, check out this handy page full of great links:
