William Desmond Taylor: A Hollywood Murder Mystery Most Foul

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Born in Carlow, Ireland, William was the third child of British Army Major Deane-Tanner. The family moved to Dublin where William was educated. He failed the army entrance examination while still in his teens and was forced to leave the family. Much of his early life is unknown, but he did show up in New York around the turn of the last century and found work as a stage actor, engineer and antique dealer.

Taylor entered the silent film industry around 1912 when he obtained his first part in “The Counterfeiter” (1913). That same year he was in another film, “The Iconoclast” but was most noted for his performance in “Captain Alvarez” (1914). That same year, he directed his first film for Balboa Films. Afterwards, he directed for American Film, Favorite Players, Pallas, Morosco, Fox and Paramount, to name a few.

William Desmond Taylor studied the movie business as both an actor and a director. Some of his films fared poorly, such as “Ben Blair” (1916) while others such as “American Beauty”(1916) were very well received. In July of 1918 at the age of 41, Taylor enlisted in the Canadian Army. He served until the summer of 1919. After the war, he directed the very much acclaimed “Ann of Green Gables” (1919).

He resumed his career after World War One, directing many of the great stars of the day with tremendous success. These included: Dustin Farnum, Constance Talmadge, Mabel Normand and George Beban among others. Taylor was a man of mystery in many ways; he kept very much to himself and was very private about his social affairs. His murder on February 1, 1922, was one of the greatest Hollywood scandals of all time. Who killed him and why remains a mystery to this day, only deepened by the passage of time.

Who do YOU think killed William Desmond Taylor and why?

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