Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood (68 page)

Spoilers
,
The
, 121

St. Johns, Adela Rogers, 23, 52, 89, 91, 268

St. Mary of the Angels Episcopal Church, 33

St. Paul’s Pro-Cathedral, 240

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 42

St. Vincent’s Hospital, 73

Star Is Born
,
A
, 421

State Theatre, 147

Stockdale, Carl, 400, 412, 416

Stone, Marie, 188, 414

Streetcar Named Desire
,
A
, 421

Stutesman, Jessie, 423

Sultan Baths, 77

Suzanna
, 189, 241, 267, 269

Swaine, Robert T., 348

Swanson, Gloria, 54, 79, 104, 109, 229, 291

Sweet, Blanche, 43

Sweet Lavender
, 130

Tabor Grand Opera House, 129

Talmadge, Constance, 154, 240–41, 261, 291

Talmadge, Norma, 146, 154

Tate, Harry, 266

Taylor, William Desmond “Billy,” 4–8, 23, 26, 27, 44, 52, 79, 84

aka Cunningham Deane, 221

aka William Deane-Tanner, 111, 176, 213, 221, 244

arrest in Denver, 129

attack witnessed by Kosloff, 181

autopsy, 212

bachelor, 29

and Ben Lindsey, 32

blackmail, 413

body, discovery of, 195–97

Brunton Studios, 30

Brunton Studios memorial and eulogy, 33–34

bullet wound, 201

burglary, 172

cause of death, 198, 199, 200–201

censorship, 30, 85

change in mood, 172

childhood, 85

cooperation with drug enforcement, 91–92

and critics, 31

daughter, 213

description, 29

director, 6–7

drugs, 87, 91–92, 242, 252–53

family, 221, 236

final visit from Normand, 187–90

footsteps in alley, 190

funeral, 240–44

Furnace
,
The
, 87

and George James Hopkins, 86–87, 115–17

and Gibson, 26, 128–30

and Gibson in Denver, 129–30

hang-up calls, 172

homosexuality, 87–88, 222–23, 245

and Mabel Normand, 23, 47, 90–91, 109, 110

McFarlan vandalism, 142

and Minter, 27, 60–63, 175

and Minter, good-bye, 174–75

and Minter, turning away, 115

and Minter’s obsession, 143–44

mood, 181

morning routine, 7

and Motion Picture Directors Association, 29

murder, and cash, 268–69

murder of, 7–8

murder of, cottage industry around, 408–9

murder scene, 196–97, 198–99, 216

murder scene, ransacking of, 200

and Neva Gerber, 87–88

nightshirt, 108–9

and Normand, argument, 179–80

and Normand, drug dealer, 90

and Normand, jade ornament, 180

outing, 116–17

papers, 417

past, 236

pawn ticket, theft, 175–76

Peavey, intervention for, 189

protectiveness of Hollywood, 85–86

prowler, 144, 181–82

quote on film industry, 119

residence, 5, 6

sadness, 30

and Sands, threat, 181

schedule, 30

secrets, 34, 213

shooting, 191–92

Soul of Youth
,
The
, 32, 84–85, 87

stranger asking for address, 186–87

valet.
See
Peavey, Henry,
and
Sands, Edward

Vitagraph, fired by, 54, 130

and Zukor, 18, 30

Taylor murder investigation, 211–17

blackmail, 216

bullets, 400

closed, 401

coroner’s jury, 233–34

drugs, 236

eyewitnesses, 410, 412–14

“find the woman,” 222, 232

fingerprints, 217

grand jury, 400

hair, 315–16, 397, 410, 411

handkerchief, 247

love triangle, 234

and Minter, 235, 246–48

missing evidence, 314–16

motive, 284

nightgown, 234–35, 242, 411

papers, 238–39

powder burns, 231, 232

prowlers, 213

reopened 1925, 396

reopened, headlines, 397

Shelby and eyewitnesses, 398

spiritualist, 305

studio shielding suspect, 253

suspects, 213–14, 216, 231, 235–36, 245, 283–85, 303–8

Taylor’s papers, 213

timeline, 214–15

tip, 216

witnesses, 215

Taylorology
, 409

Teapot Dome, 294

Tempest
,
The
, 75–76, 130

Thomas, Olive “Ollie,” 18, 24, 30, 31, 33, 40, 123

death, 24

funeral, 42–44

Thompson, Houston, 134, 148

300 Club, 386

Tiffany, Manley “Earl,” 108, 111–12, 113, 115, 116, 142, 232, 284

fired by Taylor, 143

Tillie
, 253

Tillie’s Punctured Romance
, 46

Titanic
, 12

Tol’able David
, 271

To the Ladies
, 370

Traeger, William, 232

Traprock, Walter, 205

Trebilcock, Officer Lester, 51

Triangle Motion Picture Company, 77

True Detective Mysteries
, 399

Tufts, Nathan A., 16–17, 122, 134

extortion, 17, 122

trial, 147

verdict, 160

Twain, Mark, 188

Twisted by Knaves
(Shelby), 421

United Press, 200

Urquhart, Mrs. J. C., 334–35

Valentino, Rudolf, 146, 262

Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 107

Van Nuys, Mr. and Mrs. Benton, 116

Van Trees, Jimmy, 197, 200, 225, 240

Van Vechten, Carl, 386

Variety
, 14, 103, 126, 148, 153, 156, 225, 249, 250, 328, 329, 361, 384, 390, 391

Veiled Mystery
,
The
, 69

Vennum, Florence, 77

Vidor, King, 408

Vitagraph, 25, 26, 54, 69, 130

Wachter, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur, 188

Wagner, Robert, 393

Waldorf, 252

Walker, James J. “Jimmy,” 65, 119, 121–22, 123, 134, 300, 391

and Marcus Loew, 65

and Sydney Cohen, 65

theater convention, 133

Wallace, Mrs. Neil, 68

Wallace Apartments, 75, 76

Waterman, Mrs. Clarence, 105, 120

Web of the Law
,
The
, 309–10, 312–13, 359

Webster, Clark E., 294

Weh, George, 77, 97, 127, 163, 184, 185

Weinshank, Al, 259–60

West, James, 338

West, Nathanael, 75, 76–77

West Hotel, 131

Westlake Park, 5

Wetherell, Gladys, 212

Wheeler, L. C., 378

Whitney, Charlotte, 61, 63, 82, 399–400

Wilcox, Sylvester, 420

Williams, Clara, 319–20

Williams, Cyrus J., 75–76

Williams, Guinn “Big Boy,” 162

Wilson, Edmund, 386

Wilson, Woodrow, 40

Windsor, Claire, 181

Winn, Jesse, 203, 235, 273, 283, 284, 303

partner with King, 218–19

Woburn, Massachusetts, 15

Women’s Christian Temperance Union, 105

Women’s City Club, 69

Woodlawn Cemetery, 42–43

Woods, A. H., 385

Woolwine, Thomas Lee, 83, 211–17, 231, 245, 256, 263, 268, 306, 316

and Charlotte Shelby, 245–46

illness, 345, 346

resignation, 346

Yarrow, Lloyd, 236

Yellow Contraband
, 420

YMCA, 294

Zeigler, Thompson, 198, 199, 201, 213

Ziegfeld, Florenz, 393

Ziegfeld Follies, 43

Zukor, Adolph, 11–18, 30, 34, 35–41, 58, 207

advisory role, 424

ambition, 36

America, embracing, 66

Arbuckle, defense of, 158

and Arbuckle, 155–57

Arbuckle films, 279–82, 333–34, 425

Arbuckle films shelved, 339

Arbuckle trial, 275–76

arcades, 12, 13

Astor Hotel meeting, 261, 263

Automatic Vaudeville, 35

block-booking, 132, 389

Camille
preview, 147, 148

car, 66

and censorship, 18

challenges against, 66–67

cigars, 123

control of Hays, 292

cover up of murder, 417

“Creepy” nickname, 11

daughter’s wedding, 37

decision not to go to police, 225–26

and DeMille, informing of murder, 220–21

description, 11

dreams, 12

dress, 36

and Eva Lord, 16

extortion, 17, 122

Famous Players-Lasky, 11, 13

Farm, 99, 107

fast rise, 67

father, 39

Feature-length films, 37

financial situation, 118–19

flyers about Sands, 252

and FTC hearings, 348–49

grandchild, 301–2

Harding election, 64–65

Hiram Abrams, firing of, 17

home, 66

Hungarian roots, 12, 67, 157–58

on immorality, 251

and James J. Walker, 65

and Jesse Lasky, production code letter, 104

job of filmmakers, 32

later life, 424–26

lawsuit, alienation of affection, 16–17

legacy, 424–25

life insurance, 178

loan from Kuhn, Loeb & Co., 39

and Loew, 35–40, 132, 300–301

Loew, competition with, 35, 118–19

Loew, death of, 394

and Loew defense, 136

and Loew rivalry, 146

marriage, 15, 123–24

and Minter, 80

Mishawum Manor, 131–34, 147, 160

movie theater control, 38

and MPTOA, 38

new industry guidelines, 254

newspapers, 12–13

organization of exhibitors against, 38

Orphans Bureau, 157–58

Paramount Building, 389, 393

paranoia, 41

partners, 392

personal reputation, 37

and police investigation, 252

politics, 64–66

production code, 101–6

production cuts, 119

Putnam Building, 12, 118, 119, 298

religion, 12

Republican, 66

scandals, 40–41, 122–23

and Sidney Cohen, 350

and Sydney Cohen, 70

Taylor narrative, change in, 252–53

tennis, 36

theater convention appearance, 131–34, 135–37

theater ownership, 12, 84

and trustification, 134

vision about movie industry, 137–38

wealth, 13

West Coast trip, 223–26, 249–55

and Will Hays, 166–71

Zukor, Lottie, 15, 37, 107, 123, 425

and Mishawum scandal, 132

Zukor, Mildred “Mickey,” 37

wedding, 37

Photo by Bobby Miller

WILLIAM J. MANN
is the author of
Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn
;
How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood
;
Hello, Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand
; and
Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines
, which won the 1999 Lambda Literary Award. He divides his time between Connecticut and Cape Cod.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.

William Desmond Taylor. “A camouflaged man,” one colleague called him.

An actor before he was a director, Taylor was fired for unknown reasons soon after completing the lead role in
Captain Alvarez
(1914).