Film director William Desmond Taylor was murdered in Hollywood on the night of February 1st/2nd, 1922. Here, I will focus on the cases for and against the main suspects: a burglar, a drug-related hitman, Mabel Normand, Mary Miles Minter, Henry Peavey, Edward Sands and Charlotte Shelby.
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor (born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner, 26 April 1872 – 1 February 1922) was an Anglo-Irish-American film actor and director. Regarded as a “gentleman” by members of the Hollywood community, Taylor led an unconventional life before arriving in Hollywood. He deserted his wife and young daughter, went gold prospecting in Canada and acted with travelling players.
Taylor created a new persona for himself when he arrived in Hollywood and it’s possible that elements of his background – for example his education in English colleges – was fabricated to match his new identity.
In Hollywood, Taylor appeared in twenty-seven films between 1913 and 1915, and directed fifty-nine films between 1914 and 1922. He was preparing to direct his sixtieth movie when a person armed with a revolver entered his home and murdered him.
Hannah Howe 