Murder in Hollywood: Solving a Silent Screen Mystery

For more than eighty years, the unsolved murder of William Desmond Taylor, one of the leading silent film directors, has generated debate and controversy. Now, best-selling author Charles Higham has solved the crime. Higham uncovers the corruption and intrigue of Los Angeles in the Roaring Twenties—and the film industry moguls' complete domination of the city's authorities. Through remarkable research, exclusive interviews with the killer, and unique access to police records, Higham scrutinizes every angle of the massive cover-up that protected the famous star responsible for Taylor's death. The result is a compelling answer to a long-standing mystery and a fascinating study of a place, and an industry, that let people reinvent themselves.

Publishers Weekly

Although the author, a veteran Hollywood biographer (Kate; Bette; Marlene), claims to have solved the murder of silent film director William Desmond Taylor (1872-1922), this overly melodramatic account of his life and death sheds little light on the mystery. In 1907, Taylor, an Irish immigrant, deserted his wife and daughter in New York City and turned up in Hollywood as a screen actor; later, he became a well-known director. Attractive and intelligent, Taylor had many affairs with both men and women, including actress Mabel Normand and his cook and houseman, Edward Sands, a thief and compulsive liar whom Taylor later fired. On the night of February 1, 1922, Taylor was shot and killed at his home. According to Higham, the murderer was actress Mary Miles Minter, who harbored an unrequited love for Taylor. He bases his theory on some police documents given to him by director King Vidor, Minter's lack of an alibi for the time of the murder, and some complicated political corruption, which, according to the author, motivated the district attorney to eliminate Minter from the list of suspects. Higham doesn't really overturn other hypotheses that implicate Normand, Sands and others or an unidentified man seen by a witness leaving the scene. There's more heat than light in this convoluted account. B&w photos. Agent, Dorris Halsey. (Nov.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Charles Higham, critically acclaimed writer, poet, critic, and playwright, is a literary and film detective. Among his many publications are The Duchess of Windsor and Kate, Bette, and Marlene, biographies of Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, and Marlene Dietrich, which have earned him high positions on bestseller lists and prestigious literary prizes. After holding the post of Regents Professor and writer in residence at the University of California, Santa Cruz, he was the Hollywood feature writer for the New York Times from 1970 to 1980. He is also the author of Howard Hughes: A Secret Life, which is a basis for the Martin Scorsese film The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.