William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor was precisely the kind of man who could, at one time, make it huge in Hollywood. He was a complete fabrication. He presented himself as a refined English gentleman, who was at the height of taste. In reality, he was from Ireland, had deserted his family and arrived in Los Angeles with no knowledge of film in 1910.William Desmond Taylor was born in Ireland to a fairly well to do family in either 1872 or 1877 as William Deane-Tanner. Unable to get into the army, he went into theater. He did odd jobs to support his habit, eventually landing in New York City where he met and married his wife in 1901. They had one daughter. In September 1908, Taylor with no warning walked out on his family and never looked back. He drifted for awhile, panning for gold in Colorado, doing theater in San Francisco before winding up in LA.
His first movie role was in Captain Alvarez. He starred in a few films (in fact, it put him back in touch with his estranged family, who saw him on screen) before moving on to directing. He was an extremely successful director, making Anne of Green Gables, The Green Temptation, Davy Crockett, and Huckleberry Finn. He worked with all the major studios.
Taylor's life was interesting and adventurous. But it couldn't hold a candle to his death.
To Be Continued...
posted by kuaptic. @ 1:17 PM
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