On our first date my wife and I talked of many things: “of shoes and ships and sealing wax, and whether pigs have wings” doesn’t begin to cover it. And of the thousand things we discovered we had in common, among them was an abiding interest in the murder of silent era Hollywood director William Desmond Taylor, which took place 100 years old today. (We’re hardly unique — there’s a whole subculture of fanatics). This real true story has everything. It’s a rare case of an actual murder that has MANY plausible suspects, just like in a play or a mystery novel. Plus all of the characters are important Hollywood figures of one sort or another (including the likes of Mabel Normand, Edna Purviance, the now forgotten Mary Miles Minter and her demented mom, and several others). And lastly it remains a mystery to this day, which I reckon is the whole point. Much evidence was destroyed at the time (by the studio, of course) and the case has only grown colder over the past century. That’s right – CENTURY.
To mark the occasion of the centennial Carolyn and I (and she knows much more than I do) have done a tag team discussion of the case! Listen to it here.
(Travalanche) 
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