Tinseltown
Subtitle: murder, morphine, and madness at the dawn of Hollywood
By: William J. Mann
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 463
ISBN-13: 9780062242167
Copyright date: 2014
Subjects: Murder; Investigation; Cold cases (Criminal investigation); Motion picture producers and directors; Friends and associates; Crimes against; Case studies
Other titles: Tinsel Town
Description: Hollywood chronicler William J. Mann draws on a rich host of sources, including recently released FBI files, to unpack the story of the enigmatic William Desmond Taylor, the popular president of the Motion Picture Directors Association, and the diverse cast that surrounded him before he was murdered in 1922-- including three beautiful, ambitious actresses, the ruthless founder of Paramount locked in a struggle for control of the film industry, a grasping stage mother, a devoted valet, and a gang of two-bit thugs, any of whom might have fired the fatal bullet.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 429-463).
Table of contents: title: Preamble to intrigue; title: A cold morning in Southern California; title: Suspects, motives, and circumstances. A man called Creepy ; Babylon ; three desperate dames ; The orator ; A race to the top ; Mabel ; Gibby ; Mary ; Rivals and threats ; Good-time girl ; Locusts ; The maddest woman ; Impudent things ; Dope fiends ; Greater than love ; The sex thrill ; Prying eyes ; So this is what is going on ; five thousand feel of immorality ; Bunco babe ; Among the lions ; Depravity ; Questions of loyalty ; A cluster of calamities ; A product of the gutters ; Riding for a fall ; Bad checks ; The highest possible standards ; On edge ; A work so important ; A ghastly strain ; A house in the hills ; Last day ; A shot; title: Hunting, hustling, and hiding. The dead man on the floor ; Reactions ; King of the cops ; The moral failures of one concern ; ; "Do you think that I killed Mr. Taylor?" ; Powder burns ; Evidence found ; Dames even more desperate ; The need for vigilance ; Taking him for a fool ; Mr. Hays goes to work ; The morbidly curious ; Her own boss ; No time to talk ; A great injustice has been done ; A question of motives ; A company of outlaws ; The savior ; The sky's the limit ; The spirits speak ; Last chance ; Evidence missing ; Trigger happy ; A cold-blooded business ; No happy endings ; Raising capital ; A new man on the job ; Unfair competition ; Trapped like rats ; Coming out of hiding ; The end of the road ; Readjustments ; Unexpected developments ; Manhunt; title: Closing the case. three dames no longer so desperate ; End of an era ; "We are making real progress"; title: A confession; title: What happened to everyone else.