Mary Miles Minter - 1970 Interview Excerpt

In a 1970 audio interview, Mary Miles Minter recalls going to the mortuary in 1922 to see William Desmond Taylor's body, after he had been killed.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Mary
• Miles
• Minter
• William
• Desmond
• Taylor

[jedweber]

Director Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry, Stop-Loss)apparently spent several years working on a film about the murder to be called "Silent Star," only to have the studio pull the plug in 2007. In a recent interview she seemed to suggest that she believed she had solved the case. Does anyone know any more about this?

[BACLong]

In many recent interviews (one of them in the Washington Post), Kimberly Peirce claims to have solved the murder. I haven't seen any real details behind her claim, but the interview in Movies Online seems to indicate that her solution is the same one King Vidor had. On the other hand, there's an interview fragment here on YouTube (search for: TFF panel clip 7) which appears to indicate that she thought Minter herself was the killer.

[rickymolotov]

I don't know why people have to play the homosexual angle when there is no evidence of it. Taylor had affairs with women. He even had two daughters.

[horarwgt]

MMM certainly does not sound at all insane to me.

[VaudevilleJoe1925]

Read "A Cast of Killers" by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick. It was Mary Miles Minter's money-grubbing-control-freak mother Charlotte Shelby who did the dirty deed, she was the one who murdered William Desmond Taylor. It was Charlotte Shelby who ruined her daughter's life, who wrecked her career! No doubt, now burning in Hell Charlotte Shebly, pycho bitch.

[corp1114]

@creolelady182 Mary learned to fly and earned her pilot license, she was very successful in realestate ventures and antiques. Her life started after her films. I think that to say that she was crazy is simplifing the matter. In her later years she was very sick and she was beaten brutally so am sure that didn't help her mental state. She does sound wacked out on this tape and she kept Taylor in her heart and mind until she died and so that wasn't normal.

[windstorm1000]

@jedweber There could be many reasons, but one has to wonder why the studios pulled the plug on this movie about the most fascinating H'wood murder mystery. Are they covering up something after all these years? Too close to home??? Vidor, a powerful and well known director, too, dropped making a movie out of it--very mysterious to say the least!!

[windstorm1000]

@betty1114 Vidor should have done it--he knew many of the suspects and the victim. Why hasn't H'wood made a movie out of this intricate fabulous mystery??? They did a good job on the George Reeves case (also unsolved) a few years ago. And this one has all the pre-requisistes--and even more-- like a possible male lover, drugs, several jealous female movie stars--the works! Higham needs to revisit this case.

[windstorm1000]

She's exquisite. MMM either had a cosmic connection to Taylor or she was obsessed with him!! who is to say!! MMM's career was ruined by this tragedy---

[misscarolinec]

Sounds shady to me... what women insists they start pumping blood from herself to her 'mate', usually the first question would be "what happened, how is he, can I see him, what can I do to help"...

[misscarolinec]

@rickymolotov maybe he was a switch hitter?? Lots of gay or bi guys have kids.

I myself don't have an opinion of Taylor as I did not know him :)

[misscarolinec]

@jedweber I would do anything to see a movie about this case!!

[furgurl]

who are the suspects that robbed and beat mary miles minter in 1981 and where did all her antiques go when she was an antique dealer in santa monica ?? who is ron Benson who used to work for mary miles minter?

[louisa1832]

@horarwgt To me either.