Hollywood's First Murder Mystery Story Location Tour- Part Two

Hollywood's First Murder Mystery Story Location Tour- Part Two
Join me on a documentary style Story Location Tour of Hollywood’s first murder mystery. In PART TWO we will visit the site of William Desmond Taylor's murder and began to learn about the witnesses and suspects as well as the locations that pertain to them. Included are Alvarado Street, Fait MacLean, Henry Peavy, Douglas MacLean, Edward Sands, Mabel Normand, Mary Miles Minter, Charlotte Shelby, Margaret Shelby, Sgt. Ed King, Thomas Woolwine, Edna Purviance, New Hampshire Ave, Hobart Avenue, and Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Dive into the murky depths of Hollywood's past with our latest video uncovering the chilling tale of the industry's inaugural murder mystery. Join us as we peel back the layers of intrigue, betrayal, and deception that shrouded this historic event.
With meticulous research and expert analysis, we piece together the puzzle of Hollywood's dark past, shedding light on a forgotten chapter that continues to fascinate to this day. Don't miss out on this compelling journey into the heart of intrigue and suspense.
Subscribe now for more riveting content delving into the secrets of Hollywood's past and present. Like, comment, and share to join the discussion and unravel the mysteries with us!
Hobart avenue
#hollywood #MurderMystery #TrueCrime #FilmHistory #Vintage Hollywood crime scene tour #Old Hollywood true crime tour #Famous Players Lasky

[@serpentinesecrets6771]

Seeing all these fascinating sites turned into storage units, dollar stores and laundromats is kinda depressing

[@cocoaorange1]

Same here, too bad these buildings are gone.

[@michaelwhite2823]

Oh you should see all the beautiful mansions owned by old Hollywood torn down and replaced with ugly steel and glass boxes.

[@serpentinesecrets6771]

@@michaelwhite2823 the architecture in those houses was a lot more interesting

[@allenschmitz9644]

L.A. 21st Century Style...it aint Blade Runner.

[@GMAMEC]

Unfortunately, many structures, even before Hollywood existed, have been destroyed. Fortunately, there are historical districts around Los Angeles.

[@lemorab1]

About thirty years ago, I read Sidney Kirkpatrick's book, "A Cast of Killers," about the William Desmond Taylor murders. He based his research on director King Vidor's research into Taylor's murder, done in 1967. Vidor had interviewed the cops who did the original investigation, who were still alive in the mid-sixties. These are included in the book. You have things in this video that didn't make it into that book. Thank you for all these photos and your searching them out and photographing them for us! It is generally agreed that Charlotte Shelby did it and got away with it.

[@EYE_GOTCHA]

I still have my First Edition! 😊

[@lemorab1]

@@EYE_GOTCHA I gave away my first editions of "A Cast of Killers," "Hollywood Babylon," and "The Honeycomb" years ago. I kind of regret it, but I couldn't keep lugging my huge book collection around any longer, so the public library got them. "The Honeycomb" is Adela Rogers St. Johns' memoir and it contains the first written description of Taylor's murder in a book, not using names.

[@tessaducek5601]

I own two. Very interesting book. It was very informational and i still flash back on many of the characters . Its too bad many of those buildings are gone. Those bungalows were cute.

[@camsnow2856]

Have you read Tinseltown by William j Mann? Gives another and quite plausible explanation of what happened to William Desmond Taylor.

[@tammyepes7031]

I just found a copy in a thrift store! It’s fascinating!

[@joanna1122]

Excellent video, I am hanging onto your every word! You have a great voice and storytelling skill. Thank you for keeping the video free from distracting or annoying music while you speak. Many details in this case are especially fascinating and the interview with MMM amazing. I look forward to more of your work on old Hollywood and stories like this!

[@matherman5833]

Just finished Part 2, this is where we really get to the meat of the mystery. Can't believe this guy found all those old locations. The story of the valet and the ghost in the cemetery is classic!!! Can't wait for Part 3. Kudos Justin!

[@marymayer2282]

Interesting the way they showed The Way The place looked at the Time of the murder and how it looked now it's like going to the street your highschool was at The Time you were attending and at it's place is an apartment complex

[@thegreencat9947]

@@marymayer2282 I know how you feel...my junior high school is now a tract of homes.

[@jimboc7249]

Pretty epic, Justin. Nice work with the MMM interview superimposed with the walk between blocks.

[@Olderthandirtcaligirl]

My great aunt was a silent screen actress and personally knew all of these people. She went to MGM and shortly afterwards she stopped acting. She remained there as one of Samuel Goldwyns secretary’s until about 1950. I’ve heard so many stories from those days, and thoroughly enjoy your videos.

[@leanneblake4248]

Just discovered your great channel. As I have always been interested in Famous Scandels of Yesteryear . Thank you very much for such a interesting and one of the most indepth essay's of W D T murder.. So sad to see all the Beautiful Architecture gone .

[@yerabbit]

that ghost confession story really deserves to be in a movie, but people might consider it too unbelievable haha

[@paulabroussard1824]

I've followed this case for decades, and it's fascinating. Curious thing I noticed, freeze the video frame at 22:04. You amazingly resemble Sands!

[@lisag18]

I watched the first two parts, i cant wait to watch the third. So far, you did an exquisite job.

[@linb5216]

This showed up in my recommended views! This is absolutely wonderful! I watched Part 1 already and continuing with the rest. Awesome story telling and great production of showing sites! I love LA! Had a great vacation. Also visited Hollywood Forever Cemetery! It’s a great place to see these historical sites and read all the info on the celebrities buried there and/or monument erected as a memorial! Awesome job!

[@lisaellis6291]

I really enjoyed your in depth investigation of this. You have given more information than any other you tube video of this murder mystery. Thank you, and I will definitely watch more of your videos. Keep making videos

[@lauriewarner4848]

Although I loved your video. I appreciate all the work you have done to show us then and now, it breaks my heart to see how we just tear down beautiful old Hollywood places. To put up a Ross and dollar store in place of the. Is heartbreaking. Thanks so much… you are doing a well researched story of our beloved Hollywood times gone by. Please please keep up the good work.

[@cocoaddams4502]

first, absolutely fun and fascinating combination of architecture and crime and old hollywood told with a very deep knowledge of all of it. second your hair is amazing. subscribed.

[@thegreencat9947]

Yes...his hair....looks just like my father. Most pleasant to see.

[@julianawesome3035]

First rate Hollywood sleuth work! Can’t wait to watch part 3

[@jaxjacoby]

Thus was fantastic! Very informative. While being entertaining. ❤️❤️

[@goodiesgumdrops1164]

Would love to hear about Thomas H. Ince dying on W.R. Hearst's yacht and other Marion Davies stories.

[@amyjones8114]

Very well done vid…I knew nothing about this twisting turning story until now and I love this era.

[@debrareplogle651]

Thank You for this tour down memory lane. This is amazing to see the before and after pictures.

[@maizie9454]

very well done. had no idea wdtaylor and arbuckle scandals were going on simultaneously. thanks. hope u keep making these videos-theyre great!

[@rickdrais9737]

Real name, as you noted, William Deanne-Tanner, which begs the question, was the dad on Alf named Willie Tanner as an homage? Hollywood if nothing else has always been self-referential. It’s something I’ve wondered since I first read King Vidor’s account of his own private investigation of the case. Fascinating. I’d totally forgotten that Edna was nearby that night. Edna, who’s one true love was Charlie Chaplin, who she never really got over after they broke up. A sad occasion all around in many ways

[@poohbearsauntie]

I Have Just Arrived Here After Viewing Part 1. I Just Discovered Your Work Young Man And I Am Absolutely Entranced!! Dear Justin ~ Excitement Is An Understatement As To My Mood While Watching Your Work.. THAT Is How Mesmerized I Truly AM By You!! A Standing Ovation IS Due You, You Truly Gifted Young Gentleman!!

[@jademoon5103]

It’s a shame they tore those beautiful old buildings down

[@Modguy61]

Awesome job with Part 2, Justin!! Now I'm going to watch Part 3. You've done an amazing job!

[@trotterhorsewatsonjr.6668]

The mother charlotte did it! Mary Mintors mother the sister removed the gun took the bullets out and placed them in a basement which said it years later, they found the bullets that matched the others!

[@deanpippitt3170]

Turned into strip malls, with homeless tents pitched where these beautiful buildings with all their historical value existed.

[@jomama5186]

Looks like a really cute place. It's a shame they bulldozed it over for a retail store and parking lot. Shameful !

[@Catbooks]

Fascinating! I stayed up way too late watching Part One. You've got a wonderful voice and an extremely engaging way of story-telling, including the brief mentions of the inconvenient weather. (Really, it was raining down in LA 3 weeks ago? I'm an hour north and no rain, wish we'd gotten some.) Love seeing what's left of the buildings involved in this story, or related to, and the locations when none are left. Years ago I'd read about the perplexing and tragic murder of William Desmond Taylor, but had forgotten a lot and you've done so much extensive research on it, I'm learning a lot I never knew. Pleased I'm only 5 minutes into Part Two, and there's a Part Three to look forward to too! Subscribed and liked.

[@allenschmitz9644]

Great show and super commontary.

[@katyaalexander3178]

Thank you very much!! Great work such a good research and of all to see the actually spots where everything occurred is superb!

[@user-cc6nb5th6x]

Your work is stellar. I have been watching all day long. Thank you!!

[@rosieraye8833]

Ive watched a few different channels on old Hollywood. I never made it through any video. I couldnt listen. You my friend, are the best!! Awesome and Amazing. I love your voice and clear words. I have hearing issues even with ear phones. So, thank you!!!❤

[@TheJustinRootShow]

Wow, that's an amazing compliment, I really appreciate it!

[@voyaristika5673]

I'm loving this production. On to part 3!

[@etherealtb6021]

I've always been interested in this case, so thank you! Sadly, I think I've used that gas station where Mabel's apartment was! I've always been curious why so many movie folk lived in this area, as it was pretty far from all of the studios.

[@thunderousapplause]

Didnt take long to get anywhere then, though. No traffic.

[@etherealtb6021]

@@thunderousapplause True, but why live in the flat area, when Echo Park (forgot what it was called then) was right there!

[@chileanzombie42]

Oooh this is so interesting.

[@michaelwhite2823]

Madge, you ate brave walking in some of these neighborhoods.

[@ald668]

SUPERB!

[@vickicarreno8932]

Just Discovered Your Channel. Subscribed. Interested In Many Types Of Mysteries.I Do Hate America Is So Fast In Destroying Historical Buildings.

[@frenchartantiquesparis424]

Excellent storytelling and video..... and I love your California accent... I have one too!

[@MsAhmebah2000]

Great then and now photos

[@gforceeatingcorrect]

I grew up in Hollywood, still living here !!! I like you know all this…… you’re doing a Amazing job……

[@rosiemcnaughton9933]

This is SO well done. I'm amazed that I don't remember ever hearing this story!

[@herb4991]

Ok, now I'm just angry. I had no intention of investing 90 minutes in these first two episodes but here I am. This is a real page turner. Nice job. Onto part three 🤨

[@DaVinciCosmeticsUSA]

You got new fan , beautiful videos of Hollywood '

[@fchino-jr.3340]

So interesting, how do you come up with all these details. Love the mystery murder plot. Your work is amazing, thank you for all your hard work.

[@mrs.bendover8613]

Oh my!! I just found your channel!! Fascinating content!!! 🧡

[@cindysplace]

Excellent, in depth, story telling. I found this very fascinating since I am old enough to know the film people that you are talking about. Well done!

[@chriscollins3489]

Good job. I enjoyed it.

[@Grace-tc1lq]

Thank you! You kept me intrigued from beginning to end. 👍🇨🇦

[@faithyourfear6401]

Well done, bravo! 💫 Moving on to Part 3 now.

[@ThomasDaly-ug1yc]

It was nice that William Desmond Taylor was able to make contact / have a relationship as a father with his daughter, although it was short.

[@personaking7844]

I read a cast of characters.....excellent book

[@loditx7706]

To really get a complete picture of these lives and this crime one should read Cast of Killers. It also comes to a conclusion that I find credible.

[@Ilovesharks444]

American horror story should have picked up this story it woukd have been great and gave new interest in the case and that era altogether instead we get 😢crap😢 i love that you covered this so intensely and didnt just do a short video. You got yourself a new sub!❤️😊

[@patgal2359]

Auntie mame set design fantastic. It made the film.

[@gregoryholstein4224]

I just discovered your channel, very well researched, great content and beautifully presented. New sub. Cheers.

[@jparker59able]

I only got to visit Hollywood Forever Cemetery once while living in the area. I meant to go back and find some of the people I missed the first time but never made it back. It's a beautiful cemetery. And the ghost story is hilarious. The 1951 movie Hollywood Story is loosely based on this murder. I could have sworn I saw a video several years ago about William Desmond Taylor being murdered on his yacht. Who am I confusing that with? Edit: I found him. Movie producer Thomas Ince on William Randolph Hearsts' yacht in Nov 1924.

[@amandacurtis8374]

i subscribed and liked today.

[@amandacurtis8374]

u have a great voice. Thank - Q

[@rogerdogger6969]

Those of us with a love and Nostalgia for that era and actually any past era of any glamour find it appalling when it gets erased do to progress but this is been a great project to at least document the existence and the legacy of entertainment Pioneers that unfortunately for the most part are forgotten by the General Public. I found it to be very educational and enlightening at the same time as well as its sparking the imagination about many aspects not explored in this presentation, Hollywood was a very messy place and it still is

[@profhortsunlover1536]

these are great to fall asleep to, relaxing :) sorry i posted a few times, it's taking me a few days to watch

[@deannahollis3777]

Love your videos

[@personaking7844]

Henry peevey, was out rounding up men for WDT....

[@cocoaorange1]

That interview with an elderly Mary is messed up!

[@MICHELLE-gu2qc]

I really love your videos, you are great at story telling, very knowledgeable and has a soothing voice. This murder sounds just like a typical Hollywood Agatha Christie whodunit plot line. Have they ever made his murder into a movie?

[@thomasmiller3069]

Great content! Could you please look into doing a feature on Anna May Wong?

[@lola0204]

Great novel about desmond and mabel called the man who died twice. I couldnt put it down.

[@blazefairchild465]

Wouldn’t it be crazy if one of the gold tipped cigarette tips had been saved in a box somewhere with the case paperwork.

[@Ilovesharks444]

Who knows it might be somewhere so sad that so much has been destroyed :(

[@cocoaorange1]

$80 was a fortune back then!

[@naarahjanemorris3121]

Thanks for the 2nd Informative video on This murder case & the facts I watched Part 1 it was interesting on why this Movie director was murdered you've Done your homework on the truth the Facts it's Sad that the bungalows are no Longer There anymore I think there Should of been a plaque or something To Remember William Desmond Taylor I'm not from the US I'm from the UK, I'm Just asking is this a cold case or has it Been solved?

[@lemorab1]

You note that each bungalow contains 2 units, with 8 bungalows containing 16 units in all. I have thought that Edna Purviance had the adjacent unit in the same bungalow as Taylor, from what other books have said. However, in another illustration of the property, you label the far bungalow on the northeast corner as belonging exclusively to Taylor and the one next door to the west as belonging only to Purviance. Do you know who shared the adjacent unit with Taylor in his bungalow, that is if anyone did?

[@amandajean7738]

I had seen other mini documentaries. They were all were biased toward his 19 year old daughter and his family. I must say this is the least biased towards Mr. Taylor's family.

[@carolinecalvert401]

Feel sad bungolows are now a parking lots and dollar stores

[@littlemikeism]

Over one-hundred years later, we are still hitting the parks!

[@profhortsunlover1536]

New sub here!

[@hatednyc]

Irony and coincidence are two different things. The words are not interchangeable.

[@sandrabast7080]

Ummmmm, see 22:05. Side by side with Sands photo, you look like the reincarnation of this man! I kept waiting to have you smile so I could confirm the likeness!

[@snakefinger]

Killer camera work at Hollywood forever !also the narration through out the video. I couldn’t tell if you did it in post while on Alvarado but after listening to the stuff at Hollywood forever especially indoors in the back there it was obvious you did it on the fly. Very Nice ! ✨✨✨👌🏼

[@cathyvice7135]

I’ve always wished that those bungalows still existed. What a waste.

[@andreasdawn67]

I know Bruce Long!😊

[@sharonfranklin9255]

6:05 Does anyone know what book Mr. Taylor bought for Mabel?

[@MrMikepresley]

I am sure Sands the valet (last one to see Taylor) was the one who shot Taylor.

[@VarvelloS-garf]

I wish the Bungalow still existed,. not ROSS!

[@qrufus]

As ironic as it might seem, the moment police realized that Taylor was murdered, anyone who was currently in the apartment shouldn't have been allowed to leave until their pocket/purses were checked. Also, was a composite of the perpetrator ever done?

[@petebondurant58]

Are you the narrator of the Honey Badger video? 😉

[@glenncalderwood8945]

Bungalows only have a ground floor, no upstairs.

[@richarddelasota1812]

This is all too cool. The Mary Miles Minter interviewer was especially eloquent.

[@Ilovesharks444]

He seemed bored which I found extremely rude and disrespectful I would have given ANYTHING to have sat down to talk to her or Mabel or any of them from the silent films really😊

[@richarddelasota1812]

@@Ilovesharks444 I was being sarcastic.

[@Kenna198]

Sounds like it was a hit

[@garfixit]

❤❤❤❤

[@profhortsunlover1536]

Oh deary me ~ if your family don't like your new luvver ~ dump him! It's not cuz they don't like him, it's cuz they know he doesn't love you/will cheat/will move on in the long run. And remember, when you marry someone, your whole family marries him, so he needs to be a decent person. Every birthday, wedding, christening, christmas, summer vacation, he's going to be there, driving your family bonkers, a life of stress, it's no fun.

[@profhortsunlover1536]

Treating famous actors differently still goes on, Ashton Kutcher was at the scene of a murder of a girl he was seeing, allegedly the police didn't even question him or suspect him, because of his hollywood connections, it's weird.

[@jademoon5103]

That guy Sands looks like he could be your relative!

[@marianavarro3111]

Looks like suicide couldn't let this scandal make it to court over the park incident was told by thugs of Hollywood 🤔👍💯

[@tats7859]

If I may give you a little constructive criticism, I run across the video and it's the 2nd video so you maybe wanna put in the description, one of 2 videos or how many videos you have on the same subject...

[@TheJustinRootShow]

Hmmm it says what part is what, in all caps, in the title. It’s also in each description. Maybe you missed it?

[@profhortsunlover1536]

Ex british PM Tony Blair was arrested for cruising under his original name back in the bad old days.

[@jujulionesselsa1416]

I wonder who could have shot him 😮.

[@profhortsunlover1536]

Taylor was gay but MMM believed he loved her? I can only assume Taylor was a fantastic liar, made her believe a load of woo woo.

[@flowerfaeri]

MMM was delusional... even in the last interview she gave she still believed he loved her.

[@Ilovesharks444]

I think he was gay too. There is so much evidence pointing to that. I think she was obsessed with him. He was probably very nice to her and she took it the wrong way he really couldnt say "hey look I'm sorry but I like men" in those days. Poor William/Bill was just trying to be her friend. She was a VERY pretty young lady so many other men would have loved to be with her but for some reason she became Obcessed.

[@roaringgirl7079]

Could Charles Higham have sounded any more bored? Seriously, he sounds like he's busy doing something he finds much more compelling--the day's crossword puzzle, perhaps?--while making just enough uh-huh-I'm-listening noises so MMM won't realize he's not really paying attention.

[@leeatterberry1239]

When you said the word gay l left.

[@TheJustinRootShow]

Ok. Feel better soon xxo.

[@johnbeckett8028]

This has been too drawn out. Get down to it. The guy was a cross dresser. Those women's clothing articles were his.

[@Ilovesharks444]

Then don't watch it? Plenty of other shorter versions on KZbin 🤷‍♀️

[@personaking7844]

WDT was a deadbeat