Before there was Hollywood scandal, there was THE Hollywood scandal.

In this first part of our series on the murder of William Desmond Taylor, we're setting the scene: Los Angeles in the 1920s, the silent film industry at its decadent, chaotic peak, and the lives of the people who would soon be swept up in one of the most notorious unsolved murders in Hollywood history.

We’re talking about the meteoric rise of Mabel Normand — one of the first female comedy stars and directors — and the complicated, carefully controlled public image of Mary Miles Minter, America’s “sweetheart” with a stage mom from hell. And then, of course, there’s Taylor himself. Or.... should we say William Cunningham Deane-Tanner?! He was a man with more than one name, and maybe more than one secret.

This is the beginning of a mystery murder that shook early Hollywood to its core… and we're only just getting started.

William Desmond Taylor, Mary Miles Minter, Mabel Normand, silent film era, early Hollywood, Hollywood murder, 1920s Los Angeles, Paramount Pictures, unsolved Hollywood mystery, Charlotte Shelby, Taylor murder, classic Hollywood scandal, vintage crime, forgotten Hollywood, Fresh Hell Podcast