Entering show business as a child using a doctored birth certificate, Mary Miles Minter fit the mold of perceived innocence. With blonde curls and soulful eyes, she was groomed by studio heads to rival — and hopefully replace — Mary Pickford.
In spite of her youth, Mary had nearly 30 films to her credit when she was cast in the title role in director William Desmond Taylor’s take on Anne of Green Gables in 1919. The film was a success and Taylor began to heavily promote his new star. Seventeen-year-old Mary claimed that she began a romantic relationship with the director — despite their 30 year age difference. However, Taylor countered that such a relationship only existed in Mary’s imagination.
On February 1, 1922, William Desmond Taylor was found dead in his Los Angeles home. An unidentified doctor cited the cause of death to be a stomach hemorrhage and offered no further details. A subsequent forensic investigation, however, revealed that Taylor had been shot with a small-caliber pistol, although a weapon was never recovered or identified. Hollywood was faced with a new scandal, just a few months after reeling from the Labor Day incident involving disgraced actor Roscoe Arbuckle,
As the story unfolded in the press, it was reported that a number of love letters authored by Mary were found in Taylor’s home. Suddenly, Mary was attached to the mystery. Her “innocent” image was tainted in the eyes of the fickle Hollywood fans. With her reputation in question, her popularity began to plummet. She made only two more films after Taylor’s murder.
In 1925, she sued her mother for mishandling her income during the height of her film career. The case was settled out-of-court. In 1945, Mary was accused of stealing a dress from a shop on Wilshire Boulevard. Mary claimed that she had helped to finance the shop and was merely taking the dress in lieu of interest owned to her. Charges were dropped, as it was decided that there was no evidence of malicious intent.
Mary had invested in Los Angeles real estate later in her life and was content to live off of her acquired affluence. In 1981, a frail Mary was beaten and her Santa Monica home burglarized of antiques by a live-in companion and three accomplices. Police who were called to the scene were surprised to learn that Mary was once a famous movie star.
Three years later, Mary suffered a fatal stroke. She was 82. The bulk of her film catalog is considered lost.