Mary Miles Minter (1902-1984):William Desmond Taylor,who directed Mary in four consecutive films, had become very enamored of her.The details of their courtship remain unclear;in a sense it might have been professional – with Taylor wanting to make sure Mary was taken care of, since she was very much bread and butter for the company at the time – or more intimate than that.For all we know, it could have been nothing more than a schoolgirl crush for the little blonde beauty.And then it happened. 1922esmond was found dead,shot,in his Hollywood home.Investigations abounded,with no definitive results.This was a huge scandal;one of the first to rock Hollywood.Names all over Hollywood were being slandered and thrown around amid vicious circles of gossip.Media frenzy was as of then unprecedented.It seems Mary was never really a suspect,but the fact that there was some kind of involvement between the two of them tarnished her image for good: the public started boycotting her films.