Estelle Taylor
Actor · 1894 – 1958 · Wilmington, Delaware, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Estelle Taylor (May 20, 1894—April 15, 1958) was an American Hollywood actress whose career was most prominent during the silent film era of the 1920s. Born Ida Estelle Taylor in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Harry D Taylor and Ida LaBertha (Barrett) Taylor, Estelle married three times during her lifetime. Her first husband was banker Kenneth Malcom Peacock, her second was William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (Jack Dempsey the world heavyweight boxing champion), and theatrical producer Paul Smith. After relocating to Hollywood, she began taking bit parts in films. One of Taylor's earliest successes was in 1920 in Fox's While New York Sleeps with Marc McDermott. She and McDermott play three sets of characters in different time periods. This film was lost for decades but has been recently discovered and screened at a film festival in Los Angeles. Taylor is possibly best recalled for her roles in the 1922 drama Monte Cristo opposite John Gilbert, the enormously successful 1923 Cecil B. DeMille directed The Ten Commandments as Miriam, the sister of Moses; as Lucrezia Borgia in the 1926 Warner Bros.' first feature-length film with synchronized Vitaphone sound effects and musical soundtrack Don Juan opposite John Barrymore, Mary Astor and Warner Oland, 1927's New York, opposite Ricardo Cortez and Lois Wilson, 1931's Street Scene with Sylvia Sidney and both the Academy Award winning Cimarron and the Clara Bow talkie, Call Her Savage in 1932. Taylor married heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Dempsey, in 1925. She was supposed to have co-starred in a movie with actor Rudolph Valentino which would have brought her more widespread fame but he died just before production was to begin. In 1928 she and husband Dempsey starred in a Broadway play titled The Big Fight, loosely based around Dempsey's boxing popularity, which ran for 31 performances at the Majestic Theatre. When she divorced Jack in July, 1933 she walked away with $40,000 in cash as well as 3 of their cars and their $150,000 estate. When a fan came up to her for an autographed picture of her, which had Jack's name on top she allegedly wrote: "This is the last time that son-of-a-bitch will be on top of me." Her marriage to Dempsey produced no children. Taylor was a close friend of Mexican-born actress Lupe Vélez, and on the evening of December 13, 1944 she spent several hours at a restaurant having dinner and drinks with the actress before Vélez returned home and committed suicide. The ensuing press coverage briefly propelled Taylor once again into the headlines. Taylor's last film appearance was in the 1945 Jean Renoir directed drama The Southerner. In her later years, Taylor devoted her free time to her pets and was the president and founder of the California Pet Owners' Protective League. In 1953, Taylor served on the City Animal Regulation Commission in Los Angeles, California. Taylor died in 1958.She had been suffering for some time with cancer and had been bedridden the last six months. She was interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Estelle Taylor was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1620 Vine Street in Hollywood, California. In a 1983 American made-for-television movie biopic of boxer Jack Dempsey, Estelle Taylor was portrayed by British actress Victoria Tennant. Description above from the Wikipedia article Estelle Taylor, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Movies24
Movie7.1ComedyRomanceHollywood hopeful Peggy Pepper arrives at a major studio, from Georgia, to become a great dramatic star. Things don't go entirely according to plan.
Show People
1928 · 57 votes
Movie6.5DramaHistoryThe first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden calf. The second part shows the efficacy of the commandments in modern life through a story set in San Francisco. Two brothers, rivals for the love of Mary, also come into conflict when John discovers Dan used shoddy materials to construct a cathedral.
The Ten Commandments
1923 · 94 votes
Movie5.5WesternDramaWhen the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right.
Cimarron
1931 · 160 votes
Movie7.2ComedyRomancePolly Parrish, a clerk at Merlin's Department Store, is mistakenly presumed to be the mother of a foundling. Outraged at Polly's unmotherly conduct, David Merlin becomes determined to keep the single woman and "her" baby together.
Bachelor Mother
1939 · 82 votes
Movie6.6DramaSam Tucker, a cotton picker, in search of a better future for his family, decides to grow his own cotton crop. In the first year, the Tuckers battle disease, a flood, and a jealous neighbor. Can they make it as farmers?
The Southerner
1945 · 71 votes
Movie7.0AdventureRomanceAfter a roustabout sailor avoids being shanghaied in 1850s San Francisco, his audacity helps him rise to a position of power in the vice industry of the infamous Barbary Coast.
Frisco Kid
1935 · 10 votes
Movie5.8DramaA high-spirited and short-tempered Texan woman storms her way through life until her luck runs out, forcing her to learn the error of her ways.
Call Her Savage
1932 · 24 votes
Movie6.1DramaA Chinese wife returns to the American family she left behind in Southeast Asia and then moves in on her daughter's beau.
Where East Is East
1929 · 15 votes
Movie8.0DramaRomanceMary's kid brother needs an operation and, in order to pay for it, Mary goes to a Hollywood studio and applies for a job as an actress. Mary is given a job as a waitress in the commissary, and gets to meet 40 actors, actresses and directors, none of whom tip big enough to enable Mary to earn enough money to pay for an operation. Will Mary become an actress and make some big money?
Mary of the Movies
1923 · 1 votes
Movie5.0RomanceDramaIn the year 1550, Sir George Vernon agrees to have his young daughter Dorothy betrothed to John Manners, the son of the Earl of Rutland. Sir George signs a contract, promising that the marriage will take place on Dorothy's 18th birthday, or else he will have to pay a large penalty to Rutland. But when the two children have grown older, rumors of John's wild behavior in France provoke Sir George to call off the engagement, and to pledge his daughter instead to her cousin Malcolm. Rutland now claims the forfeit from Sir George, and meanwhile, John has befriended Mary Stuart, the sworn enemy of Elizabeth, who is now Queen of England.
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall
1924 · 4 votes
Movie9.0DramaA product of the Bowery, Trent Regan grows up to become a powerful gangster. Regan's girlfriend Angie Miller, hearing that her childhood sweetheart (and Regan's lifelong pal) Mike Cassidy is about to marry Marjorie Church, pays a visit to Mike to offer congratulations. Convinced that Angie is fooling around behind his back, Regan accidentally kills her. A lost film.
New York
1927 · 1 votes
Movie8.0AdventureDramaDon Caesar de Bazan, a reckless nobleman, falls for Maritana, a gypsy dancing girl. When Maritana is insulted by a drunk, Don Caesar wins her love by coming to her rescue. The two go to Madrid, where the girl is summoned to dance before the Queen. Maritana also attracts the attention of King Charles. Don Jose, the prime minister, who secretly loves the Queen, plots to get Maritana for the King. To do this, he schemes to have Maritana marry a nobleman so she can enter the King's court.
The Adventurer
1920 · 1 votes
Movie7.0DramaSociety children Madalyn Harlan and Bob Elkins separate the day they are to be married. Madalyn marries her chauffeur, Jerry, while Bob falls in love with unsophisticated Ruth Cassell and, after careful consideration, marries her. Madalyn's marriage is unhappy, ending in a double suicide after Madalyn's parents disown her and Jerry's family proves to be lower class.
Desire
1923 · 1 votes
Movie5.9ActionAdventureTarzan and Jane are traveling to Paris to help his old friend Countess de Coude, who is being threatened by her brother, Nikolas Rokoff. Rokoff has Tarzan tossed overboard. He survives, comes ashore in North Africa, and goes to Paris to search for Jane. In Paris, Tarzan reunites with his old friend Paul D'Arnot, who informs him that Jane was taken to Africa. Tarzan returns just in time to save Jane from a lion attack, and soon defeats Rokoff and his henchmen.
The Revenge of Tarzan
1920 · 9 votes
- MovieComedyMusic
Ruth Roland comes in crashing in on George E. Stone as the host for the 13th installment of The Voice of Hollywood, with Charles Irwin, Davey Lee and Jack Benny among the guests.
Movie9.0ComedyDramaAngela comes to Hollywood with only two things: Her dream to become a movie star, and Grandpa. She leaves an Aunt, a brother, Grandma, and her longtime boyfriend back in Centerville. Despite seeing major movie stars around every corner, and knocking on every casting office door in town, at the end of her first day she is still unemployed. To her horror, when she arrives back at their hotel, she finds that Grandpa has been cast in a movie by William DeMille and quickly becomes a star during the ensuing weeks. Her family, worried that Angela and Grandpa are getting into trouble, come to Hollywood to drag them back home. In short order Aunt, Grandma, brother, boyfriend and even the parrot become superstars, but Angela is still unemployed...
Hollywood
1923 · 3 votes
Movie6.8RomanceDramaAt a hotel in the middle of the Sahara, an old man and his daughter try to keep the location of a hidden treasure from a collection of thieves and criminals staying at the hotel who are determined to get it. A suave gentleman thief arrives at the hotel one day with his own plan to get the loot, but complications ensue when he begins to fall for the daughter.
The Unholy Garden
1931 · 4 votes
Movie6.8DramaRomanceThe setting is a city block during a sweltering summer, where the residents serve as representatives of the not-very-idealized American melting pot. There is idle chitchat, gossip, jealousy, racism, adultery, and suddenly but not unexpectedly, a murder.
Street Scene
1931 · 44 votes
Movie8.0CrimeDramaEmily Cottrell, one of the most respected members of a large gang of crooks headed by Fraser Grimstead, is caught while robbing the home of wealthy David Parrish. Emily accepts David's offer of a home and a chance to go straight, but Grimstead is unwilling to lose her, and he insists that she help him steal the famous diamond collar, The Tower of Jewels, which is in David's possession. When Emily refuses, Grimstead threatens to expose her past to Wayne Parrish, her benefactor's son with whom she is in love. Grimstead and the gang surround the Parrish home, then Wayne's cousin removes the jewel case to throw suspicion on her rival for Wayne's affections. Emily's innocence is established later, and her reputation is further cleared by Grimstead, who is shot by the police. With his dying breath, Grimstead describes Emily's gentle birth and states that she is fit to marry Wayne.
The Tower of Jewels
1919 · 1 votes
Movie10.0DramaA respectable businessman leaves his wife and daughter for the clutches of a cold, heartbreaking female.
A Fool There Was
1922 · 1 votes
- Movie9.0MysteryAdventure
A fancy masquerade party is the scene of a jewel robbery, and later several suspects in the robbery are discovered to be aboard the same train.
Western Limited
1932 · 1 votes
Movie9.0DramaWhen a woman accidentally kills her detested husband, a selfless young man takes the blame and goes to prison. Complications ensue when he is provisionally released.
Honor Bound
1928 · 1 votes
Movie8.0DramaSilent drama with two different New York stories. One tells of a good man led astray until a dream causes him to change his ways. The other is about a man whose despair over his love marrying another is lifted through increasingly unlikely events.
The Lights of New York
1922 · 1 votes
Movie10.0MysteryA blind cobbler is able, by dint of his extraordinary hearing, to recognize the identity of a murderer. His own son is accused of the killing, and the old man waits, knowing the murderer will return to prevent the blind man from revealing what he knows.
Footfalls
1921 · 1 votes