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 Estelle Boylan in Wilmington, Delaware, Taylor married a banker while still a teenager. After relocating to Hollywood, she began taking bit parts in films.
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, but without spoken dialogue, 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. Estelle never gained the prominence that other actors of the 1920s did. She was supposed to have co-starred in a movie with the enormously popular Rudolph Valentino which would have brought her to widespread fame but he died just before production was to begin.
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."
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 of cancer in 1958 and was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
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.
External links
Estelle Taylor at the Internet Movie Database
Estelle Taylor at the New York Times Movies
Persondata
NAME
Taylor, Estelle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Actor
DATE OF BIRTH
May 20, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH
Wilmington, Delaware United States
DATE OF DEATH
April 15, 1958
PLACE OF DEATH
Los Angeles, California United States
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estelle_Taylor"
Categories: 1894 births | 1958 deaths | Deaths from cancer | American film actors | American silent film actors | Jack Dempsey | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
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