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The Unsolved Murder of Georgette Bauerdorf

12/16/2020

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Georgette Elise Bauerdorf (1924-1944) was a young, attractive, social woman living in Hollywood in the middle of WWII. Bauerdorf was an oil heiress with an older sister, Constance, who she lived with. She worked at the Los Angeles Times and volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen, a nightclub started by Bette Davis, John Garfield, and Jules Stein, which served servicemen and women and ran on the volunteer work of Hollywood employees. When the canteen first opened its doors, over three thousand stars, players, grips, directors, hair stylists, costumers, etc. had signed up to work in the canteen.
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Bauerdorf was one of the many women who worked the canteen dancing with servicemen as a Junior Hostess. One of the major rules of the Canteen was that men and women couldn’t get attached to their dance partners and they were advised to keep moving and not spend so much time with any one person. Junior Hostesses had to enter and exit through a certain door, and could not arrive or leave with any men. These rules were put in place to keep up with the high morality standards of Hollywood, but also to keep the young women safe.


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Hollywood’s First Murder Mystery: The Death of William Desmond Taylor

12/2/2020

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William Desmond Taylor (1872-1922) was an Irish-American actor and director. Before his premature death, Taylor directed 59 silent films and acted in 27.

William Desmond Taylor was born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner in County Carlow, Ireland, one of five children. In 1891, he left England for a dude ranch in Kansas, where he became really acquainted with acting. From Kansas, Taylor moved to New York City where he did some acting, and met and married Ethel Hamilton.
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On October 23rd, 1908, Taylor disappeared from his family. He and his wife were prominent members of New York City society, but friends of the family described him as having “mental lapses” and they thought he wandered off in a state of amnesia. Apparently he wandered through Canada to Alaska to pan for gold and his wife and daughter had no idea he was still alive until they were sitting in a movie theatre and they saw his face on screen.
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Four years later, in 1912, William Cunningham Deane-Tanner turned up in San Francisco, now christened William Desmond Taylor. It’s here where he made his mark as an actor and a director.

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DEAD DEAD GIRLS: EXCERPT

10/28/2020

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  Dear friends, 

​     I am so excited to share one of my favourite scenes from DEAD DEAD GIRLS! It's an early one (#nospoilers here, I promise!)  and I think it's the perfect introduction to Lou and her life before it gets turned upside down. I know I made it up, but there is nothing I want more than to spend a night at the Zodiac. Get yourself in the mood with my perfectly curated Louise Lloyd playlist and read on!

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