Denis Gage Deane-Tanner
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Denis Gage Deane-Tanner (b. 1876) was the fourth and last child of British Army Major Kearns Deane-Tanner, and Hollywood mogul William Desmond Taylor's younger brother.
Tanner was a lieutenant in the British Army during the Second Boer War. He traveled to New York in 1903, and like his elder brother, went into the antique business. Tanner wed Ada Brennan in 1907; the couple would have three children but one would die while still a baby. Ada's health was not good, and she had to be treated for tuberculosis. In 1912, while she was in a Sanatorium for that purpose, Tanner, just like his brother four years before him, suddenly deserted his family and leaving no word behind. From that day, Tanner has never been heard of.
It is believed that he eventually got in touch with his brother and worked for him unofficially and without many people knowing about it. The rumor, that the blacksmith in 1914's Taylor's Captain Alvarez was Denis Tanner, was mentioned in the papers, attributed to an anonymous New Yorker who stated he recognized him.
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[edit] Connection to the Murder of William Desmond Taylor
It has been theorized that someone from Taylor's past who had long nursed a grudge may have murdered him. One version holds that Edward Sands was actually Denis Tanner, the director's younger brother. William had once stolen Denis' fiancée and Denis was bent on revenge.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
- I Know Who Killed Desmond Taylor (1997) by Ed King
- Los Angeles Herald Express (February 2, 1937)
