Sam Taylor (August 13, 1895 – March 6, 1958) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, most active in the

silent film era A silent film is a film without synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

. Taylor is best known for his comedic directorial work with Harold Lloyd and Mary Pickford, and also later worked with

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

. He was born in New York City. A notorious cinematic legend over the decades has suggested that Taylor's 1929 adaptation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's '' The Taming of the Shrew'' had the screen credit "additional dialogue by Sam Taylor". However, no extant prints of the film contain this credit, and there is no documentary evidence that it ever existed. Taylor directed eight feature films with Lloyd as star, with a number of them being co-directing with Fred C. Newmeyer. Taylor also directed Pickford in her first " talkie" feature with '' Coquette'' (1929), which garnered the latter an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

. Taylor died at the age of 62 in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Partial filmography

* '' Over the Garden Wall'' (1919) * '' In Honor's Web'' (1919) * '' Human Collateral'' (1920) * '' Now or Never'' (1921) * '' Never Weaken'' (1921) * '' Princess Jones'' (1921) * '' The Mohican's Daughter'' (1922) * '' Dr. Jack'' (1922) * '' Safety Last!'' (1923) * '' Why Worry?'' (1923) * '' Girl Shy'' (1924) * '' Hot Water'' (1924) * '' The Freshman'' (1925) * '' For Heaven's Sake'' (1926) * '' Exit Smiling'' (1927) * '' My Best Girl'' (1927) * '' Tempest'' (1928) * '' The Woman Disputed'' (1928) * '' Lady of the Pavements'' (1929) (screenplay) * '' The Taming of the Shrew'' (1929) * '' Coquette'' (1929) * '' Du Barry, Woman of Passion'' (1930) * ''

Skyline A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...

'' (1931) * '' Ambassador Bill'' (1931) * '' Kiki'' (1931) * '' Devil's Lottery'' (1932) * '' Out All Night'' (1933) * '' The Cat's-Paw'' (1934) * '' Vagabond Lady'' (1935) * '' Nothing but Trouble'' (1944)

External links

* * * American comedy film directors Film directors from New York City American film producers American male screenwriters 1895 births 1958 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-screen-writer-1890s-stub