Biography

Samuel W. Taylor was a notable novelist, scriptwriter and historian.

Taylor was born on February 5, 1907, the son of John Whittaker Taylor, a member of the Quorum of Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1884 to 1904, and a grandson of LDS Church president John Taylor. He wrote a biography of his father called "Family Kingdom", and on of his grandfather titled "The Kingdom or Nothing". Jump to: navigation, search February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search John Whittaker Taylor (May 15, 1858–October 10, 1916) was the son of John Taylor (the third President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and Sophia Whittaker. ... The temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in Salt Lake City, Utah is the largest attraction in the citys Temple Square. ... John Taylor is a very common name in English-speaking countries. ...

In World War II, he served in the Army Air Force Public Relations Office in the European theater of war, reaching the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.

He died on 26 September 1997 in Provo, Utah. Jump to: navigation, search September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1997(MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Film Scripts and Adaptations

In 1942 the first film based on one of Taylor's stories, "The Man Who Returned to Life" was released. This was later followed in 1951 by "Man with My Face" based on his novel of the same name.

His first foray into screenwriting began with "Bait" in 1954. He is often attributed as the scriptwriter for Hitchcock's "Vertigo", but seems to have been confused with a similarly named Samuel A. Taylor. Vertigo can refer to a number of things: Vertigo is a form of dizziness often associated with balance disorder. ...

In contrast to the serious nature of these films, he was also the author of the short stories on which the Disney movies, "The Absent Minded Professor", "Flubber", and "Son of Flubber" were based.

General Novels

Those novels not dealing specifically with Mormonism:

• The Grinning Gismo, A. a. Wyn Inc, 1951.
• Heaven Knows Why, Thousand Oaks, CA: Millennial Productions, 1979.
• "Man With My Face"
• "Take My Advice, Mr. President", Taylor Trust, 1996, ISBN 1566843448.
• Taylor-made Tales, Aspen Books, Murray, UT, 1994, ISBN 156236216.
• "Uranium Fever", With Raymond Taylor, Macmillan Company, 1970

The statement that Samuel W. Taylor wrote much of the script for "Vertigo" needs review. According to the internet movie web site the writer for Vertigo was Samuel A Tayor and the biography for S.A. Taylor is quite different from that of Samuel W. Taylor.

Mormon History Novelizations & Other Publications

• Family Kingdom, ISBN 0914740148.
• I Have Six Wives (based on the life of Rulon C. Allred)
• The Kingdom or Nothing (republished as The Last Pioneer, Signature Books, 1999, ISBN 1560851155)
• Nightfall at Nauvoo, ISBN 0380002477.
• Rocky Mountain Empire

• The John Taylor Papers (2 vols), Taylor Trust, 1984.