The marriage of Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck was an odd one from the start. They met in 1936 on a blind date just before working together in “His Brother’s Wife.” There seemed to be a mutual attraction from the start but at this point MGM did not want Mr. Taylor to marry. They had already scuttled his engagement to Irene Hervey. Nevertheless the two became close and lived on adjoining ranches. They were considered a couple. In January of 1939 Photoplay magazine published a lengthy article about “Hollywood’s unmarried couples,” naming Taylor and Stanwyck, Gable and Lombard and others.
This changed MGM’s mind and the couples were encouraged to marry. In fact, the Taylor-Stanwyck union was essentially an arranged marriage. The arrangements for their May 1939 wedding were made by the studio and the only say Mr. Taylor had in it all was “I do.” Whether they would have married on their own is doubtful, although possible. From all reports, Stanwyck’s emotional commitment was far greater than Taylor’s.
Nonetheless, the marriage lasted for nearly twelve years. It wasn’t a marriage of equals–Stanwyck considered herself Taylor’s teacher and called him Junior. He called her the Queen. Given his tremendous dislike of confrontation, she was able to have things her way.
Within two years of the marriage, he had begun to stray with a fling of some sort with Lana Turner. Stanwyck was devastated and some reports say she cut her wrists to hold onto him. Robert Taylor continued to see other women during his marriage, included having affairs with Ava Gardner and Eleanor Parker The fact that the Taylors were separated so much–including his three year stint in the Navy–probably prolonged the marriage.
In 1950 Mr. Taylor spent most of the year in Rome making “Quo Vadis.” He indulged in an active social life, including a very public dalliance with Italian starlet Lia de Leo. Stanwyck flew to Rome to confront him and ask for a divorce. This is widely thought to have been a ruse to hold on to him rather than an actual desire to separate. In any case, to her horror, he accepted. Stanwyck stayed in Italy for six weeks, during which they apparently negotiated their future. The pictures below are from those six weeks, taken in Rome and Venice. Note the Italian couple marching by them as they pose in one shot.
On February 21, 1951 Barbara Stanwyck divorced Robert Taylor. The divorce became final a year later. As part of the settlement, she was granted 15% of his gross earnings until she remarried or died. No one expected him to die first. The two remained friends despite everything and Stanwyck never remarried. She did collect her money religiously and by some reports, tried to get more from Mr. Taylor’s estate. Despite this, she always claimed that he was her one true love.
(This material comes from too many sources to name, but I’ve tried to be accurate.)
Robert Taylor Actor 
This is very interesting. May I add a bit of trivia. I was standing in for Robert Taylor on The Detectives early 1960s. Both his show and The Big Valley were in production at the same time on the Four Star lot (the former Republic Studios and now called the CBS Studio Center). The Big Valley’s permanent stage was 3 stages away from The Detectives permanent stage in the same row. Often as I entered or left the stage I would see Robert Taylor standing just outside the stage door and Barbara Stanwyck as well standing just outside the door of her stage staring at each other but never getting closer to each other than that (at least while in my view). The stares were so intense I wondered what was going through their minds.
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<td style="text-align: left;" align="left"; width="350" height="178" colspan="1" background="cid:top@ed31458861a4fe35efe2882a299a324e"Ralph, this is fascinating. For them to be so close must have been difficult for both. According to Ursula Thiess’ book, Mr. Taylor was really angry with Stanwyck. She found him one day yelling at the TV when Stanwyck was flogging a young man saying things like, “That’s it, that’s what you like to do.”Do you mind if I pass this on to a couple of friends?Judith Evans Hanhisalo
Sure pass it on. I should read Ursula’s book. That’s so interesting what you said. That was probably a complicated dynamic in all three of their lives especially considering Bob and Barabara working on the same lot with frequent visits by Ursula to his set and doing occasional parts in the series. I wonder if Ursula mentions any of this in her book.
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<td style="text-align: left;" align="left"; width="350" height="178" colspan="1" background="cid:top@26158f89f7f3d2917c17fdba1866690f"Ursula mentions being on “The Detectives.” She also talks about wanted to establish contact with Stanwyck, invite her to their home etc. Taylor would never allow it. She didn’t come there until he was dying when she made one visit. She also made a fuss at his funeral. As you say, a very complicated relationship.Judith Evans Hanhisalo
how unusual, something similiar happened for me with this mans man, now, whenever i see a movie with his name (today i found the first one in a long time i had not ever seen) i watch and dream, and sometimes think, “gee, if he met me he would have liked me” of course i was a toddler at the time of his death, but im always intrigued by his marriage to Stanwyck except how do two Hollywood heavy weights like them, actually meet on a “blind date”?
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I don’t know this for sure but I suspect that MGM had a lot to do with it. They ran his life, including his private life, during the thirties. Maybe they approved of Ms. Stanwyck as someone Mr. Taylor should date. They definitely ordered the marriage. Thanks for writing. Judith
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I’m now thinking my memory is a bit faulty. Looking at IMDB the dates don’t seem to match. Most likely these events occurred during the filming of the Robert Taylor Show a few years later which could overlap with the beginning of The Big Valley. I stood in for him also on that short lived series and the stages were the same.
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<td style="text-align: left;" align="left"; width="350" height="178" colspan="1" background="cid:top@45fe70b1852c3bf0124f5699707c0b2f"Whatever happened to that show?Judith Evans Hanhisalo
According to IMDB:
Four episodes were filmed but the series was canceled before an episode aired. The series was to be based on official files from the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. When NBC realized that the producers had not gotten permission to use the department’s files, the network canceled the series.
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<td style="text-align: left;" align="left"; width="350" height="178" colspan="1" background="cid:top@1def7ed27f74c9b95b776b6871745bf2"Careless of them. It sounds like it would have been interesting and different.Judith Evans Hanhisalo
I always read that Taylor was a major Mama’s boy, big time Mama’s at that and that his mother lived with he and Stanwyck most of their married life. Can’t you just imagine the stress his doting mother living with them must have caused in their marriage? And of course, Mama always came first with Robert no matter who the lady was in his life. Must have been an awful strain for Barbara trying to compete with his mother for his love, attention, well anything really. Mama always getting in your business and of course on always on Robert’s side even if he is in the wrong! Barbara must have felt like an outsider in her own home. Shame on Robert for putting Barbara in that situation and not giving her the love she needed and deserved. Mama should have been moved out of the home!!! To the guest house or better yet off the property but definitely out of the house so they couldn’t double team Barbara. She must have stayed on pins and needles constantly. I also don’t agree with the comment that this was a one sided relationship. Robert pursued Barbara relentlessly not her him!!!
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Robert Taylor’s mother never lived with him and Ms. Stanwyck. Her “uncle” Buck Mack did live with them for several years. Mr. Taylor provided his mother with her own home and had to move in with her after the divorce. I just think that they were very different people, even more different when Mr. Taylor returned from the war. Ms. Stanwyck was an amazing actress but she doesn’t seem to have been especially interested in domestic life. Thanks for writing.
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Mr. Taylor was very persistent in courting Barbara in the beginning of the relationship, which is discussed in detail in Victoria Wilson’s biography of Ms. Stanwyck. It seems he only started to lose interest after they were married…typical male reaction, ha! I don’t know why he never seemed to be satisfied with her once they married. I think he had very old fashioned ideas about what a wife should be (probably from seeing his parents’ marriage) and Barbara was not the type to give up all she had worked for to please someone else. The second Mrs. Taylor, I guess, didn’t mind doing that. It’s just sad that he found happiness in his personal life but Ms. Stanwyck, no matter how she tried, was always disappointed by those she loved.
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I think that Ms. Stanwyck and Mr. Taylor had a genuinely loving relationship at the start. But they were, in my opinion, very different people and the cracks began to show pretty quickly. Robert Taylor was never consumed by his profession and wanted a full life outside of the movies. He was also, as you say, influenced by his parents’ marriage. Barbara Stanwyck, on the other hand, was utterly devoted to her work and didn’t have much left over for family. I think it’s very sad that Ms. Stanwyck didn’t move on with her life after the divorce, attempting to hang on to Mr. Taylor through the alimony. Ursula Thiess didn’t give up anything. She wasn’t devoted to acting and found her personal satisfaction in family life, as have lots of other women. Thank you for writing, your thoughts are very interesting.
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Yes she should have given up on the alimony after all that time but it may have been that, after many years, it was something that she just didn’t really think about. It probably was all handled by her business manager anyway.
Mrs. Taylor (Ursula) apparently was satisfied with her family life, which is fine. I’ve read a few passages of her autobiography and she wrote about some episodes where Bob was bitter toward Barbara too. And it sounded like she also harbored some bitterness toward Barbara. Stanwyck, for all her bad points, never said an unkind word about Mrs. Taylor in public or in private (according to the accounts of her close friends).
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Maybe she was so hurt that no one could ever fill that void
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Very likely but I think she also liked to tie him to her with the alimony. Thanks for writing.
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Robert Taylor had his foibles about money, as did so many people who lived through the depression. Apparently he worried about “going to the poorhouse” which was also a favorite theme of my mother’s. He was unhappy that his whole salary for “Night Walker” went to Ms. Stanwyck. Despite this, all three of them behaved very well in public–never saying anything negative about the others. In fact, Mr. Taylor always had the highest praise for Ms. Stanwyck as an actress. Nor did she let her bitterness show. Mrs. Taylor hated anything that hurt her husband and he did have some emotional scars. In my opinion, they were all three very fine people and it’s a shame that it couldn’t work out for all of them in the end. I appreciate your comments.
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Very interesting reading Judith. Must have been posted prior to my discovering your blog as I have not read it before.
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The relationship between Mr. Taylor and Ms. Stanwyck is fascinating. Since they were so discreet we’ll never know it all. There is a story by a man who worked as Mr. T’s TV stand-in that both Mr. T and Ms. S were filming at the same studio and one day he saw them standing outside their individual sound stages just looking at one another not saying a word. Complicated people, both of them.
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I think they loved each other but he wanted to be the man of the house and she had trust issues do to frank fay
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I have read a few books about them. She was not domestic. He wanted a domestic life aside from Hollywood. He was not enthusiastic about marrying her. They should have gone their seperate ways rather than marry. He lost his attraction to her. She seemed to have been somewhat emotionally abusive towards him, maybe because he stopped having sex with her. He did respect her. She claims he was the love of her life. I doubt it. She had no one else to fill that role so she gave it to him. He hunted game often by herding the animals into an area where they could not escape. He and his friends would slaughter them. She hated hunting and she especially hated his style of doing it. She was terrified of flying. He flew planes. What were they ever doing together? The love of her life really was her work otherwise she would have been more of a traditional wife to Taylor. His second marriage by all accounts was happy and successful. Good for him. Good for Stanwyck too for being true to herself.
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I’ve never read that about the hunting and it seems most unlike Mr. Taylor. What is your source for this?
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Rounding up animals where they cannot escape is not hunting. Only a coward would do that. Stanwyk had more principles than that. Probably why they couldn’t make it work.
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They were very much alike in their opinions. I believe that they just wanted such different things from their marriage.
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True Steel by Victoria Wison
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Mr. Taylor did hunt and fish, though not under the circumstances you describe. The only reference to hunting and fishing in that book is on pages 799-800, which talk almost exclusively about skeet shooting. The title, by the way, is “Steel True,” not “True Steel.”
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I doubt at this point any one might see this. I am reading the Victoria Wilson book now. I have a 120 pages to go so not up to when they got married. However he was in love with her and wanted to marry her. So I don’t know if this was something staged by the studio. Stanwyck had a pretty bad marriage to Frank Fay. The picture A Star is Born is based on their marriage. Fay was much older than Stanwyck. He was a big star went to Hollywood. He was in pictures that were never successful. Stanwyck considered herself a theater person and wasn’t thrilled about going to Hollywood. She began making movies and became a bigger star than Fay. Fay was a drunk, had accidents, spent time in sanatoriums. He turned out strange. I am sure alcohol had something to do with that.
This bio will eventually be 2 volumes. You certainly learn a lot about Stanwyck and Hollywood.
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I like the Wilson book although I don’t think it needed to be so long. There is a lot of padding. Nonetheless she does provide a lot of interesting information. I thought that she, unlike most Stanwyck biographers, was pretty fair to Robert Taylor. Maybe the marriage to Fay made Ms. Stanwyck determined to be the dominant one in her second marriage–I don’t know. I don’t think they were a good fit although both of them tried to make it work. Thanks for writing.
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Thanks for responding. Since reading your post I reached the point where Wilson wrote about the news paper article about all the hollywood types living together or having affairs. At 69 I thought I knew plenty about Hollywood. But I knew nothing about Robert Taylor, much less knowing he was married to Stanwyck. In fact I don’t think I knew about Fay. So while as you say the book is a little padded I have gained some knowledge about movie stars from the silent and the start of sound that I had not known about. For example I certainly know who Mary Astor is but had no clue about the diary she wrote. Anyway I hope Wilson finishes the 2nd volume before I am gone.
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I hope you are right. Hate to think that of him. Always liked him in his movies and he seemed like such a real man. I think I choose to believe you. Thanks!!
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Hi, Christine. Hunting and fishing were more widespread than now. Mr. Taylor was all man and aren’t we glad? Judith
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I’m 71 so I know what you mean. Thanks again for writing.
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Amazing Judith, you started this blog in 2012 and it is still being read and having responses made to it. How rewarding for you and so interesting to read other comments.
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Hi, June. Yes, 4 years later and almost 250 followers. I never actually expected anyone to look–I was doing it because I wanted to. Instead, I’ve “met” people from all over the world and found a lot of interest in this wonderful man.You’ve been a big part of it and I appreciate it so much. I’d love to go to the gathering in Nebraska later this month but I can’t. :(. Thanks for writing–and for being a friend.
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I am a italian fan of Robert Taylor and I know his life and all his film, I think Robert Taylor are not only a beautiful man but also a great man: he was a cultured man, a musicist and a dancer. Sorry for my bad Enghish. , .
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Hi, Marta. Your English is much better than my Italian. I agree completely with you about Mr. Taylor. Thank you for writing. Judith
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Thank you. I think also that Bob Taylor was a actor not estimated. In Quo Vadis the most important role was of Peter Ustinovof,, white was Marco Vinicio the most important role.
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Mr. Taylor was always undervalued partly because of his outstanding good looks and partly because of his political views. I think maybe the two biographies and Turner Classic Movies have helped, at least in the USA.
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Hi, I’d like to join the discussion, if I may.
My earliest recollection of Robert Taylor was via ‘Quo Vadis’.
My mother was the Manageress of a Cinema which was about to show the movie shortly after
it’s release.
Advance publicity for the movie was quite intense, and my mother, and an Aunt, who worked as an usherette, were asked to appear dressed in toga’s, and to have a photo shoot.
I didn’t attend the shoot, well I was about nine years old at the time, but I do remember one photograph appearing in the local newspaper. My mother and Aunt looked really great in their new apparel.
The movie proved to be a great success, and I must have seen it half a dozen times in the ensuing weeks. Oh, the joy of having a mother working in a cinema and being able to get in for free whenever I wanted.
I became a big fan of Mr.Taylor. He was a real Movie Star, and his star has never waned in my magical movie memories.
Thank you for allowing me to visit your blog.
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Thanks for joining in, Morgan. “Quo Vadis” is my number one favorite Taylor flick. Do you by any chance have a copy of the picture of your mother and aunt that you could send me? Lucky you getting to see the film so often. Please come back. Judith
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Hi Judith, thanks for your reply.
Sad to report that I don’t have a copy of the picture I referred to. My mother has long gone, and the framed picture disappeared mysteriously shortly after her death.
I remember the picture taking pride of place on her sideboard. She was immensely proud of it.
Most of her working life was spent in Cinemas, hence my interest in movies to this day.
Robert Taylor was a huge Star back in the day, and his place in cinema history is assured. along with that of the wonderful Barbara Stanwyck.
Very best wishes from Wales.
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Hi Morgan, I am a frequent reader and poster to Judith’s wonderful Robert Taylor blog. I too have been a movie lover since a child going to the matinees. Leaving school I worked in Melbourne city cinemas as an usherette, ticket box and booking office until I married. The huge advantage to me was gaining free access to other cinemas throughout Melbourne, I wonder if your mother had the same benefits? “Quo Vadis?” premiered here at another cinema here and although I saw it more than once, I do not remember any publicity about usherettes dressed in togas for the premiere. Your mother surely had a wonderful time working there.
Cheers
June
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Hello June, lovely to hear from you.
I suspect that the dressing up idea was that of the Cinema owner. What better way to attract an audience than to have two beautiful women adorned in Roman apparel, advertising the up coming attraction ? It must have worked, as I seem to remember the film had an extensive run, with me occupying one of the Circle seats as often as I could.
Happy carefree cinema going days, well, for me, anyway.
It wasn’t only free for me though, since some of my friends were able to benefit.
On one occasion,a married couple I was friendly with went to the Cinema. They knew my mother worked there, but had never met her.
They purchased two tickets, and as they were waiting for their change, asked “Are you Brian’s mother ?
Quick as a flash, she replied, “Do you know my Brian ?
Before they could reply, my mother had snatched the paid for tickets back, returned their money ,and gave them two complimentary tickets.
I was often regaled with that lovely little story, and was immensely pleased, and proud, that my mum had been so thoughtful.
This is the very first blog that I have engaged with, and it’s quite fun.
I hope I haven’t bored you with my chatter.
Take care. Best wishes.
Morgan.
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I believe that MGM encouraged the toga wearing but didn’t provide any. People had to provide their own.
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Diolch yn fawr Morgan. I’m Welsh by blood and have found my great grandparents’ home there. It’s great to hear from you.
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Prynhawn da, Judith. Hey, I’m impressed with your Welsh greeting. My Welsh is very limited, so I won’t embarrass myself.
Can I inquire as to which part of Wales your grandparents’ came from ? North, South ?
Does “found” mean that you have actually visited the home, or found it via a search of archives,etc. ?
Please tell all, I’m intrigued. But only if blogging allows.
As I informed June in an earlier reply, this is my first blog, so I am unsure of the protocol. If I overstep the mark, please accept my apology.
It’s a real pleasure interacting with my Welsh cousin.
Regards.
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It’s pretty free and easy here so feel free to say what you would like. My family came from Trawswynedd in North Wales. When they emigrated they brought a painting of the house with them. We used that to go to Traws and actually found the house, now abandoned, and got to walk through it. It was pretty exciting. All the best, Judith
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Does the family still own the “now abandoned” house, and the land it sits upon ?
Is it worth bringing it back to life, and possibly selling/renting it, or keeping as a holiday home?
I suspect distance would dictate the last option as not being very practical.
I live in South Wales, but my work often took me up North. I never got to Trawsfynydd though.
Beautiful part of the world.
Regards,
Brian.
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No, Brian, I don’t think the house could be restored. There isn’t even much of a road though you can get there. It is a very small shell, now occupied by sheep. The painting shows my great grandmother, Mary Lancaster Evans, standing in the doorway while her husband Thomas Evans strides away. I don’t know who owns it now. It has a big fireplace with a place to hang a pot and not much else. It was great fun to find it although imagine going around a Welsh town asking about a Thomas Evans. Threre must have been a lot of them.
If you’re interested in a little history, Thomas Evans was a carpenter who was swindeled out of all his money by his partner and had to leave Wales. He and Mary moved to Liverpool where there was a large Welsh community. Thomas became a carpenter in shipbuilding. Eventually, in the late 19th century, Thomas and Mary and their son John (my grandfather) emigrated to America. They originally lived in Newport News, Virginia, which was a shipbuilding center and then to Bath Maine, another one. Finally John and his wife Nellie (also Welsh) moved to Quincy, Massachusetts, also a shipbuilding center. Their son Philip, my father, was a civil engineer and also worked in shipbuiding in Quincy. The family never forgot their Welsh roots, hung the painting of the house in Traws in the living room and encouraged me to learn about Wales. I’ve been at least twice and thought it was incredibly beautiful although economically challenged. This was a while ago so things might be better now.
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Pity about the house. The “pot” you refer to would have been for cooking ‘cawl’. The soup would be simmering all day and available at any time to nourish and feed the family. Fresh ingredients would be added to the “pot” as it began to empty, and the cycle would continue, day by day.
Having lived in such a house, I can vouch for the fact that the big fireplace was the heart of the home, but most of the heat went up the chimney.
We didn’t have electricity. No bathroom. Outside toilet,(a dunny in Australia). Water came via a tap in the back yard.
We never went hungry, though, and I can still taste that cawl. I try cooking it, but am unable to quite replicate the magnificent flavour and aroma of those days gone by.
Ah the romance of being poor. Can’t beat it.
Lovely story about your folks, and what they had to endure. Times were hard then, So hard, in fact, that today’s youth simply wouldn’t believe it.
I came across a lovely video of Paul Robeson singing the Welsh National Anthem, in English, and will now try and produce it below. I hope you enjoy it. Makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up,and then they applaud the great man.
So here goes.
It’s really nice talking to you, and June, who I’m sure will read this offering.
Brian
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Story of my life. You tube playing up, sorry about that.
The reference for the video is, and it really DOES exist, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziJoep1cDIY
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Yes Morgan, I did read and enjoy your comments. The You tube link you posted did not work as you indicated but I found the video direct on You tube and yes it was a stirring Welsh anthem by Paul Robson. How far we have come with the tale you tell of the struggles of yesteryear in Wales to the technology of today when we can talk from one end of the world to the other. Wales, America and Australia….we are but a key stroke away from each other. Lovely to listen in.
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Hi, Brian (or do you prefer Morgan?), the info about the cawl is fascinating. I can just picture it bubbling in a great pot (or whatever you call it) on the hook in that fireplace. I’m a big fan of meals you can eat for days–I guess the crock pot is our modern adaptation. My husband and I used to run a business called Hiraeth Celtic Goods. We solld Welsh books, music, jewelry and more online and at fairs. It went under in the recession but I met a lot of nice Welsh people that way. We traveled the country looking for suppliers. All the best. Judith
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Bore da, Judith,
Brian is fine.
My brother and his now deceased wife ran a Welsh Crafts business from their West Wales home.
Everything they sold was actually produced on site.
My brother was into wood carving, specialising in Welsh Love Spoons, which he often designed to order, even allowing prospective customers to watch him as he worked.
His Love Spoons were works of art, and quite exquisite.
His wife was an excellent cook, and she produced Welsh Cakes, Bara Brith, etc.,you know,real food, and they were to die for.
My brother was very fussy about the materials he used, and travelled vast distances sourcing the correct wood for his needs.
He’s retired now but still has his workshop.
Sadly, I didn’t inherit any of his artistic leanings, but I can cook, and he can’t. .
Difficult to digest a Love Spoon. Lol.
Regards,
Brian.
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Judith how proud you must be that you started this blog which you thought few would visit. Your blog continues to impress and interaction from unexpected visitors adds another dimension to it.
Your Welsh background is such an interesting story and a delightful read.
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Hi, June. I enjoy my Welsh background as well a this blog which has introduced me to people all over the world. We may never meet, but we can still be friends. Judith
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Yes Judith, ’tis the wonder of the age we now live in. Our circle of friends has never been richer.
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Hi June,
Re your post 14/1/2017.
Modern technology – the internet – the miracle of our time.
I don’t normally have any truck with miracles, but even I can’t ignore this one.
I’ve recently transferred all my music, 4000 + items, onto a piece of kit no bigger than my little finger. I look at it, and shake my head in disbelief. That’s the piece of kit, not my finger, although that’s also quite breathtaking.
I still rely on my abacus though. Some things will never change.
Best wishes,
Brian.
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And isn’t it great?
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Brian, we used to buy lovespoons from Wales. What was your brother’s business name?
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Don’t know his business name, but his address was in Plwmp, Cardiganshire.
You know the surname already.
It would be a real turn up if you bought from him.
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It turns out we bought from Mike Bartlett who operated as Elwyn Hughes Love Spoons. They may still be in business.
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How disappointing. I loved the possibility of you having dealt with my brother.
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I wish we’d known about him.
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Me too.
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Barbara Stanwyck was a brilliant actress and tremendously successful. It is so sad that she became estranged from her adopted son. Although 15% of Robert Taylor’s income for life is a very good divorce settlement, it did not seem like she was a woman who was pressed for cash. It is sad that she went after his estate for more money after he passed away. It sounds to me like what she had – a son – meant less to her than what she didn’t have – a man who no longer loved her.
Great actress and fantastic career. It is too bad her personal life was not so happy.
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I agree. She was fantastically talented but very poor at personal relationships. I don’t think Ms. Stanwyck and Mr. Taylor were ever right for each other. MGM wanted them to get married for publicity reasons. I do think they cared for each other but the serious attachment was all on her side. It’s a shame she didn’t move on and find happiness the way he did with Ursula Thiess. Ms. Stanwyck had a lot more money than Mr. Taylor and the 15% seems to have been a way of somehow holding on to him. Sad, really. Thanks for writing. Judith
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Yes. Very sad. And as I mentioned, her poor son who seems to have had no place in her heart at all. I realize the boy was from her first marriage, but really – just terrible to adopt a child and then he’s out of the picture. It shows a lack of heart. I know child was not Robert Taylor’s but I wonder how he felt about that boy. Seems like no one really cared about him.
I am
Glad Robert Taylor went on to find domestic happiness. Barbara Stanwyck had such a long life. It is a shame she did not at least have the pleasure of her only child’s company.
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From what I’ve read, Robert Taylor and Dion Fay got along well. Taylor liked children although he had no experience with them. He took Dion fishing and gave him gifts. Dion remembers Mr. Taylor as a really nice man. Thanks again for writing. Judith
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Ah Judith, I followed the link here in response to your latest reply to another visitor and found myself engrossed reading the 64+ entries here. Of course I had read and contributed this topic before over the years , from 2012 would you believe? You have left such wonderful footprints with your Robert Taylor blog and I am sure, as with some others, wished I lived closer to really catch up with you.
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Thank you for your nice comments. I love doing this and appreciate it very much when someone enjoys it. I’ve always felt that Mr. Taylor was an undeservedly neglected actor. Now with 2 biographies and the blog that may be changing. I live in central Florida although I’m from Massachusetts. Please comment as often as you like. All the best, Judith
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Judith, it that may or will be changes to the blog?
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The blog will remain a source for the most possible information about Mr. Taylor and his work. I’m always open to suggestions for changes, though, particularly from long-term fans such as yourself.
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Thanks for the option Judith, but I am not about to try and improve on perfection.
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Hi, June, what a nice thing to say. Many, many thanks. Judith
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You are most welcome.
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This is all conjecture…every single thing..only 2 people know what their marriage was like or what it was about..came about and why it ended…and those 2 people are dead..and even then..it’s his version and her version…and somewhere in-between..the truth. Even if Barbara said one thing..it’s her version. Could be embellished..etc. However giving her any alimony while she was doing so well in life is ridiculous. She herself was proud of being an independent person and strong..then she asks for alimony and she has no children with him. Just a way of not letting go. She might
have become controlling with a man younger than her and a non-confrontational person.
It was in my terms a short marriage and given that they were separated so much for different reasons it was indeed a very short marriage. But I guess in Hollywood terms it was substantial.
Her career and her work (fantastic) and his career and his work (very good) should be all that
anyone cares about.
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Susan, I agree that the work is the only thing that matters in the long run. However, we humans are endlessly curious about other humans, especially famous ones. Only Mr. Taylor and Ms. Stanwyck knew what really went on. I’m looking forward to the second volume of the Stanwyck bio by a woman whose name escapes me at the moment. It should cover the years of their marriage. The alimony thing was just plain nasty and showed how hurt and angry she was. She didn’t need 15% of his income and it kept him angry with her until the end. Thanks so much for writing. I appreciate your input. Judith
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Yes..you are correct..common sense prevails.. sorry.
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