Glen H. Taylor
Glen H. Taylor | |
---|---|
D. Worth Clark | |
Succeeded by | Herman Welker |
Personal details | |
Born | Glen Hearst Taylor April 12, 1904 Progressive (1948–1949)
Independent (1956)[a] |
Children | 3 |
Glen Hearst Taylor (April 12, 1904 – April 28, 1984) was an American politician, entertainer, businessman, and
He was the
Early life
Born in a boarding house in Portland, Oregon, Taylor was the twelfth of thirteen children of Pleasant John Taylor and Olive Higgins Taylor.[5] His father was a retired Texas ranger and wandering preacher,[6] and the family was with him in Portland for a protracted soul-saving meeting.
The family
Taylor was inspired to run for political office by
Career
By the late 1930s, Taylor had settled in Eastern Idaho at Pocatello. His first political campaign was in 1938 for an open seat in the United States House of Representatives from the second district, but he finished a distant fourth in the Democratic primary.[7]
Taylor first ran for the United States Senate in 1940 in a special election to fill the remaining term of the late William Borah, but lost to appointee John Thomas, with 47.1 to 52.9 percent. Despite being labeled as "semi-socialistic" and "communistic," he ran again in 1942 against Thomas and lost a closer race, 48.5 to 51.5 percent. Taylor lost both elections to Thomas because of stiff opposition from state Democratic Party leaders.[8] Between elections, Taylor supported himself as a painter's assistant and sheet metal worker in California.[6]
In his third try for the Senate, Taylor ran for the other Idaho seat in 1944, narrowly defeating conservative incumbent
In the Senate, Taylor, known as "The Singing Cowboy," acquired a reputation for eccentric behavior. Upon his arrival in Washington, D.C., Taylor rode his horse, Nugget, up the steps of the U.S. Capitol building.[9] Nugget also accompanied Taylor during a 1947 tour of the country highlighting his antiwar activism and opposition to U.S. foreign policy of the time.[10][11][12][13]
When Taylor moved to Washington in preparation to be
Taylor was appointed to the Committee on Banking and Currency after telling Senator Robert F. Wagner of New York that he was qualified for the post because he had been a depositor with several banks. In October 1945, Taylor submitted a resolution to the Senate "favoring the creation of a world republic."[6]
In July 1946, at a convention of the National Lawyers Guild in Cleveland, Senator Taylor said:
Success of monopolies in dealing with the present Congress is evident in the wrecking of price control, profit-guaranteeing tax rebates, blocking of power projects in the Columbia and Missouri Valleys, pigeonholing of the minimum wage bill and in the emasculation of the 1944 Kilgore Reconversion Bill and the 1945 Murray Full-Employment Bill.
Monopolies have so influenced our foreign policy that it serves monopoly and monopolistic aims.[15]
On election night in 1946, Taylor made national headlines by allegedly breaking the jaw of local Republican leader Ray McKaig in a hotel lobby in Boise.[16] Taylor claimed that McKaig had called him an obscene name, and struck him first with a punch that broke his nose,[17][18] but McKaig denied those claims.[19] McKaig, 66, claimed that while he was lying on the floor Taylor proceeded to kick him in the face,[20] but Taylor denied that claim.[18][21] Later, when Taylor lost his reelection bid in the 1950 primary, McKaig sent a telegram that said, "You may have broken my jaw, but I just broke your back!!!"
Taylor also feuded with other Idaho Democrats, often making critical remarks about Charles C. Gossett, who resigned as governor in November 1945 to have his successor appoint him to the vacant Senate seat. During the 1946 Democratic primary in June, Taylor openly supported Gossett's opponent, George E. Donart, calling the appointed incumbent Gossett a "conservative" who "hobnobbed" with Republicans in Congress.[22]
In the Senate, Taylor became noted for lengthy speeches that were often critical of President Harry S. Truman's policies, particularly in foreign affairs. He was particularly critical of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, both of which he believed brought the United States closer to war with the Soviet Union.[23] Taylor was decidedly less critical of the Soviet Union than most of his Senate colleagues, once noting that there was no need to criticize Soviet policy when there were 90 other senators willing to do it every day.[8]
Civil rights activism
Taylor was an early proponent of the
Taylor was arrested on May 1, 1948, in
Roswell comments
In July 1947, Taylor was asked by a
"Even if it is only a psychological phenomenon, it is a sign of what the world is coming to," Taylor explained. "If we don't ease the tensions, the whole world will be full of psychological cases and eventually turn into a global nuthouse."
1948 vice presidential nomination
In 1948 Taylor was chosen as the vice presidential candidate on the Progressive ticket headed by former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa.[1] Taylor agreed to be the nominee despite accurately foreseeing that this step meant he would be heavily defeated in his next Senate campaign.[24] The unabashedly leftist Wallace/Taylor ticket failed to carry any states and won only 2.4 percent of the nationwide popular vote. The nomination prompted an effort by conservatives within the Idaho Democratic Party to expel him from its ranks, but was defeated.[29]
1950 reelection run
In 1950, former Senator
Election results
Year | Class | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1940 | II | Glen H. Taylor | 110,614 | 47.0% | John Thomas (inc.) | 124,535 | 53.0% | ||||||
1942 | II | Glen H. Taylor | 68,989 | 48.5% | John Thomas (inc.) | 73,353 | 51.5% | ||||||
1944 | III | Glen H. Taylor | 107,096 | 51.1% | C. A. Bottolfsen | 102,373 | 48.9% | ||||||
1954 | II | Glen H. Taylor | 84,139 | 37.2% | Henry Dworshak (inc.) | 142,269 | 62.8% | ||||||
1956 | III | Frank Church | 149,096 | 56.2% | Herman Welker (inc.) | 102,781 | 38.7% | Glen H. Taylor | Write-In | 13,415 | 5.1% |
Source:[31]
- 1940 was a special election (November) to complete the final two years of the term vacated by the death of William Borah on January 19, 1940. Thomas, a former U.S. senator (1928–1933), was appointed to the seat by Governor C. A. Bottolfsen on January 27.
Later career
Taylor served as president of Coryell Construction Company from 1950 to 1952 but was forced to resign after being labeled a "security risk," jeopardizing a government contract. Afterwards, he was often forced to work manual labor construction jobs.[7] He ran again for the Senate in 1954 but was decisively beaten by Republican incumbent Henry Dworshak, winning only 37.2 percent of the vote. His sixth and final Senate attempt came in 1956; he narrowly lost the Democratic primary to 32-year-old lawyer Frank Church,[32][33][34][35] and then got 5.1 percent of the vote in the general election as a write-in candidate.[36] In March 1958, Taylor proposed that Church take a lie detector test about fraud in the 1956 primary.[37]
In 1958, Taylor and his wife Dora moved to Millbrae, California, and began making hairpieces by hand based on a hairpiece Taylor made for himself in the early 1940s.[1][2] By 1960, Taylor Topper Inc. had become the major manufacturer of hair replacements in the United States. Taylor told The Washington Post in 1978 that he was very familiar with them: "I was 18, a juvenile leading man in a traveling show, and my hair had begun to fall out. There isn't much demand for bald juvenile leading men, and I tried everything – sheep dip, what have you – and that just made it fall out faster."
Taylor explained that he had run for public office without the hairpiece and found that voters "didn't have much use for bald politicians" but that "I ran the fourth time with it and won." His original toupée was made from a tin pie plate, which he lined with pink felt and swatches of human hair. In 1958, he was granted a patent (#2,850,023) for his innovative product.[38][39] Glen and Dora Taylor were successful manufacturing hairpieces, and Taylor Toppers became famous. The company, now known as Taylormade Hair Replacement, is still active in Millbrae.[40]
Personal life
Glen and Dora Taylor had three sons between 1935 and 1946, Glen Arod (Dora spelled backward) and then Paul Jon and Greg.[1]
Taylor died at 80 in April 1984 from complications from Alzheimer's disease;[1][7] Dora Taylor remained in the San Mateo County area until her death at 93 in 1997.[40] They are interred at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo.
Filmography
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1958–1961 | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | Professor / Professor Higgins / Mr. Asher | 9 episodes |
1959 | Goodyear Theatre | N/A | Episode: "A Good Name" |
1960 | Death Valley Days | Colonel Adrian | Episode: "Yankee Confederate" |
Notes
- ^ Ran as an Independent in 1956 United States Senate Race in Idaho.
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Political maverick Glen Taylor dies". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. May 4, 1984. p. 11.
- ^ a b c d Flint, Peter B. (May 5, 1984). "Glen H. Taylor of Idaho dies; Wallace running mate in '48". New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
- ^ Collier, Peter (April 1977). "Remembering Glen Taylor". Mother Jones News. pp. 42–53.
- ^ Is John Kerry A Liberal? (accessed January 20, 2012)
- ISBN 9780813164021.
- ^ Harper & Brothers. pp. 107–113.
- ^ a b c d e U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor (1904–1094)
- ^ a b c Pratt, William C. "Glen H. Taylor: Public Image and Reality", Pacific Northwest Quarterly, January 1969. (accessed January 20, 2012)
- ^ GLEN TAYLOR Autograph (accessed January 19, 2012)
- ^ "Idaho's Senator Glen Taylor off on horse on trip". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. (AP photo). October 28, 1947. p. 16.
- ^ "Taylor begins cross-nation 'peace' ride". Toledo Blade. Ohio. United Press. October 27, 1947. p. 3.
- ^ "Horse-borne solon decides nag's no good". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. United Press. October 30, 1947. p. 1.
- ^ Othman, Frederick (November 9, 1947). "Why the senator rides a horse across nation". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. United Press. p. 27.
- ^ "Taylor croons plea for home". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 4, 1945. p. 2.
- ^ "CIO Lawyer Denies Pay Rules Prices: Pressman Accuses Congress of Aiding Profit Groups–Taylor Hits Monopollies". New York Times. July 7, 1946. p. 26.
- ^ "Senator packs election punch". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. November 6, 1946. p. 2.
- ^ "Taylor cracks jaw of political rival". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. November 6, 1946. p. 6.
- ^ a b "U.S. Senator's Nose is Broken in Brawl". Charleston Gazette. Associated Press. November 9, 1946. p. 1.
- ^ "Confusion Surrounds Taylor-McKaig Tift". Soda Springs Sun. United Press. November 14, 1946. p. 1.
- ^ "Jaw in plaster, McKaig says Taylor "kicked me in face"". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. United Press. November 14, 1946. p. 3.
- ^ "Sen. Taylor tells of battle of Boise hotel". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. Associated Press. November 8, 1946. p. 6.
- ^ "Stassen Faces Severe Test In Nebraska", The Schenectady Gazette, June 10, 1946. (accessed January 19, 2012)
- ^ Our Campaigns – Candidate – Glen H. Taylor (accessed January 20, 2012)
- ^ United States National Park Service. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ^ Member's Death Ends a Senate Predicament (accessed January 19, 2012)
- ^ Diane McWhorter, Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution (Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, 2001), pp. 63–65.
- ^ Allsop, Dani (May 3, 2021). "This Day in History: Idaho's 'most controversial' senator arrested for using 'Blacks only' entrance". ktvb.com. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- ^ Taylor v. City of Birmingham, 45 So. 2d 53 (Ala. Crim. App. 1950) (Court of Appeals of Alabama February 7, 1950).
- ^ SEN. TAYLOR STILL A DEMOCRAT, The Daily News (Huntingdon, Pennsylvania), March 3, 1948. (accessed January 19, 2012)
- ^ Schwantes, Carlos A. In Mountain Shadows: A History of Idaho, p. 242. (accessed January 20, 2012)
- ^ "Office of the Clerk: Election statistics". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
- ^ "Church-Taylor contest 'tightest' in history". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. August 15, 1956. p. 1.
- ^ "Church still leads Taylor with canvasses completed". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. August 22, 1956. p. 1.
- ^ Fleeson, Doris (September 5, 1956). "Frank Church promises Welker real test". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. (editorial). p. 18A.
- ^ "Glen Taylor may head new splinter party". Sarasota Journal. Florida. Associated Press. October 8, 1956. p. 10.
- ^ "Idaho balloting nearly ties record". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 8, 1956. p. 4.
- ^ "Church rejects plan by ex-Senator Taylor". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. March 7, 1958. p. 6.
- ^ "The Sen. Taylor toupee". Spartanburg Herald. South Carolina. September 10, 1958. p. 4.
- ^ "Patent 2850023". Retrieved October 1, 2015.
- ^ a b Pimsleur, J. L. "OBITUARY – Dora Taylor", San Francisco Chronicle, June 21, 1997. (accessed January 20, 2012)
Further reading
Senator Glen H. Taylor, The Way It Was With Me (memoir), Lyle Stuart, Secaucus, New Jersey, 1979