In the late 1920s Taylor attended Brigham Young University (BYU) studying journalism.[1] He became editor of the student newspaper Y News, in which he also wrote a weekly column called "Taylored Topics." After covering a story about rum-running on campus, Taylor was questioned by school administration to divulge his sources, but he refused. After a temporary suspension, he returned to his previous position with the paper, and returned to upsetting administration with his writing.[2] After six suspensions, he later recalled that he could "take a hint" and dropped out of BYU.[3] By then he had already published five articles in nationally distributed magazines.[2] He decided to "escape" Utah and followed Gay Dimick, a fellow BYU student, back to her native California. They married there in 1934 and established their longtime home in Redwood City.[1][2]
His first foray into screenwriting began with Bait in 1954.
In contrast to the serious nature of these films, Taylor was also the author of two short stories, published in Liberty weekly magazine, on which the Disney movies The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), Son of Flubber (1963), and Flubber (1997) were based.
The Kingdom or Nothing, New York: Macmillan, 1976, ISBN 0026166003. (republished as The Last Pioneer, Signature Books, 1999, ISBN 1-56085-115-5)
Rocky Mountain Empire, New York: Macmillan, 1978, ISBN 0026166100.
The John Taylor Papers (2 vols.), Redwood City, Cal: Taylor Trust, 1984.
Taylor-made Tales, Murray, Utah: Aspen Books, 1994, ISBN 1-56236-216-X. (autobiography)[7]
Humorous fiction
Heaven Knows Why!, New York: A.A. Wyn, 1948. Mormon comedy set in Utah, originally published as serials in Collier's magazine under the title "The Mysterious Way". Has been called the funniest piece of fiction written on Mormon culture.[8][9]
Criticismedit
Taylor was an early proponent of a Mormon literature in essays such as "Peculiar People, Positive Thinkers and the Prospects of Mormon Literature" (Dialogue, 1967) and "Little Did She Realize: Writing for the Mormon Market" (Dialogue, 1969), wherein he decried the current state of the literature and called for greater artistry and realism. Taylor continued to publish criticism related to Mormon culture in Dialogue as well as Sunstone magazine.
Notesedit
^ abc"Biographical Sketch". Raymond and Samuel Taylor Correspondence, (1966-1972). Logan: Special Collections & Archives, Utah State University. Archived from the original on 2010-06-23. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
^ abcBergera, Gary James; Priddis, Ronald (1985). "Chapter 6: Student Government, Social Clubs, Newspapers". Brigham Young University: A House of Faith. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. ISBN 0-941214-34-6. OCLC 12963965.
^A Vineyard by the bay: In commemoration, tenth anniversary, San Mateo Stake, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sept. 1957-Sept. 1967. San Mateo Stake of Zion, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1968.
^Taylor-Made Tales is autobiographical with "very few of the elements of fiction". Austin, Michael (August 12, 1995). "Taylor-Made Tales". Association for Mormon Letters. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
^Cracroft, Richard H. (May–June 1980). "Freshet in the Dearth: Samuel W. Taylor's Heaven Knows Why and Mormon Humor" (PDF). Sunstone. 5 (3): 32. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
Paulson, Jean R. (Summer 1999), "Samuel W. Taylor: Talented Native Son", Utah Historical Quarterly, 67 (3): 265–284, doi:10.2307/45062501, JSTOR 45062501, S2CID 254432984, archived from the original on 2011-06-14.
Samuel Woolley, Taylor. "Papers" (1947-1948) [Textual Record]. Samuel Woolley Taylor Papers. Provo, Utah: L. Tom Perry Special Collections; 20th Century Western & Mormon Manuscripts, Brigham Young University.