Harry Kendall Thaw - Later Life

Later Life

In 1924, he purchased a historic home known as Kenilworth in Clearbrook, a farming community in Frederick County, Virginia. While living at Kenilworth, Thaw ingratiated himself with the locals, joined the Rouss Fire Company, and even marched in a few local parades in his fireman's uniform. He was regarded as an eccentric by the citizens of Clearbrook but does not seem to have run into a great deal of additional legal trouble.

In 1926, Thaw published a book of memoirs titled "The Traitor," written to vindicate his murder of Stanford White. Thaw never regretted what he had done. Twenty years after having taken White's life Thaw said: “Under the same circumstances, I’d kill him tomorrow.”

In the late 1920s, Thaw went into the film production business, based on Long Island. His initial plan was to make short comedies and stories about bogus spiritualists. In 1927, he contracted with John S. Lopez and detective-story author Arthur B. Reeve for a batch of scenarios focused on the theme of fraudulent spiritualism. This association generated a lawsuit against Thaw who refused to pay his collaborators for the script work they had done. Thaw, rejecting the original concept, now conceived of a project to film the story of his own life. He asserted, therefore, the original agreement was no longer valid and he had no financial obligation to his partners. Ultimately, in 1935, a legal judgment ruled against Thaw and in Lopez’s favor in the amount of thirty-five thousand dollars.

In 1944, Thaw sold the Kenilworth home and moved to Florida.