Samuel Woolley Taylor; Author of ‘Flubber,’ Mormon Works

Samuel Woolley Taylor, 90, author of popular works such as “Flubber” and of Mormon biographies. Often called the “Mark Twain of Mormondom,” Taylor was particularly known for his book “Family Kingdom” about his father, John W. Taylor. The father, who had six wives and three dozen children, was dropped from the Mormon Church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles for having multiple wives after the church had abandoned the practice. Other Mormon works included “Nightfall at Nauvoo,” “The Rocky Mountain Empire” and “Heaven Knows Why!” Taylor also wrote scores of articles, stories and plays for a national audience, including the stories “The Absent-Minded Professor” and “Flubber,” which were made into motion pictures. One play, “The Square Needle,” had its world premiere at Los Angeles’ Las Palmas Theater in 1951. It was Taylor’s humorous impression of his days in the Army Air Force’s London public relations office after World War II. On Friday in Provo, Utah.