Life, 1923-06-14 · page 26 of 44
Life — June 14, 1923 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes 1920s Hollywood's obsession with publicity and the rapid, unstable fortunes of movie actors. Traditional nursery rhymes are rewritten to mock the entertainment industry's practices. The humor targets: - **Press agents**: Multiple rhymes mention actresses hiring press agents to manufacture publicity stunts (Margery Daw "selling her bed" as a stunt) - **Extra actors**: References to impoverished "extras" sleeping in barns and desperately seeking work, contrasting with stars' luxury - **Rapid fame cycles**: "Solomon Grundy" depicts an actor's meteoric rise from extra (Monday) to millionaire (Thursday) to broke (Friday)—satirizing how quickly fortunes reversed in early cinema - **Manufactured stardom**: The joke about "seven press agents" implies actresses were constructed products rather than genuine talents The cartoons illustrate these themes with silhouettes of theatrical characters and performers. The satire suggests Hollywood's system was absurd, unsustainable, and driven by hype rather than merit—a critique that likely resonated during the silent film era's chaotic expansion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mother Goose in the OUG be nimble, Doug be quick, Doug jump over the candle- stick. ao AX I was going to St. Ives I met a man with sev- _ en wives, Each wife had seven press agents, | Each press agent had | seven stories, Each story had seven columns, — Columns, stories, | press agents and | wives, How many movieact- resses were going to * Hollywood? HE north wind doth blow And we shall have snow SBnd what will the extra do then, poor thing? He'll sleep in the barn To heep himself warm — And look for a job in the spring, poor thing! aos and Jil] went uf the o/ To fetch a fail of water; 5 | Jack fell down and broke his @o8 @ EE, Saw, Margery Daw Sold her bed and lay on straw, Her press agent thought uf the stunt, you see, And it got her sn swell pub- crown— And the audience howled with laughter. @ 8 @ OLOMON Grundy, , Born on a Monday, Extra on Tuesday, Star on Wednesday, Millionaire Thurs- ay, Broke on Friday, Small fart Satur- day, Fired on Sunday, That was the end of Solomon Grundy. Baron Ireland. comicbooks.com