Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, May 1921 · page 14 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #20 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains gossip about a costume ball attended by silent film stars and industry figures. Key references include: **Edna Purviance** — Charlie Chaplin's frequent leading lady, whose career was being revived in Chaplin's film "The Kid" (1921). **Larry Semon and Lucille Carlisle** — Semon was a popular silent-film comedian; the piece jokes about their romantic dispute, noting they danced only with each other. **Bull Montana** — A character actor known for gorilla/ape roles, whose distinctive appearance made costumes unnecessary. The satire mocks the rumor by suggesting his face *is* the costume. The page exemplifies *Whiz Bang's* typical content: Hollywood gossip, insider jokes about the film industry, and mild mockery of celebrities' romantic entanglements and public images. The closing aphorism reflects the magazine's flirtation-focused humor typical of 1920s men's magazines. No political content is present.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
12 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang dancers to any extent. They are largely home folks and only drop in on occasions at a party, and then usually beat it in jigtime for the fireside. One of our best-known young newspaper scribes had half the house betting that he was dancing with Edna Purviance, garbed in Turkish emblems. But when she doffed her mask it was not Edna at all, but a charming youngster of the pictures but not well known to fame. Since Edna has been resurrected in all her beauty for Chaplin's new picture, "The Kid," the former friendship between her and Chaplin has been rehashed where the gossip-mongers meet for Wednesday night meeting. Another pleasing sight was the return of Lucille Carlisle, until recently Larry Semon's leading lady. Rumor hath it that Lucille and Larry waged a young war about something, as children will. But the soar- ing young funny man of filmdom and his fair partner were turtle doves who found no one to dance with but themselves. A false report went out that Bull Montana attended the ball costumed like an ape. This is untrue, for two reasons. One is that Bull wasn't present, and the other that he needs no costume when imitations of a gorilla are in order. Bull's face has become his fortune and he is proud of it. * * * A girl may not let you kiss her, but the chances are she appreciates your wanting to.