Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, July 1921 · page 11 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #22 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three gossip columns about silent-film industry figures, presented without accompanying illustrations. The text is pure celebrity scandal-mongering typical of 1920s tabloid humor magazines. The items target: an unnamed woman involved in "divorce mix-ups"; **Larry Semon** (a Vitagraph comedian-director), accused of violently spanking actress **Lucille Carlisle** on set until she required hospitalization; and **Katherine Macdonald**, a prominent silent-film star earning $40,000 per picture. The satire mocks Hollywood's contradictions: Macdonald is praised by society for remaining "cold and high" and frugal, yet criticized by studio workers as "hard." The tone is salacious and malicious, treating serious allegations (workplace violence) as entertainment. This reflects the era's invasive celebrity gossip culture and early Hollywood's chaotic, unregulated working conditions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang 9 standing but whose name has been mentioned in a few sensational divorce mix-ups. Sallie and Edna are bosom friends and go everywhere together. It is now whispered about Los Angeles that the Burke family has decided against the marriage. Rather hard on Edna if she loves him, isn't it? We don't really know whether she cares particularly or not. * * * CAN it be that Larry Semon spanks his leading lady love, Lucille Carlisle, when she doesn't do as he likes? There was such a violent spanking in the environs of the Vitagraph lot recently, that Lucille retired to a hospital for a rest, and a new leading lady replaced her. * * * IT is said the beautiful Katherine Macdonald, picture star, earns a mere $40,000 per picture now. Despite the fact that Katherine looks eternally sad in her pictures and shows not a glimmer of cheer or sense of humor, people like to gaze on the American beauty and her clothes. Anyhow her backers must make a profit or they wouldn't come through with the “40 thou.” Now, it is said Katherine saves nearly every cent. She is reported quite the most saving woman on the screen. The social set like Katherine because she doesn't get spifficated and run around with promiscuous ordinary movie folk, and because she holds herself “cold and high.” The studio folk on her own lot say she is “hard,” and that she won't let them hire blondes for