Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1922 · page 15 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #32 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This gossip column from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* (a satirical magazine) contains two items about Hollywood actresses' romantic entanglements: **First item**: Mabel Normand is frequently seen at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, sometimes with director William D. Taylor or producer Mack Sennett. The satire mocks her casual attitude toward engagement by claiming she keeps a bag of diamond solitaire rings and casually tosses it while giggling—suggesting she treats matrimony as a game rather than serious commitment. **Critical context**: The editorial note warns this was written before Taylor's murder. Normand was indeed present at Taylor's apartment before his unsolved 1922 killing, making this gossip item historically significant. **Second item**: May Collins now occupies the dressing room formerly used by Mildred Harris (Chaplin's ex-wife). The joke: Collins, rumored engaged to Chaplin, allegedly found his photograph in a dresser drawer and kept it in her mirror—ironic since she's replacing his previous fiancée. The satire targets actresses' romantic instability and Hollywood's incestuous social circles.
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Captain Billy's Whiz Bang 13 Hollywood Flirtations (The following item was written a few days before the tragic death of Mr. Taylor. Miss Normand at this time is reported the last known visitor to Mr. Taylor's apartment before the slaying.) MABEL NORMAND is tripping the light fantastic at the Cocoanut Grove very often. Sometimes it's William D. Taylor, Lasky director, and we also hear that Mack Sennett gave her a wonderful birthday party and many presents. When the girls get Mabel to talk in the seclusion of her own boudoir, the sly gal brings out a little bag just dangling full of nice diamond solitaire engagement rings. When she gets a new one she gives the bag a toss and giggles! That's how seriously Mabel takes this matrimony stuff! * * * AN ironic fact has put May Collins into the very dressing room at the Mayer studio formerly occupied by Mildred Harris. May, you know, has been often reported as engaged to Charlie Chaplin, Mildred's noted ex. Miss Collins, it is said, found a picture of Charlie in a remote drawer of the dresser, wiped off the dust and stuck it in the mirror for her own perusal!