Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, August 1922 · page 50 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #36 — page 50: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* (a 1920s humor magazine) gossips about Hollywood celebrities and their marital troubles: **Marilyn Miller & Jack Pickford**: The column skeptically reports Miller's claim she knew nothing of an affair, while betting they secretly married last winter—possibly hidden because her contract forbade marriage. **Olive Thomas reference**: A cryptic mention of a deceased actress's estate sale appears adjacent, likely hinting at scandal (Thomas died in 1920 under mysterious circumstances). **Theda Bara & Charles Brabin**: The satire suggests marital discord—they disagreed on her film project, so Brabin is directing his own picture instead while Bara returns to work on her own terms. The joke: artistic collaboration and romance don't mix. **Final quip**: A pun on "dear" versus "bear"—suggesting men prefer less emotional, more docile partners. The satire mocks celebrity hypocrisy, contract violations, and troubled marriages while entertaining readers with insider Hollywood gossip.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
48 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang of their recollections it was the floor down-stairs. * * * THE party did one thing! Marilyn Miller, the star of “Sally,” announced right after it that she knew nothing of the affair, but that she is to marry Jack Pickford this summer. We’ll believe that when it occurs. Right now we still cling to the belief that they were married last winter. Was it held secret because Marilyn’s contract strictly forbid her to marry during its duration? It was interesting to note a little announcement in the same newspapers that told of the Miller-Pickford engagement. This related of a sale of Olive Thomas’ effects. * * * THEDA BARA is starting a return-to-the-screen photoplay, but friend husband, Charles Brabin, is not directing. Is there a rift in the marriage bliss? It seems that Theda and Charles simply couldn’t agree at all on the story. So the eminent Mr. Brabin is to make a picture of his own and the until-recently-temperamental Theda begins to show a return to form by doing a story that suits her own little self. Art and Cupid certainly do not go hand in hand! * * * A man may call a girl a little dear and yet prefer to have her a little bear.