Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Vol. 2, No. 22, July, 1921 — Our Movie Gossips
_Our Movie Gossips_ _California society whisperers frown on Edna Purviance’s rumored engagement to scion of Los Angeles wealth?
Can it be Larry Semon “beat up” his leading lady, Lucille Carlisle?
And Katherine McDonald has something to worship!
The male sissy of the screen!
Natalie Talmadge may find a snag in Buster Keaton’s backyard?
Join our monthly movie gossip club!
These dainty morsels are gathered by the Hollywood correspondent of this great family journal.
_ By RICHMOND.
Of all girls in the movies, Edna Purviance has the softest snap.
In the last year and a half, almost two years, Charlie Chaplin has only made one picture, “The Kid,” which barely occupied more than a few weeks of Edna’s time.
It’s true Edna doesn’t earn much compared to the other stars or leading women of the screen—they say her contract with Charlie gives her only a week—but she has time—loads of it—and Edna plays the social game in that spare time and doesn’t appear to worry her pretty head about her career or future fame.
She has an attractive but modest apartment, a not too expensive car and maid and puts everything on her clothes, which are of the smartest.
About two years ago Carleton Burke of Los Angeles began to “rush” Edna.
Carleton is considered the catch of the Pacific coast.
He is wealthy—his family is A-1 socially, Carleton is handsome, traveled and well educated and has made a name as a polo player.
He is also a member of all the exclusive men’s clubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Well, of course, when Carleton first took up Edna there was much whispering concerning a Venice bungalow, after Charlie “discovered” the fair manicurist in a small town near Frisco Bay.
Could she be received?
If Carleton Burke meant to marry her, of course, she’d be taken up eventually anyhow, and the Burkes are not the sort of people you can snub.
So Carleton’s sister, Louise, entertained Edna.
The Claus Spreckels at Coronada did the same and a few other of the selects followed the lead.
Edna accepted these favors with a very calm and ladylike demeanor quite as if she had a perfect right to the best of social life, and she created a favorable impression.
Edna has sense enough not to carry vulgar studio movie talk into the drawing rooms of people who wouldn’t understand.
She is never forward or bold and, with her undeniable beauty, is surely an asset to any function.
However, Carleton has continued to take Edna about—to the Midwick and other exclusive country clubs, but marriage has never “come off.
” Through Burke, Edna became acquainted with Mrs. Sallie Polk Merritt of Pasadena—an attractive brunette of social 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 ,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 spiflicated 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 her pictures because the sunlight has a way of making light hair stand out conspicuously, and thus detracts from her own person.
Every week or so a San Francisco man named Morrell comes south, and they say he visits Katherine.
The couple are engaged, it is said, and when her two-year contract is up, intend to marry and quit business for good.
Friends say they are both saving carefully toward that day.
The arithmetical problem is this: If Morrell earns “X” salary and Katherine ,000 per picture or about ,000 a year, how much salt and pepper will Morrell’s savings buy two years from now?
How many steaks and cream puffs can Katherine buy?
* * * * * In a recent issue we dealt somewhat with the male sissy whose devastating inroads have made themselves particularly felt in this Egyptianesque hotbed of art, near art and the no end of things for which poor art is blamed—Hollywood.
Our readers will recall that some months ago a very noted “heavy” of the films, a man nearing the fifties and with a wealth of apparent masculine comeliness, was arrested in company with another male person after a perfectly inquisitive detective had watched them through a keyhole of the film star’s home.
Broken in the prime of life, an object of scorn and with others fearing to be seen in his company, even for business purposes, his plight is a sorry one.
More seldom as the months pass does his white head and Romanesque profile appear upon the screen.
There is grim humor in the plight of this man.
The name of an immensely rich woman was mentioned in connection with his arrest.
It was intimated that he had grown cold in his attentions to her and that the detective who trapped the two men was well paid with feminine gold.
She must have suspected something.
* * * * * Wedding bells and hopeful love of man and woman seems to have broken out afresh in the picture world.
Wasn’t it in an issue four months back that we confidentially confided to our readers that Charlie Chaplin was openly adoring a sweet young thing of seventeen?
Just about four months after we cheered you with this item, the daily papers declaimed that all signs and portents were to the effect that May Collins was to become the second bride of the comedian.
Needless to say, Miss Collins by this time has been “interviewed.
” With the awe-striking wisdom of seventeen—some say she is younger—the girl sets forth, or so she is quoted, a panacea for marriage ills.
She did not admit she was going to marry Charlie but she wasted no space in praising anyone but him.
It appears that if May marries Charlie that the path of true art will not be tampered with and if Charles wishes to remain out on business, or otherwise further his picture activities, that May will not offer hindrance.
Mildred Harris, too, was seventeen when she married Charlie and complained that the boy stayed away too much.
Should May and Charlie hook up we may be able to watch the theories of two seventeen-year-old misses work out, as regards their ideas of what the lord and master should do.
* * * * * When Buster Keaton goes out in the evening he takes his whole family.
There are so many of them we’ve lost count.
Anyhow, when he goes down to Sunset Inn at Santa Monica the waiters have to move three tables and put them together so that all Buster’s family can be seated.
There are several sisters and as many younger brothers and a “Pa” and lots of aunts and uncles.
And Buster cheerfully pays the bill.
A little incident has been reported to the correspondent of this great family journal.
It appears Buster had been out with some lady of whom his father objected, or had done something which his “Pa” didn’t like and there was an argument over at the Metro studio.
“Pa” perhaps hasn’t forgotten his ancient and pleasant right of parental authority.
However, Buster is resourceful.
It is said he put “Pa” in his dressing-room and locked him up for the night, going on about his own business thereafter.
We wonder, if, when Natalie Talmadge marries Buster this spring, she will have to lock his family in the closets occasionally in order to prevent little rows!
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