An issue of Whisper from June, 1956, an example of the gossip-fueled tabloids that multiplied in the 1950s,
answering (and creating) the American public’s thirst for scandals - especially about
actors and actresses, and exposés of the underbelly of the middle class.
Among such articles about wife-swapping in the suburbs and crime rings for hire,
are overtly hostile profiles of gay men, including the pan of Liberace’s first starring role in a film
and a frank open letter to Tennessee Williams penned by his “old friend,” Max Maxwell.
The magazine is also filled with ads promising body-reshaping, sex tips, and
and the extremely practical “hair-do cutouts” from Hollywood Hair-Do (located on Long Island).