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IMDbPro

Corliss Palmer(1899-1952)

  • Actress
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Corliss Palmer
Corliss Palmer was born Helen Caroline Palmer on July 25, 1899 in Edison, Georgia. Corliss was one of six siblings and sadly her father died when she was ten. After high school she worked at a grocery store and a movie theater in Macon. In 1920 she won a contest sponsored by Motion Picture Magazine and was named "the most beautiful girl in America" She moved to Hollywood and made her film debut in the 1922 short From Farm To Farm. Corliss began having an affair Eugene V. Brewster, the married publisher of Motion Picture Magazine. He promoted her career in his magazine and helped her land numerous endorsements. Despite all the publicity she did not get another role until 1926 when she appeared in Her Second Chance with Anna Q. Nilsson. When Eugene filed for divorce his wife filed a $200,00 lawsuit accusing Corliss of alienation of affection. She married Eugene in December of 1926 and they moved into a palatial California estate. The dazzling redhead landed supporting roles in the dramas A Man's Past, The Noose, and Into The Night. Unfortunately her promising career quickly stalled.

Her final film was the 1931 comedy Honeymoon Lane. Because of their lavish spending Eugene was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1931. Corliss left him soon after and started having an affair with Albert J. Cohen, a married film writer. His wife sued her for alienation of affection in 1932. By this time she was struggling with serious drinking problem. She made headlines again in 1933 when she caused a scene at a hotel and was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. Then she worked at several low paying jobs including demonstrating make-up at a cosmetics counter. Corliss said "At heart I'm really a domestic sort of girl. I wasn't made for all this stuff I've been through." In 1939 she married William Taylor, a former rodeo performer. Her alcoholism continued to get worse and her mental health deteriorated. She entered a psychiatric hospital in 1950 where she was diagnosed with "alcoholic psychosis". Tragically on August 27, 1952 she died from Chronic Myocarditis at the age of fifty-three. Corliss was buried in an unmarked grave at Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica, California. Her fans later paid for a headstone to be placed on her grave.
BornJuly 25, 1899
DiedAugust 27, 1952(53)
BornJuly 25, 1899
DiedAugust 27, 1952(53)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

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Known for

Scarlet Youth (1928)
Scarlet Youth
  • Actress
  • 1928
George Jessel and Corliss Palmer in George Washington Cohen (1928)
George Washington Cohen
  • Mrs. Gorman
  • 1928
Anna Q. Nilsson in Her Second Chance (1926)
Her Second Chance
  • Nancy
  • 1926
Ramon, the Sailmaker
  • Actress
  • 1920

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress



  • June Collyer and Eddie Dowling in Honeymoon Lane (1931)
    Honeymoon Lane
    7.8
    • Betty Royce
    • 1931
  • Sally O'Neil and Corliss Palmer in Broadway Fever (1929)
    Broadway Fever
    • Lila Leroy
    • 1929
  • George Jessel and Corliss Palmer in George Washington Cohen (1928)
    George Washington Cohen
    • Mrs. Gorman
    • 1928
  • Reginald Denny in The Night Bird (1928)
    The Night Bird
    5.3
    • Blonde
    • 1928
  • Into the Night (1928)
    Into the Night
    • Mrs. Harding
    • 1928
  • Trial Marriage
    5.8
    • 1928
  • Walter Pidgeon and Eve Southern in Clothes Make the Woman (1928)
    Clothes Make the Woman
    5.4
    • 1928
  • Scarlet Youth (1928)
    Scarlet Youth
    • 1928
  • Richard Barthelmess and Alice Joyce in The Noose (1928)
    The Noose
    6.6
    • Cabaret Girl
    • 1928
  • Florence Vidor in Honeymoon Hate (1927)
    Honeymoon Hate
    • Mrs. Fremont Gage I
    • 1927
  • Gertrude Short in Polly of the Movies (1927)
    Polly of the Movies
    • Lisa Smith
    • 1927
  • Barbara Bedford and Conrad Veidt in A Man's Past (1927)
    A Man's Past
    7.7
    • Sylvia Cabot
    • 1927
  • Bob Custer, Corliss Palmer, and Strongheart the Dog in The Return of Boston Blackie (1927)
    The Return of Boston Blackie
    5.8
    • Sylvia Markham
    • 1927
  • Bromo and Juliet (1926)
    Bromo and Juliet
    6.1
    Short
    • Madge
    • 1926
  • Anna Q. Nilsson in Her Second Chance (1926)
    Her Second Chance
    • Nancy
    • 1926

Personal details

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  • Height
    • 5′ 5½″ (1.66 m)
  • Born
    • July 25, 1899
    • Edison, Georgia, USA
  • Died
    • August 27, 1952
    • Camarillo, California, USA(chronic myocarditis)
  • Spouses
      William Taylor1939 - August 27, 1952 (her death)
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Died in Carmarillo, California state hospital for the mentally insane.

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