Corliss Palmer Biography

Corliss Palmer (born Helen Caroline Palmer; July 25, 1899 - August 27, 1952) was an American silent film actress and model. She first came to public attention after winning Motion Picture Magazines Fame and Fortune Contest in 1920, upon which she was deemed the "most beautiful girl in America." She would go on to appear in a total of sixteen films between 1922 and 1931.

Early life

Palmer was born Helen Caroline Palmer to Luther and Julia Palmer in Edison, Georgia on July 25, 1899. She had an older sister, Mary, a younger brother, Grady, and a younger sister, Emma.

Career

In 1920, Palmer entered the "Fame and Fortune Contest" advertised in Motion Picture Magazine. She won the contest, and was heralded by the magazine as the "most beautiful girl in America." The magazine's publisher, Eugene V. Brewster, allowed Palmer significant publicity in the magazine, and began to promote her as she embarked on a film career. Between 1921 and 1923, Motion Picture Magazine published a total of twenty-three articles on Palmer, while its sister publication, Motion Picture Classic, published an additional story on the actress. Palmer also had a face powder named after her, created by the Wilton Chemical Company in New York City, and also appeared on the cover of Beauty, a women's magazine.

She made her film debut in the short From Farm to Fame, documenting her public notoriety after winning the contest, followed by an acting role in Her Second Chance (1926).

After ending her acting career in 1931, Palmer continued to model cosmetics.

Personal life

She married Motion Picture Magazine publisher Eugene V. Brewster in October 1926. The couple lived on a $500,000 estate in Morristown, New Jersey, but were forced to relocate to a one-bedroom apartment in Hollywood, California in 1931 after Brewster's estate was squandered when his former wife sued him for alienation of affection. The couple would divorce in 1931.

After her divorce, Palmer became an alcoholic, and on January 31, 1933, was committed to a hospital in San Francisco under the pseudonym Edith Mason, a name she had adopted in an attempt to revitalize her film career. It was noted in March 12, 1933 article in the Portsmouth Daily Times that Palmer "had been drinking steadily for several days," and the hospital staff "feared she might harm herself or set flre to her room." Palmer would spend the latter half of her life in psychiatric institutions.

Death

Palmer died in 1952 in Camarillo, California.

Filmography

Key

Denotes lost films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1922	From Farm to Fame		Short film
1926	Her Second Chance	Nancy
1926	Bromo and Juliet	Madge
1927	The Return of Boston Blackie	Sylvia Markham
1927	A Man's Past	Sylvia Cabot
1927	Polly of the Movies	Lisa Smith
1927	Honeymoon Hate	Mrs. Fremont Gage I
1928	The Noose	Cabaret Girl
1928	Into the Night	Mrs. Harding
1928	The Night Bird	Blonde
1928	George Washington Cohen	Mrs. Gorman
1928	Trial Marriage
1928	Scarlet Youth
1928	Clothes Make the Woman
1929	Sex Madness
1929	Broadway Fever	Lila Leroy