According to the U.S. baby name data, the uncommon name Corliss started seeing more usage in the early 1920s:
- 1924: 30 baby girls named Corliss
- 1923: 25 baby girls named Corliss
- 1922: 21 baby girls named Corliss
- 1921: 6 baby girls named Corliss
- 1920: 6 baby girls named Corliss
Why?
Because of Corliss Palmer, a Georgia-born actress who was best known for her association with a married millionaire.
In 1920, Corliss entered the “Fame and Fortune” contest being advertised in a trio of fan magazines: Motion Picture Magazine, Motion Picture Classic, and Shadowland.
All three of these magazines were published by wealthy businessman Eugene V. Brewster, who hoped that hosting the annual contest would help him discover “prospective stars.” (The contest did, in fact, launch the careers of Glenda Farrell, Mary Astor, and Clara Bow.)
Corliss was declared the winner of the contest in early 1921, and, for the next few years, Brewster promoted her heavily in his magazines. She was the subject of numerous articles, and her name and image were used to advertise products like face powder and perfume.
More significantly, Corliss and Brewster became romantically involved. Corliss even moved into Brewster’s home — much to the chagrin of Brewster’s wife.
News of the affair broke when Mrs. Brewster filed a separation suit against her husband in late 1922. She named Corliss in the suit.
Further developments — such as Brewster buying a quarter-million dollar estate in New Jersey to share with Corliss in January of 1924, and Mrs. Brewster suing Corliss for alienation of affection three months later — kept Corliss Palmer in the headlines for several years.
Finally, in late 1926, Brewster — whose wife had refused to grant him a divorce — went go Mexico and got one anyway. The next day, he married Corliss.
Soon after, it was announced that the lawsuits had been settled out of court, and that Brewster had sold his movie magazines as part of the settlement.
During the latter half of the 1920s, Corliss appeared in a string of grade-B movies, usually as a secondary character.
In 1931, amid the Great Depression, Brewster filed for bankruptcy. Corliss and Brewster separated in 1932, and divorced in 1933.
The newspapers claimed that the actress’s full name was Corliss Modena Palmer, but she’s listed as “Helen” on the 1900 U.S. Census (as a one-year-old) and as “Caroline” on the 1910 U.S. Census.
The English surname Corliss derives from an Old Norse word meaning “careless” (i.e., a nickname for a carefree person). What are your thoughts on Corliss as a first name?
Sources:
- Corliss Palmer – Wikipedia
- Slide, Anthony. Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators, and Gossip Mongers. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2010.
- “Fame and Fortune Contest for 1920.” Motion Picture Classic Feb. 1920: 100.
- “Wife sues Brewster over girl protege.” New York Herald 2 Dec. 1922: 20.
- “Quarter million love next given inamorata.” San Bernardino Sun 16 Jan. 1924: 9.
- “Wife of wealthy publisher sues picture actress.” Omaha Morning Bee 6 Apr. 1924: 1.
- “Corliss Palmer is made defendant in alienation suit by Mrs. E. V. Brewster.” Atlanta Tri-Weekly Journal 8 Apr. 1924: 1.
- “Mexican divorce of publisher under fire.” Herald Democrat [Leadville, CO] 24 Nov. 1926: 4.
- “Brewster sells film magazines.” New York Times 17 Dec. 1926: 18.
- “Brewster’s millions disappear.” News-Pilot [San Pedro, CA] 7 Aug. 1931: 4.
- “Georgia beauty gets divorce.” Daily Alaska Empire 27 Dec. 1933: 1.
- Hanks, Patrick, Richard Coates and Peter McClure. The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
- FamilySearch.org
- SSA
Image: Clippings from Motion Picture Classic (Dec. 1920) and the Americus Times-Recorder (3 Dec. 1924)
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