Partner Joan Corbin
Queer Places:
Rose Hills Memorial Park
Whittier, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Irma Louise “Corky” Wolf (January 20, 1921 – April 16, 1998), publishing under the pseudonym Ann Carll Reid, served as chief editor of ONE from 1954 to 1957 and regularly contributed to the magazine. Her long-time partner,
Joan Corbin, publishing under the pseudonym Eve Elloree, served as the magazine’s main illustrator.
Irma Louise Wolf was born in Mount Clemens, Macomb County, Michigan, the daughter of Louis Frederick "Fred" Wolf (1886–1967) and Helen Ottilie Ullrich (1886–1964). Irma Wolf grew up in Mount Clemens and worked as a stenographer and sales clerk during World War II. After the war, she moved to Los Angeles where, in the 1950s, she served as editor of ONE magazine under the name Ann Carll Reid.
February 1954 was ONE’s first special edition, “The Feminine Viewpoint.” A section by that name later occupied about a third of each magazine issue for years. Leading ONE was the team of Editor-in-Chief (and Board President) “Ann Carll Reid” (“Corky” Wolf) and Art Editor, elfin Joan Corbin, aka “Eve Elloree,” whose delicate, clever sketches long set the magazine’s tone. Corky and Joan had grown up together in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and had subscribed to Lisa Ben’s pioneer lesbian publication, Vice Versa: America’s Gayest Magazine (1947-48). Some items from that early carbon-copied newsletter were reprinted in the Feb. 1953 issue of ONE Magazine.
Tiny, hard-driving Corky was a breadwinning butch who wanted her femme at home and limited to wifely concerns. Joan, one of the most personable and talented individuals, eventually grew restive, spending more time working at ONE’s office — by then across the hall from Elaine’s quarters — and by 1957, a game of musical chairs began. Joan moved in with Stella Rush, aka “Sten Russell,” who did verse and excellent reporting for ONE and for The Ladder, the magazine of The Daughters of Bilitis. Corky partnered with another woman, who wrote chunks of “The Feminine Viewpoint” under several names, including Gabrielle Ganelle. Corky was unwilling to admit that homophile women’s and men’s interests and goals sometimes diverged. She became upset by the suggestion to start a separate women’s magazine. Troubled by ill health, Corky eventually returned to the midwest.
My published books:
