Melva Cornell

Melva Cornell was born on December 15, 1904 in Santa Barbara, CA. Her parents Tom and Mabel Cornell found work in the wardrobe department of The American Film Company, which was based in Santa Barbara. Young Melva caught the acting bug and was an extra for that company in 1916. She also sought stage work and appeared on Broadway in at least 2 productions. Her only credited film role in Fox Movietone Follies (1929) is a lost film. Melva was married to Marc Lachmann (1897-1941) and had a son, Cornell Anthony Lachmann, who died shy of his 7th birthday in 1945.