Early Life and Career
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 two productions. Her only credited film role in Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 is a lost film. According to IMDb.
Personal Tragedy
Melva was married to Marc Lachmann (1897-1941) and had a son, Cornell Anthony Lachmann, who died shy of his 7th birthday in 1945. According to WikiTree. Her only child, Cornell, died from leukemia before he reached his 7th birthday. In the late 1940s, press reports indicate she bore a striking resemblance to actress Greer Garson. According to IMDb.
Murder Mystery
In 1930, a murder reportedly took place just below her apartment. When she quickly decided to move, her landlord tried to talk her out of it. Telling her landlord that the murder victim had been shot 21 times and she was frightened, her landlord assured her the press had exaggerated the details of the crime. He told her that the victim had instead only been shot 10 times. This, of course, did not allay her fears and she continued with her plans to move. According to IMDb.
Later Years and Death
After the deaths of her husband and son, she worked for the publicity department at 20th Century Fox. She died on January 19, 1960 in Los Angeles, CA. According to IMDb.
