Minna Marie Gombell (''née'' Gombel; May 28, 1892 – April 14, 1973) was an American stage and film actress.

Early years

She was born Minna Marie Gombel in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of William and Emma M. Debring Gombel. Her father was a medical doctor who came to the United States from Germany in 1880. Her mother was from Baltimore and of German descent.

Life and work

Gombell was active in stock theater, starring with troupes in Albany, Atlanta, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. Her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

credits include ''Indiscretion'' (1928), ''The Great Power'' (1928), ''Ballyhoo'' (1926), ''Alloy'' (1924), ''Mr. Pitt'' (1923), ''Listening in'' (1922), ''On the Hiring Line'' (1919), ''The Indestructible Wife'' (1917), ''Six Months' Option'' (1917), and ''My Lady's Garter'' (1915). She had a successful stage career from 1912 as Winifred Lee before being signed by the

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film ...

in the late 1920s. Her first film was ''Doctors' Wives'' (1931) in which she played under the name Nancy Gardner, a name given to her by Fox. After this, she spent a time coaching several young actresses before returning to film under her real name. She appeared in some fifty Hollywood films including: ''

Block-Heads ''Block-Heads'' is a 1938 comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was produced by Hal Roach Studios for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, a reworking of elements from the Laurel and Hardy shorts ''We Fa ...

'', ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'', ''

The First Year ''The First Year'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film based on a 1920 play of the same name that originally ran on Broadway at the Little Theatre. The play was written by Frank Craven and produced by John Golden. It closed in 1922 after 760 perfo ...

'', ''

Boom Town A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

'', '' High Sierra'', ''

Hoop-La ''Hoop-La'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Lloyd, and starring Clara Bow (in her final film role), Preston Foster, Richard Cromwell and Minna Gombell also in the cast. The film is based on the play ''The Barker'' by Ke ...

'', ''

The Thin Man ''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of ''Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main cha ...

'', ''

Doomed Caravan ''Doomed Caravan'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring William Boyd. The film is a serial Western and part of the Hopalong Cassidy series. It is the 32nd entry in a series of 66 films. Plot Cast * Willi ...

,'' and ''

The Best Years of Our Lives ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (also known as ''Glory for Me'' and ''Home Again'') is a 1946 American epic drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Harold Rus ...

''.

Personal life

Gombell married Howard Chesham Rumsey on March 9, 1916, in New York City. They divorced in 1921. In 1922 she was married in secret to the aviator and press agent Ferdinand Eggena in Atlanta, Georgia. Their marriage was revealed when he was arrested for fraud in November. She filed for divorce the next month, which was granted in 1924. On May 19, 1933, she was married for a third time to millionaire banker Joseph W. Sefton Jr. They separated in 1947 and were divorced in 1954. Some sources state she was married to writer/producer

Myron C. Fagan Myron Coureval Fagan (October 31, 1887 – May 12, 1972) was an American writer, producer and director for film and theatre and a red scare figure in the late 1940s and 1950s. Fagan was an ardent anti-communist and influential conspiracy theory ...

, who put Gombell in several plays and films in the 1920s, but Dagan was married during this period to another woman, who died in 1966. Gombell died in Santa Monica on April 14, 1973, and was buried in

Loudon Park Cemetery Loudon Park Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated on January 27, 1853, on of the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by James Carey, a local merchant and politician. The entrance to the cemetery i ...

in Baltimore, Maryland.

Partial filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gombell, Minna 1892 births 1973 deaths American people of German descent American film actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Baltimore 20th-century American actresses