Minna Gombell

Minna Gombell
Minna Gombell in trailer for The Thin Man (1934)
Born	May 28, 1892 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died	April 14, 1973 (aged 80) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Other names	Nancy Gardner Winifred Lee
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1928–1961
Spouse(s)	Howard Rumsey Joseph Sefton Myron Coureval Fagan (?-1972) (his death)

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

Life and work

She had a very successful stage career as Winifred Lee, from 1912 before being signed by the Fox Film Corporation in the late 1920s. Her first film was Doctor's 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; Laurel and Hardy's Block-Heads, The Merry Widow, The First Year, Boom Town, High Sierra, Hoop-La, The Thin Man, and The Best Years of Our Lives.

Partial filmography

• Doctors' Wives (1931)
• Bad Girl (1931)
• The Rainbow Trail (1932)
• Stepping Sisters (1932)
• Careless Lady (1932)
• Bachelor's Affairs (1932)
• Hello, Sister! (1933)
• What Price Innocence? (1933)
• Wild Boys of the Road (1933)
• The Way to Love (1933)
• The Big Brain (1933)
• Hoop-La (1933)
• Registered Nurse (1934)
• Strictly Dynamite (1934)
• Babbitt (1934)
• The White Cockatoo (1935)
• Women Must Dress (1935)
• Two Sinners (1935)
• Miss Pacific Fleet (1935)
• Champagne Charlie (1936)
• Banjo on my Knee (1936)
• Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
• Slave Ship (1937)
• Wife, Doctor and Nurse (1937)
• Block-Heads (1938)
• Going Places (1938)
• Comet Over Broadway (1938)
• Second Fiddle (1939)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
• Boom Town (1940)
• Doomed Caravan (1941)
• High Sierra (1941)
• Thieves Fall Out (1941)
• Chip Off the Old Block (1944)
• Destiny (1944)
• Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More (1944)
• The Town Went Wild (1944)
• Night Club Girl (1945)
• Penthouse Rhythm (1945)
• Sunbonnet Sue (1945)
• Man Alive (1945)
• Perilous Holiday (1946)
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
• Wyoming (1947)
• Mr. Reckless (1948)
• Return of the Bad Men (1948)
• The Last Bandit (1949)
• Pagan Love Song (1950)
• I'll See You in My Dreams (1951)
• Macbeth (1961) (TV movie)

Personal life

Gombell's third husband was the film writer, producer and director Myron Coureval Fagan.

External links

• Minna Gombell at the Internet Movie Database