imported>GoodDay at 04:30, 5 March 2024

2024-03-05T04:30:49Z

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{{short description|American actress}}
{{Infobox person
| name =
| image = Miss Minna Gombel 1917.jpg
| caption = Gombell in 1917
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|5|28}}
| birth_name = Minna Marie Gombel
| birth_place = [[Baltimore, Maryland]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1973|4|14|1892|5|28}}
| death_place = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| occupation = Actress
| alias = Nancy Gardner<br>Winifred Lee
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Howard C. Rumsey|1916|1921|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Ferdinand Eggena |1922|1924|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Joseph W. Sefton Jr.|1933|1954|reason=divorced}}
}}
| parents =
| years_active = 1912–1961
}}

'''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.<ref name="ahf">{{cite book|last1=Nissen|first1=Axel|title=Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood|date=2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476626062|pages=86–70|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOPIDAAAQBAJ&q=%22Minna+Gombell%22&pg=PA66|accessdate=2 May 2017|language=en}}</ref>

==Life and work==
Gombell was active in [[Repertory theatre|stock theater]], starring with troupes in Albany, Atlanta, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news|title=Minna Gombell Has The Usual Luck|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10693654/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=February 15, 1925|location=New York, Brooklyn|page=62|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|accessdate = May 1, 2017}} {{Open access}}</ref> Her [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] 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).<ref>{{cite web|title=("Minna Gombell" search results)|url=http://www.playbill.com/searchpage/search?q=Minna%20Gombell&shows=on&qasset=&|website=Playbill Vault|publisher=Playbill|accessdate=2 May 2017}}</ref>

She had a successful stage career from 1912 as '''Winifred Lee''' before being signed by the [[Fox Film Corporation]] 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]]'', ''[[The Merry Widow (1934 film)|The Merry Widow]]'', ''[[The First Year (1932 film)|The First Year]]'', ''[[Boom Town (film)|Boom Town]]'', ''[[High Sierra (film)|High Sierra]]'', ''[[Hoop-La]]'', ''[[The Thin Man (film)|The Thin Man]]'', ''[[Doomed Caravan]],'' and ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]''.

== Personal life ==
Gombell married Howard Chesham Rumsey on March 9, 1916, in New York City. They divorced in 1921.{{r|ahf|page1=68}} 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Arrest Reveals Fraud |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87093407/1922-11-24/ed-1/seq-10 |work=The Seattle Star |date=1922-11-24 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=More Trouble for Eggena? |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_billboard_1922-12-30_34_52/page/25/mode/1up |work=The Billboard |date=December 30, 1922 |page=27 |language=English}}</ref> She filed for divorce the next month, which was granted in 1924.<ref>{{cite news |title=Asked for bail, gets served with summons; Minna Gombel answers plea from husband with divorce action |url=https://archive.org/details/variety69-1922-12/page/n90/mode/1up |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=December 15, 1922 |page=12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Divorces |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_billboard_1924-04-26_36_17/page/130/mode/1up |work=The Billboard |date=April 26, 1924 |page=131 |language=English}}</ref> On May 19, 1933, she was married for a third time to millionaire banker Joseph W. Sefton Jr.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sefton-Gombell |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_billboard_1933-05-27_45_21/page/52/mode/2up |work=The Billboard |date=1933-05-27 |page=52 |language=English}}</ref> They separated in 1947 and were divorced in 1954.{{r|ahf|page1=70}}

Some sources state she was married to writer/producer [[Myron C. Fagan]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parish |first1=James Robert |author-link1=James Robert Parish|title=Hollywood Character Actors |date=1978 |publisher=Arlington House |isbn=978-0-87000-384-4 |page=229 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3JZAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref> who put Gombell in several plays and films in the 1920s, but Fagan was married during this period to another woman, who died in 1966.{{r|ahf|page1=70}}

Gombell died in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]] on April 14, 1973, and was buried in [[Loudon Park Cemetery]] in Baltimore, Maryland.<ref>{{cite news |title=Minna Gombell, 81, of Stage and Films |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/04/16/archives/minna-gombell-81-of-stage-and-films.html |work=The New York Times |date=April 16, 1973}}</ref>{{r|ahf|page1=70}}

==Partial filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Director
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1929
| ''The Great Power''
| Joan Wray
|
|
|-
| 1931
| ''[[Doctors' Wives (1931 film)|Doctors' Wives]]''
| Julia Wyndram
| [[Frank Borzage]]
|
|-
| 1931
| ''[[Bad Girl (1931 film)|Bad Girl]]''
| Edna Driggs
| [[Frank Borzage]]
|
|-
| 1931
| ''[[Skyline (1931 film)|Skyline]]''
| Minor Role
| [[Sam_Taylor_(director)|Sam Taylor]]
| uncredited
|-
| 1931
| ''[[Sob Sister]]''
| Vonnie
| [[Alfred Santell]]
|
|-
| 1931
| ''[[Good Sport]]''
| Virginia Casey
| [[Kenneth MacKenna]]
|
|-
| 1932
| ''[[The Rainbow Trail (film)|The Rainbow Trail]]''
| Ruth
| [[David_Howard_(director)|David Howard]]
|
|-
| 1932
| ''[[Stepping Sisters]]''
| Rosie La Marr
| [[Seymour Felix]]
|
|-
| 1932
| ''[[Dance Team (film)|Dance Team]]''
| Cora Stuart
| [[Sidney Lanfield]]
|
|-
| 1932
| ''[[After Tomorrow]]''
| Else Taylor
| [[Frank Borzage]]
|
|-
| 1932
| ''[[Careless Lady]]''
| Yvette Logan
| [[Kenneth MacKenna]]
|
|-
| 1932
| ''[[Bachelor's Affairs]]''
| Stella Peck
| [[Alfred L. Werker]]
|
|-
| 1932
| ''[[The First Year (1932 film)|The First Year]]''
| Mrs. Barstow
| [[William K. Howard]]
|
|-
| 1932
| ''[[Wild Girl (film)|Wild Girl]]''
| Millie
| [[Raoul Walsh]]
|
|-
| 1933
| ''[[Pleasure Cruise]]''
| Judy Mills
| [[Frank Tuttle]]
|
|-
| 1933
| ''[[ Hello, Sister! (1933 film)|Hello, Sister!]]''
| Mona La Rue
|
|
|-
| 1933
| ''[[What Price Innocence?]]''
| Amy Harper
|
|
|-
| 1933
| ''[[The Big Brain]]''
| Margy
| [[George Archainbaud]]
|
|-
| 1933
| ''[[Wild Boys of the Road]]''
| Aunt Carrie
| [[William Wellman]]
|
|-
| 1933
| ''[[The Way to Love]]''
| Suzanne
| [[Norman Taurog]]
|
|-
| 1933
| ''[[Hoop-La]]''
| Carrie
| [[Frank Lloyd]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Cross Country Cruise]]''
| Nita Borden
| [[Edward Buzzell]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Keep 'Em Rolling]]''
| Julie
| [[/w/index.php|Argyle Nelson (assistant)]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Marrying Widows]]''
| The Press Agent
| [[Sam Newfield]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[No More Women (1934 film)|No More Women]]''
| Annie Fay
| [[Albert S. Rogell]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Registered Nurse (film)|Registered Nurse]]''
| Beulah Schloss
| [[Robert Florey]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Strictly Dynamite]]''
| Miss LaSeur
| [[Elliott_Nugent|Elliott Nugent (unbilled)]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[The Thin Man (film)|The Thin Man]]''
| Mimi Wynant Jorgenson
| [[W. S. Van Dyke]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[The Hell Cat (1934 film)|The Hell Cat]]''
| Pauline McCoy
| [[Albert S. Rogell]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[The Lemon Drop Kid (1934 film)|The Lemon Drop Kid]]''
| Maizie
| [[Marshall Neilan]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[The Merry Widow (1934 film)|The Merry Widow]]''
| Marcelle
| [[Ernst Lubitsch]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Cheating Cheaters (1934 film)|Cheating Cheaters]]''
| Nell Brockton
| [[Richard Thorpe]]
|
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Babbitt (1934 film)|Babbitt]]''
| Zilla Reisling
| [[William Keighley]]
|
|-
| 1935
| ''[[The White Cockatoo]]''
| Grete Lovscheim
| [[Alan Crosland]]
|
|-
| 1935
| ''[[Women Must Dress]]''
| Linda Howard
| [[Reginald Barker]]
|
|-
| 1935
| ''[[Two Sinners]]''
| Mrs. Pym
| [[Arthur Lubin]]
|
|-
| 1935
| ''[[Miss Pacific Fleet]]''
| Sadie Freytag
| [[Ray Enright]]
|
|-
| 1936
| ''[[Champagne Charlie (1936 film)|Champagne Charlie]]''
| Lillian Wayne
| James Tinling
|
|-
| 1936
| ''[[Banjo on My Knee (film)|Banjo on my Knee]]''
| Ruby
| [[John_Cromwell_(director)|John Cromwell]]
|
|-
| 1937
| ''[[Make Way for Tomorrow]]''
| Nellie Chase
| [[Leo McCarey]]
|
|-
| 1937
| ''[[Slave Ship (1937 film)|Slave Ship]]''
| Mabel
| [[Tay Garnett]]
|
|-
| 1937
| ''[[Wife, Doctor and Nurse]]''
| Constance
| [[Walter Lang]]
|
|-
| 1938
| ''[[Block-Heads]]''
| Mrs. Hardy
| [[John G. Blystone]]
|
|-
| 1938
| ''[[The Great Waltz (1938 film)|The Great Waltz]]''
| Mrs. Hofbauer
| [[Josef_von_Sternberg|Josef von Sternberg (uncredited)]]
|
|-
| 1938
| ''[[Comet Over Broadway]]''
| Tim Adams
| [[John_Farrow|John Farrow (uncredited)]]
|
|-
| 1938
| ''[[Going Places (1938 film)|Going Places]]''
| Cora Withering
| [[Ray Enright]]
|
|-
| 1939
| ''[[Second Fiddle (1939 film)|Second Fiddle]]''
| Jenny
| [[Sidney Lanfield]]
|
|-
| 1939
| ''[[Stop, Look and Love]]''
| Emma Haller
| [[Otto Brower]]
|
|-
| 1939
| ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]''
| Queen of Beggars
| [[William Dieterle]]
|
|-
| 1940
| ''[[Boom Town (film)|Boom Town]]''
| Spanish Eva
| [[Jack_Conway_(filmmaker)|Jack Conway]]
|
|-
| 1941
| ''[[Doomed Caravan]]''
| Jane Travers
| [[Lesley Selander]]
|
|-
| 1941
| ''[[High Sierra (film)|High Sierra]]''
| Mrs. Baughmam
| [[Raoul Walsh]]
|
|-
| 1941
| ''[[Thieves Fall Out]]''
| Ella Barnes
| [[Ray Enright]]
|
|-
| 1942
| ''[[Cadets on Parade]]''
| Della
| [[Lew Landers]]
|
|-
| 1942
| ''[[Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost]]''
| Edith Fitzbadden
| [[Leslie Goodwins]]
|
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Salute for Three]]''
| Myrt
| [[Ralph Murphy]]
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Chip Off the Old Block]]''
| Milly
| [[Charles Lamont]]
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More]]''
| Mrs. Collins
| [[Joe May]]
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[The Town Went Wild]]''
| Marian Harrison
| [[Ralph Murphy]]
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Destiny (1944 film)|Destiny]]''
| Marie
| [[Julien_Duvivier|Julien Duvivier (uncredited)]]
|
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Night Club Girl]]''
| Rita
| [[Edward F. Cline]]
|
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Penthouse Rhythm]]''
| Taffy
| [[Edward F. Cline]]
|
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Swingin' on a Rainbow]]''
| Minnie Regan
| [[William Beaudine]]
|
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Sunbonnet Sue]]''
| Mrs. Fitzgerald
| [[Ralph Murphy]]
|
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Man Alive (1945 film)|Man Alive]]''
| Aunt Sophie
| [[Ray Enright]]
|
|-
| 1946
| ''[[Perilous Holiday]]''
| Mrs. Latham
| [[Edward H. Griffith]]
|
|-
| 1946
| ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]''
| Mrs. Parrish
| [[William Wyler]]
|
|-
| 1947
| ''[[Wyoming (1947 film)|Wyoming]]''
| Queenie Lassiter
| [[Joseph Kane]]
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[Mr. Reckless]]''
| Ma Hawkins
| [[Frank_McDonald_(director)|Frank McDonald]]
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[Return of the Bad Men]]''
| Emily
| [[Ray Enright]]
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[The Snake Pit]]''
| Miss Hart
| [[Anatole Litvak]]
|
|-
| 1949
| ''[[The Last Bandit]]''
| Winnie McPhail
| [[Joseph Kane]]
|
|-
| 1950
| ''[[Pagan Love Song]]''
| Kate Bennett
| [[Robert Alton]]
|
|-
| 1951
| ''[[Here Comes the Groom (1951 film)|Here Comes the Groom]]''
| Mrs. Godfrey
| [[Frank Capra]]
|
|-
| 1951
| ''[[I'll See You in My Dreams (1951 film)|I'll See You in My Dreams]]''
| Mrs. LeBoy
| [[Michael Curtiz]]
| final film role
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{IMDb name|0326809}}
*{{IBDB name|67640}}

{{Authority control}}

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

Minna Gombell - Revision history

imported>GoodDay at 04:30, 5 March 2024