Lydia Cornell is an American actress, writer, novelist, comedienne, blogger, and talk-radio
host.
Early life and family Cornell was born as Lydia Korniloff in El
Paso, Texas, the eldest daughter of concert violinists Irma Jean Stowe, a great granddaughter
of Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Gregory Jacob Korniloff,, a graduate of the Los Angeles
Conservatory of Music and Arts, who was later assistant concertmaster of the El Paso Symphony
Orchestra, Cornell is the oldest sister of Paul Korniloff, a piano prodigy who died of
an overdose of narcotics, and Kathryn "Kathy" Korniloff, co-founder of the band Two Nice
Girls, and since 1995 a sound designer and composer.
While a nine-year old fourth grade student at Mesita Elementary School, Cornell was chosen
as El Paso's Little Miss Cotton in March 1963. In 1966 Cornell and her family moved to Scarsdale,
New York, where she attended both Scarsdale Junior High School and Scarsdale High School,
graduating in 1971. Her class mates included Dan Biederman and Eve Ensler.
About 1972 Cornell enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she eventually
studied drama, English, Russian, and Spanish and Anthropology. During the summer between
Sophomore and Junior year in college, she worked at the famed recording studio Caribou
Ranch in Nederland, Colorado. She met Billy Joel, Dennis Wilson, Carol King, Joni Mitchell,
David Cassidy, photographer Henry Diltz. As a Caribou Ranch photographer and "kitchen
girl" she brought food to cabins of the rock stars including The Beach Boys, America, Chicago
and Billy Joel. The Ozark Mountain Daredevils gave her a credit on their album "Men From
Home." Before graduation, Cornell was the road manager for musician Michael Murphy.
These adventures will be described in an upcoming humor book series Cornell is writing. In May
1976 Cornell graduated from UC Boulder with a Bachelor of Science in Business, with majors
in both advertising and English/drama. By the time of her father's death in May 1977,
Cornell had joined the rest of the Korniloff family, who had been living in The Hague,
the Netherlands since mid-1975. Soon after her mother and siblings moved back to El Paso,
Texas. By 1978 Cornell had moved to Los Angeles to
pursue an acting career and had a job for three months at a recording studio, before
being employed by Jack Webb Productions as a secretary-production assistant. Still known
as Lydia Korniloff, Cornell worked as an assistant to the producer on the television movie Little
Mo, a biography of tennis star Maureen Connolly. During production as an office girl and assistant
to director George Sherman, she worked with Mark Harmon, Lana Turner, and Leslie Nielsen.
The office copy boy who did deliveries for the company was Linwood Boomer who later gained
fame as the creator of the TV show Malcolm in the Middle. Mark Harmon and Lydia Cornell
both had the same godparent: Gail Patrick Jackson, producer of "The Perry Mason Show".
Acting career Cornell's first screen appearance was as Lydia
Kornillof in a walk-on as a girl in a car in the 1979 film Steel, produced by and starring
Lee Majors. Her first professional speaking part was two lines in an episode of The Love
Boat. In the summer of 1980, Cornell spent nine weeks filming in the Greek Isles for
her appearance the mythological horror film Blood Tide, which featured Oscar winners James
Earl Jones, Jose Ferrer and Lila Kedrova and was produced by Nico Mastorakis and Donald
Langdon. It was not released until 1982. Cornell's first major role was as Sara Rush,
"a ditzy big-breasted blond", on the ABC television situation comedy Too Close for Comfort which
screened from November 11, 1980 to 1986. In 1982, at the height of this show's popularity,
Cornell was described by sexologist Robert T. Francoeur as providing a modern example
of "classic female stereotypes in the mold of Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield.
Cornell has also appeared on numerous television programs over the years, including The Love
Boat, Charlie's Angels, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Drew Carey Show, the pilot episode of
Quantum Leap, Full House, Knight Rider, The Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team, T. J. Hooker,
Simon & Simon, Hunter, Hardball, Black Scorpion, Hotel, Fantasy Island, Battle of the Network
Stars, Super Password, TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin'
Eve as co-host with Anson Williams. In 1982, as part of a USO tour, Cornell went
to Beirut, Lebanon to visit American troops in the Multinational Peacekeeping Force on
Christmas Eve. Soon after their departure from Beirut, over 250 Marines of the 24th
MAU were killed there in one of the first suicide bombings. When she returned she appeared
on ABC's "Good Morning America." In 1989 Cornell provided the voice for Honi,
the sixteen-year old daughter of Hägar the Horrible, in the 1989 CBS television special
Hägar the Horrible: Hagar Knows Best. In 1999, Cornell was a Best Actress nominee
at Method Fest, which honors outstanding acting performances, for her leading role in the
AFI indie "Miss Supreme Queen." Fellow nominees included Tippi Hedren and Sally Kirkland.
In 2005, she wrote, produced and starred in Venus Conspiracy, co-starring with Deborah
Van Valkenburgh, who played her sister Jackie on Too Close for Comfort.
In the spring of 2010, she appeared in the Kelsey Grammer Bill Zucker Comedy Hour, a
series of improvisational vignettes. On December 4, 2010, Cornell hosted the live
stream for Variety's Power of Comedy event at The Nokia Center, honoring Russell Brand,
and benefiting the Noreen Fraser Foundation. In 2011, she appeared in the feature film
"Cats Dancing on Jupiter". Upcoming films listed in IMDB include: "Thug in Love", "Way
of the Urban Soul", and "The Awesome Adventures of Frankie Stargazer."
Literary and journalistic career Cornell's self-titled blog was a 2006 and
2005 Koufax Award double nominee for best writing, and has been called "a consistently
thought-provoking firecracker of pointed socio-political commentary and observant, caustic wit."John
Conley, a Marine combat vet, sent her his Purple Heart for her courage in standing up
to Ann Coulter's "extermination speak", and about the war in Iraq.
Cornell's articles have appeared in The Huffington Post; Editor & Publisher; The Lone Star Iconoclast;
CNN; Crooks and Liars; Sitcoms Online; Retroality; Good Housekeeping; TV Guide; Femmes Fatales;
Macon Area Online; and several newspapers across the nation. Her December 2005 article
"Death is Sexier than Sex...to Ann Coulter" caused an uproar when Coulter published Cornell's
home phone number and private email on the front page of her website, AnnCoulter.com.
Subsequently, Cornell received death threats, and hate mail, but also hundreds of letters
and calls in support of her statements. The story was subsequently picked up by MSNBC's
Keith Olbermann; Editor & Publisher, Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, CannonFire, and numerous
online news sources. Comedy and live performances
Cornell is a humorist and comedienne, and performs stand-up comedy with Destiny The
duo did 14 shows at the Riviera Las Vegas in June 2006. In November, they opened for
Paul Rodriguez at Pechanga, and for The Amazing Johnathan at The Sahara in Las Vegas.
Cornell recently starred in an original comedy show in Hollywood with Destiny and Stephanie
Hodge titled "Pain is Inevitable, Sex Optional". It is an ongoing comedy about marriage, sex,
men, love, death and politics as told by three women.
Since 2007, Cornell has been the co-host on Basham Radio with Doug Basham.
References
External links Official website
Lydia Cornell at the Internet Movie Database Interviews
Interview with Lydia Cornell on the podcast The Future and You
RETROCRUSH LYDIA CORNELL INTERVIEW Lydia's first interview on the Doug Basham
Show Lydia's second interview on the Doug Basham
Show SitComsOnline Lydia Cornell interview 29 Oct
2008
El Paso Actress' Success Not Too Close for Comfort Frederick, Oklahoma Daily Leader,
15 Aug 1982 Retroality TV Lydia Cornell Cover Story Nov
2008