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. Described as a "turkey", 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 (5 episodes), 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 (2 episodes), Fantasy Island, Battle of the Network Stars, Super Password (1985-1987), 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.
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."
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".
Read more about this topic: Lydia Cornell
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