Lydia Cornell

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Lydia Cornell

Born	1962 El Paso, Texas

Lydia Cornell (Born July 23, 1962 (1962-07-23) (age 45)) is an American actress, writer, comedienne, blogger and talk-radio host. She was born in El Paso, Texas. She co-starred as Ted Knight's daughter in the role of Sara Rush on the ABC television situation comedy Too Close for Comfort, and most recently on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. 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."

Cornell was also a People's Choice Award winner for Too Close For Comfort. She has appeared on numerous television programs over the years, including Curb Your Enthusiasm, Drew Carey Show, Quantum Leap Pilot, Full House, Knight Rider, The Dukes of Hazzard, A-Team, T.J. Hooker, Simon & Simon, Hunter, Hardball, Black Scorpion, Love Boat (5 episodes) Hotel (2 episodes), Fantasy Island, Charlies Angels, and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve as co-host with Happy Days Anson Williams. She also co-starred with Oscar winners James Earl Jones, Jose Ferrer and Lila Kedrova in the horror film "Blood Tide" also known as "Demon Island" or "The Red Tide", filmed in the Greek Isles. Rounding out the cast were Martin Kove, Deborah Shelton, and Mary Louise Weller. Lydia is also a comedienne, political writer and novelist. Her grandfather was Henry Ward Beecher Stowe.

Cornell went to Beirut, Lebanon, to a war zone, to visit American troops in the Multinational Peacekeeping Force Christmas Eve 1982. She visited the Marines in underground bunkers as well as sailors and naval officers on several aircraft carriers. These included the USS Sumnter, USS Shreveport and USS Inchon. She made this trip for the USO, accompanying Johny Grant, the Mayor of Hollywood and singer Kellee Patterson. Shortly after their departure from Beirut, over 250 Marines of the 24th MAU were killed in one of the first suicide bombings. A truck entered the barracks as the troops slept, killing them all.

Cornell's blog Lydia Cornell was a 2006 and 2005 Koufax Award double nominee for best writing, and is "a consistently thought-provoking firecracker of pointed socio-political commentary and observant, caustic wit." (Shotgun Reviews.) 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 is a monologuist and comedienne, and performs standup comedy with friend Destiny (The Tonight Show, MTV, VH-1.) 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 is known as a humorist and "spiritual therapy comedienne."

Cornell's new book, formerly titled "How To Talk to Ann Coulter IF YOU MUST" will be out before the election. Cornell, a Progressive, collaborated with Citizens for Principled Conservatism's Dan Borchers, a Christian conservative, who is equally dismayed at the mainstreaming of extremism within the conservative movement and the hijacking of conservatism such as Ann Coulter.

Cornell, whose humor writing is often described as a cross between David Sedaris and Anne Lamott, has several other books awaiting publication. Her editorial Bush's Last Will & Testicle was published in a Macon, Georgia newspaper Macon Area Online the Lone Star Iconoclast, and several newspapers across the nation. Her article "Death is Sexier than Sex...to Ann Coulter" — one of ten finalists out of several hundred in the Koufax Awards — was published by BradBlog in December 2005 causing an uproar when Coulter published Cornell's home phone number and private email on the front page of her website, Ann Coulter.com, in retaliation. Cornell received death threats, hate mail, but mainly she received hundreds of "love" 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.

On Saturday February 24, 2007, Basham Radio proudly introduced Cornell as its new co-host. Basham and Cornell Progressive Talk Live! Their guests have included Presidential candidates John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel; Elizabeth Edwards, Elizabeth Kucinich, John Dean, Pat Buchanan, Valerie Plame Wilson, Lou Dobbs, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie Savage; Senator Byron Dorgan; Congressman and Chairman of House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Charles Rangel; Catherine Crier, Helen Thomas; former Federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega; Dahr Jamail; Mark Green, co-owner of Air America Radio; Paul Walden, Dennis Yedwab and Eric Boehert from Media Matters, and many bestselling authors, wealth experts and celebrities.

Cornell has written books on Stalin, the Trotsky assassination, several comedies, theater pieces and films — including the black comedy "Venus Conspiracy", which she wrote and co-starred in with Deborah Van Valkenburgh, who co-starred with her as her character's sister in "Too Close for Comfort".