Mel Gorham


Actor

About

Also Known As
Mel Schnier
Birth Place
Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Biography

This pretty, dark-haired fiery actress labored for years in small roles before getting her due as a Latina spitfire in Wayne Wang's "Smoke" (1995). As she has described it, Gorham had an "I Love Lucy" childhood with a Cuban-born mother and Jewish-American father. Twice-divorced by her early 20s, she left her native Florida and headed for New York, where she appeared in more than 30 shows...

Family & Companions

Steve Bermnan
Husband
Hairdresser. Married c. 1968; divorced.
Ralph Gorham
Husband
Businessman. Owner Bison Motorcycles; married c. 1970; divorced.

Biography

This pretty, dark-haired fiery actress labored for years in small roles before getting her due as a Latina spitfire in Wayne Wang's "Smoke" (1995). As she has described it, Gorham had an "I Love Lucy" childhood with a Cuban-born mother and Jewish-American father. Twice-divorced by her early 20s, she left her native Florida and headed for New York, where she appeared in more than 30 shows, mostly off-Broadway and storefront productions. Gorham appeared on the TV shows "The Equalizer" (CBS, 1989) and "Law & Order" (NBC, 1991), but mostly concentrated on film and theater work.

The film jobs were few and far between. She was little more than a glorified extra in Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" (1989) and played a nurse in Penny Marshall's "Awakenings" (1990). Gorham was Luis Guzman's date in the crime drama "Carlito's Way" (1993), then was spotted by a casting agent in the stage show "El Barrio, USA" and cast as a demented immigrant in Mira Nair's Cuban-American romance "The Perez Family" (1995).

That same year, Gorham was finally found her breakthrough role. In Wayne Wang's loosely woven, episodic "Smoke," she played Violet, performing a seven-minute scene with William Hurt and Harvey Keitel, blazing through the screen like a modern-day Lupe Velez. The role was expanded for the "Smoke" prequel "Blue in the Face" (also 1995), which, unfortunately, was considered self-indulgent and rambling. Gorham had good supporting roles as one of the cleaning crew in "Curdled" (1996), a dark comedy about the business of mopping up after murders, and in the romantic comedy "Wishful Thinking" (1997), alongside Drew Barrymore and Jon Stewart.

Life Events

1989

Made film debut, in Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing"

1989

TV debut, as a guest on "The Equalizer"

1995

First notable film role, "Smoke"; reprised role in "Blue in the Face"

1997

Filmed pilot as star of the proposed NBC sitcom "Union Square"; dropped out of project in June 1997

Family

Sandy Schnier
Father
Journalist. Born c. 1928; Jewish; divorced from Gorham's mother.
Emma Netsch
Mother
Manicurist; nightclub singer. Born c. 1935; Cuban; divorced from Gorham's father.

Companions

Steve Bermnan
Husband
Hairdresser. Married c. 1968; divorced.
Ralph Gorham
Husband
Businessman. Owner Bison Motorcycles; married c. 1970; divorced.

Bibliography