HOLLIWOOD - ACTRESS MYRNA LOY
02-08-1905 - 14-12-1993
Myrna Loy (August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress.
against Adolf Hitler that her name appeared on his blacklist.while serving in WORLD WAR II
Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films.
She was originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, but her career prospects improved greatly
following her portrayal of Nora Charles in The Thin Man (1934).
SERVICE DURING WORLD WAR II
Loy served as assistant to the director of military and naval welfare for the Red Cross.
She was later appointed a member-at-large of the U.S. Commission to UNESCO. Her acting career by no means ended in the 1940s.
She continued to actively pursue stage and television appearances in addition to films in subsequent decades.
RAISE TO STARDOM IN SILENT MOVIES
Portrait photographer Henry Waxman had taken several pictures of Loy, and they were noticed by Rudolph Valentino when the actor went to Waxman's studio for a sitting.
He was looking for a leading lady for Cobra, the first independent project his wife Natacha Rambova and he were producing. Loy tested for the role, which went to Gertrude Olmstead, instead, but soon after she was hired as an extra for Pretty Ladies (1925), in which fellow newcomer Joan Crawford and she were among a bevy of chorus girls dangling from an elaborate chandelier.[18]
Rambova recommended Loy for a small but showy role opposite Nita Naldi in What Price Beauty? (1925). Although the film remained unreleased for three years, stills of Loy in her exotic makeup and costume appeared in a fan magazine and led to a contract with Warner Bros., where her surname was changed from Williams to Loy.
Loy's silent film roles were mainly as a vamp or femme fatale, and she frequently portrayed characters of Asian or Eurasian background in films such as
Across the Pacific (1926),
A Girl in Every Port (1928),
The Crimson City (1928),
The Black Watch (1929),
and The Desert Song (1929),
she was cast as a villainous Eurasian in
Thirteen Women (1932).
The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932).
TALKIE MOVIES ERA
Loy appeared in small roles in The Jazz Singer and a number of early lavish Technicolor musicals, In 1934, Loy appeared in Manhattan Melodrama with Clark Gable and William Powell. When gangster John Dillinger was shot to death after leaving a screening of the film at the Biograph Theater in Chicago, the film received widespread publicity, with some newspapers reporting that Loy had been Dillinger's favorite actress.
Myrna Loy and Clark Gable in Wife vs. Secretary, 1936
After appearing with Ramón Novarro in The Barbarian (1933), Loy was cast as Nora Charles in the 1934 film
The Thin Man became one of the year's biggest hits, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film.
Loy received excellent reviews and was acclaimed for her comedic skills. Her costar William Powell and she proved to be a popular screen couple and appeared in 14 films together, one of the most prolific pairings in Hollywood history. Loy later referred to The Thin Man as the film "that finally made me... after more than 80 films".
1938 During this period, Loy was one of Hollywood's busiest and highest-paid actresses, and in 1937 and 1938, she was listed in the annual "Quigley Poll of the Top Ten Money Making Stars", which was compiled from the votes of movie exhibitors throughout the United States for the stars who had generated the most revenue in their theaters over the previous year.
Myrna Loy in The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946
The Rains Came (1939) opposite Tyrone Power. She filmed Third Finger, Left Hand (1940) with Melvyn Douglas and appeared in I Love You Again (1940), Love Crazy (1941), and Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), all with William Powell.
With the outbreak of World War II, Loy all but abandoned her acting career to focus on the war effort and work closely with the Red Cross.
She was so fiercely outspoken against Adolf Hitler that her name appeared on his blacklist.
She helped run a Naval Auxiliary canteen and toured frequently to raise funds.
She returned to films with The Thin Man Goes Home (1945). In 1946, she played the wife of returning serviceman Fredric March in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). Throughout her career, she championed the rights of black actors and characters to be depicted with dignity on film. Loy was paired with Cary Grant in David O. Selznick's The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). The film co-starred a teenaged Shirley Temple. Following its success, she appeared again with Grant in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), and with Clifton Webb in Cheaper by the Dozen (1950).
PERSONAL LIFE
Loy was married and divorced four times:
1936–1942 Arthur Hornblow, Jr., producer
1942–1944 John Hertz, Jr. of the Hertz Rent A Car family
1946–1950 Gene Markey, producer and screenwriter
1951–1960 Howland H. Sargeant, UNESCO delegate
Loy had no children of her own, but was close to her stepchildren by first husband Arthur Hornblow. After her last marriage ended, she moved to 23 East 74th Street in Manhattan's Upper East Side. She later lived at 425 East 63rd Street[32]
Death and legacy
Myrna Loy's grave in Forestvale Cemetery, Helena, Montana
Loy died on December 14, 1993, in a Manhattan hospital during unspecified surgery.
She was 88 years old. She had been frail and in failing health. She was cremated in New York and her ashes interred at Forestvale Cemetery in her native Helena, Montana.[2]
For her contribution to the film industry, Myrna Loy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6685 Hollywood Boulevard.
A building at Sony Pictures Studios, formerly MGM Studios, in Culver City is named in her honor.[29] A cast of her handprint and her signature are in the sidewalk in front of Theater 80, on St. Mark's Place in New York City.[30]
In 1991, the Myrna Loy Center for the Performing and Media Arts opened in downtown Helena, not far from Loy's hometown. Located in the historic Lewis and Clark County Jail, it sponsors live performances and alternative films for underserved audiences.[31]
Although Loy was never nominated for a competitive Academy Award, in March 1991 she was presented with an Honorary Academy Award with the inscription
"In recognition of her extraordinary qualities both on screen and off, with appreciation for a lifetime's worth of indelible performances."
02-08-1905 - 14-12-1993
against Adolf Hitler that her name appeared on his blacklist.while serving in WORLD WAR II
Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films.
following her portrayal of Nora Charles in The Thin Man (1934).
SERVICE DURING WORLD WAR II
Loy served as assistant to the director of military and naval welfare for the Red Cross.
She was later appointed a member-at-large of the U.S. Commission to UNESCO. Her acting career by no means ended in the 1940s.
She continued to actively pursue stage and television appearances in addition to films in subsequent decades.
RAISE TO STARDOM IN SILENT MOVIES
Portrait photographer Henry Waxman had taken several pictures of Loy, and they were noticed by Rudolph Valentino when the actor went to Waxman's studio for a sitting.
He was looking for a leading lady for Cobra, the first independent project his wife Natacha Rambova and he were producing. Loy tested for the role, which went to Gertrude Olmstead, instead, but soon after she was hired as an extra for Pretty Ladies (1925), in which fellow newcomer Joan Crawford and she were among a bevy of chorus girls dangling from an elaborate chandelier.[18]
Rambova recommended Loy for a small but showy role opposite Nita Naldi in What Price Beauty? (1925). Although the film remained unreleased for three years, stills of Loy in her exotic makeup and costume appeared in a fan magazine and led to a contract with Warner Bros., where her surname was changed from Williams to Loy.
Loy's silent film roles were mainly as a vamp or femme fatale, and she frequently portrayed characters of Asian or Eurasian background in films such as
Across the Pacific (1926),
A Girl in Every Port (1928),
The Crimson City (1928),
The Black Watch (1929),
and The Desert Song (1929),
she was cast as a villainous Eurasian in
Thirteen Women (1932).
The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932).
TALKIE MOVIES ERA
Loy appeared in small roles in The Jazz Singer and a number of early lavish Technicolor musicals, In 1934, Loy appeared in Manhattan Melodrama with Clark Gable and William Powell. When gangster John Dillinger was shot to death after leaving a screening of the film at the Biograph Theater in Chicago, the film received widespread publicity, with some newspapers reporting that Loy had been Dillinger's favorite actress.
Myrna Loy and Clark Gable in Wife vs. Secretary, 1936
After appearing with Ramón Novarro in The Barbarian (1933), Loy was cast as Nora Charles in the 1934 film
The Thin Man became one of the year's biggest hits, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film.
Loy received excellent reviews and was acclaimed for her comedic skills. Her costar William Powell and she proved to be a popular screen couple and appeared in 14 films together, one of the most prolific pairings in Hollywood history. Loy later referred to The Thin Man as the film "that finally made me... after more than 80 films".
1938 During this period, Loy was one of Hollywood's busiest and highest-paid actresses, and in 1937 and 1938, she was listed in the annual "Quigley Poll of the Top Ten Money Making Stars", which was compiled from the votes of movie exhibitors throughout the United States for the stars who had generated the most revenue in their theaters over the previous year.
Myrna Loy in The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946
The Rains Came (1939) opposite Tyrone Power. She filmed Third Finger, Left Hand (1940) with Melvyn Douglas and appeared in I Love You Again (1940), Love Crazy (1941), and Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), all with William Powell.
With the outbreak of World War II, Loy all but abandoned her acting career to focus on the war effort and work closely with the Red Cross.
She was so fiercely outspoken against Adolf Hitler that her name appeared on his blacklist.
She helped run a Naval Auxiliary canteen and toured frequently to raise funds.
She returned to films with The Thin Man Goes Home (1945). In 1946, she played the wife of returning serviceman Fredric March in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). Throughout her career, she championed the rights of black actors and characters to be depicted with dignity on film. Loy was paired with Cary Grant in David O. Selznick's The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). The film co-starred a teenaged Shirley Temple. Following its success, she appeared again with Grant in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), and with Clifton Webb in Cheaper by the Dozen (1950).
PERSONAL LIFE
Loy was married and divorced four times:
1936–1942 Arthur Hornblow, Jr., producer
1942–1944 John Hertz, Jr. of the Hertz Rent A Car family
1946–1950 Gene Markey, producer and screenwriter
1951–1960 Howland H. Sargeant, UNESCO delegate
Loy had no children of her own, but was close to her stepchildren by first husband Arthur Hornblow. After her last marriage ended, she moved to 23 East 74th Street in Manhattan's Upper East Side. She later lived at 425 East 63rd Street[32]
Death and legacy
Myrna Loy's grave in Forestvale Cemetery, Helena, Montana
Loy died on December 14, 1993, in a Manhattan hospital during unspecified surgery.
She was 88 years old. She had been frail and in failing health. She was cremated in New York and her ashes interred at Forestvale Cemetery in her native Helena, Montana.[2]
For her contribution to the film industry, Myrna Loy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6685 Hollywood Boulevard.
A building at Sony Pictures Studios, formerly MGM Studios, in Culver City is named in her honor.[29] A cast of her handprint and her signature are in the sidewalk in front of Theater 80, on St. Mark's Place in New York City.[30]
In 1991, the Myrna Loy Center for the Performing and Media Arts opened in downtown Helena, not far from Loy's hometown. Located in the historic Lewis and Clark County Jail, it sponsors live performances and alternative films for underserved audiences.[31]
Although Loy was never nominated for a competitive Academy Award, in March 1991 she was presented with an Honorary Academy Award with the inscription
"In recognition of her extraordinary qualities both on screen and off, with appreciation for a lifetime's worth of indelible performances."
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