Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. 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).
==============================================================
==============================================================
============================================================
Died - December 14, 1993 (aged 88), New York City, U.S.
Resting place - Forestvale Cemetery, Helena, Montana, U.S.46.6562°N 112.0365°W
Education Westlake School for Girls - Venice High School
Occupation - Actress
Years active - 1925–1982
Political party - Democratic
Spouse(s)
1.Arthur Hornblow Jr.
(m. 1936; div. 1942)
2.John Hertz, Jr.
(m. 1942; div. 1944)
3.Gene Markey
(m. 1946; div. 1950)
4.Howland H. Sargeant
(m. 1951; div. 1960)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. 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).
Born in Helena, Montana, Loy was raised in rural Radersburg during her early childhood, before relocating to Los Angeles with her mother in her early adolescence. There, she began studying dance, and trained extensively throughout her high school education. She was discovered by production designer Natacha Rambova, who helped facilitate film auditions for her, and she began obtaining small roles in the late 1920s, mainly portraying vamps. Her role in The Thin Man helped elevate her reputation as a versatile actress, and she reprised the role of Nora Charles five more times.
Loy's career began to slow in the 1940s, and she appeared in only a few films in the 1950s, including a lead role in the comedy Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), as well as supporting parts in The Ambassador's Daughter (1956) and the drama Lonelyhearts (1958). She appeared in only eight films between 1960 and 1981, after which she retired from acting.
Although Loy was never nominated for an Academy Award, in March 1991 she received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her life's work both onscreen and off, including serving as assistant to the director of military and naval welfare for the Red Cross during World War II, and a member-at-large of the U.S. Commission to UNESCO. Loy died in December 1993 in New York City, aged 88.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#Loy (left) at age six, standing on her grandmother's porch in Helena, Montana, with her cousin Laura Belle Wilder (1911)
Loy was born Myrna Adele Williams on August 2, 1905, in Helena, Montana, the daughter of Adelle Mae (née Johnson) and rancher David Franklin Williams. Her parents had married in Helena in 1904, one year before Loy was born. She had one younger brother, David Frederick Williams (d. 1982). Loy's paternal grandfather, David Thomas Williams, was Welsh, and immigrated from Liverpool, England to the United States in 1856, arriving in Philadelphia. Unable to read or write in English, he later settled in the Montana Territory where he began a career as a rancher. Loy's maternal grandparents were Scottish and Swedish immigrants. During her childhood, her father worked as a banker, real estate developer, and farmland appraiser in Helena, and was the youngest man ever elected to serve in the Montana state legislature. Her mother had studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, and at one time considered a career as a concert performer, but instead devoted her time to raising Loy and her brother. Loy's mother was a lifelong Democrat, while her father was a staunch Republican. She was raised in the Methodist faith.
#Loy modeled for the central figure in Harry Fielding Winebrenner's Fountain of Education, a sculpture at Venice High School in Los Angeles (1922)
Loy spent her early life in Radersburg, Montana, a rural mining community approximately 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Helena. During the winter of 1912, Loy's mother nearly died from pneumonia, and her father sent his wife and daughter to La Jolla, California. Loy's mother saw great potential in Southern California, and during one of her husband's visits, she encouraged him to purchase real estate there. Among the properties he bought was land that he would later sell, at a considerable profit, to filmmaker Charlie Chaplin for his film studio there. Although her mother tried to persuade her husband to move to California permanently, he preferred ranch life and the three eventually returned to Montana. Soon afterward, Loy's mother needed a hysterectomy and insisted Los Angeles was a safer place to have it done, so she, Loy, and Loy's brother David moved to Ocean Park, where Loy began to take dancing lessons. After the family returned to Montana, Loy continued her dancing lessons, and at the age of 12, Myrna Williams made her stage debut performing a dance she had choreographed based on "The Blue Bird" from the Rose Dream operetta at Helena's Marlow Theater.'
When Loy was 12, her father died during the 1918 flu pandemic in November of that year. Loy's mother permanently relocated the family to California, where they settled in Culver City, outside Los Angeles. Loy attended the exclusive Westlake School for Girls while continuing to study dance in downtown Los Angeles. When her teachers objected to her extracurricular participation in theatrical arts, her mother enrolled her in Venice High School, and at 15, she began appearing in local stage productions.
In 1921, Loy posed for Venice High School sculpture teacher Harry Fielding Winebrenner as "Inspiration"; the full length figure was central in his allegorical sculpture group Fountain of Education. Completed in 1922, the sculpture group was installed in front of the campus outdoor pool in May 1923 where it stood for decades. Loy's slender figure with her uplifted face and one arm extending skyward presented a "vision of purity, grace, youthful vigor, and aspiration" that was singled out in a Los Angeles Times story that included a photo of the "Inspiration" figure along with the model's name—the first time her name appeared in a newspaper. A few months later, Loy's "Inspiration" figure was temporarily removed from the sculpture group and transported aboard the battleship Nevada for a Memorial Day pageant in which "Miss Myrna Williams" participated. Fountain of Education can be seen in the opening scenes of the 1978 film Grease. After decades of exposure to the elements and vandalism, the original concrete statue was removed from display in 2002, and replaced in 2010 by a bronze duplicate paid for through an alumni-led fundraising campaign.
Loy left school at the age of 18 to begin to help with the family's finances. She obtained work at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, where she performed in what were called prologues, elaborate musical sequences that were related to and served as preliminary entertainment before the feature film. During this period, Loy saw Eleonora Duse in the play Thy Will Be Done, and the simple acting techniques she employed made such an impact on Loy that she tried to emulate them throughout her career.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While Loy was dancing in prologues at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, portrait photographer Henry Waxman took several pictures of her that were noticed by Rudolph Valentino when the actor went to Waxman's studio for a sitting. Valentino was looking for a leading lady for Cobra, the first independent project he and his wife Natacha Rambova 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 she and fellow newcomer Joan Crawford were among a bevy of chorus girls dangling from an elaborate chandelier.
Rambova hired Loy for a small but showy role opposite Nita Naldi in What Price Beauty?, a film she was producing. Shot in May 1925, the film remained unreleased for three years; but stills of Loy in her exotic makeup and costume appeared in Motion Picture magazine and led to a contract with Warner Bros. There, 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), which she later recalled "kind of solidified my exotic non-American image." In 1930 she appeared in The Great Divide. It took years for her to overcome this stereotype, and as late as 1932, she was cast as a villainous Eurasian in Thirteen Women (1932). She also played, opposite Boris Karloff, the depraved sadistic daughter of the title character in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932).
In 1932, Loy began dating producer Arthur Hornblow Jr., when he was still married to his wife, Juliette Crosby. Prior to that, Loy appeared in small roles in The Jazz Singer and a number of early lavish Technicolor musicals, including The Show of Shows, The Bride of the Regiment, and Under a Texas Moon. As a result, she became associated with musical roles, and when they began to lose favor with the public, her career went into a slump. 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After appearing with Ramón Novarro in The Barbarian (1933), Loy was cast as Nora Charles in the 1934 film The Thin Man. Director W. S. Van Dyke chose Loy after he detected a wit and sense of humor that her previous films had not revealed. At a Hollywood party, he pushed her into a swimming pool to test her reaction, and felt that her aplomb in handling the situation was exactly what he envisioned for Nora. Louis B. Mayer at first refused to allow Loy to play the part because he felt she was a dramatic actress, but Van Dyke insisted. Mayer finally relented on the condition that filming be completed within three weeks, as Loy was committed to start filming Stamboul Quest. The Thin Man became one of the year's biggest hits, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. 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."
1. #Arthur Hornblow Jr. and Loy soon after their marriage in 1936
Her successes in Manhattan Melodrama and The Thin Man marked a turning point in her career, and she was cast in more important pictures. Such films as Wife vs. Secretary (1936) with Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, and Petticoat Fever (1936) with Robert Montgomery gave her opportunity to develop comedic skills. She made four films in close succession with William Powell: Libeled Lady (1936), which also starred Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy; The Great Ziegfeld (1936), in which she played Billie Burke opposite Powell's Florenz Ziegfeld; the second Thin Man film, After the Thin Man (1936), with Powell and James Stewart; and the romantic comedy Double Wedding (1937). Loy married Arthur Hornblow in 1936 in-between filming the successive productions. She was later rumored to have had affairs with co-star Tracy between 1935 and 1936 while filming Whipsaw and Libeled Lady.
#Loy with Clark Gable on the set of Too Hot to Handle, 1938
She also made three more films with Gable at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM): Parnell (1937) was a historical drama and one of the most poorly received films of either Loy's or Gable's career, but their other pairings in Test Pilot and Too Hot to Handle (both 1938) were successes. While working for MGM, Loy was outspoken about the studio's casting hierarchy, especially based on race, and was quoted as saying: "Why does every black person in the movies have to play a servant? How about a black person walking up the steps of a court house carrying a briefcase?"
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#Loy and Tyrone Power in The Rains Came (1939)
By the late 1930s, Loy was highly regarded for her performances in romantic comedies, and she was anxious to demonstrate her dramatic ability. She was cast in the lead female role in 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.
On June 1, 1942, Loy divorced husband Hornblow in Reno, citing "mental cruelty" as the impetus for separating. Five days after the divorce, she married John D. Hertz, Jr. an advertising executive and founder of Hertz Rent A Car, at his sister's home in New York City. They remained married for two years, eventually divorcing in Cuernavaca, Mexico, on August 21, 1944, with Loy again citing mental cruelty.
With the outbreak of World War II the same year, Loy all but abandoned her acting career to focus on the war effort and began devoting her time working with the Red Cross. She was so fiercely outspoken against Adolf Hitler that her name appeared on his blacklist, resulting in her films being banned in Germany. She also helped run a Naval Auxiliary canteen and toured frequently to raise funds for the war efforts. Around 1945, Loy began dating producer and screenwriter Gene Markey, who had previously been married to actresses Joan Bennett and Hedy Lamarr. The two were married in a private ceremony on January 3, 1946, at the chapel on Terminal Island, while Markey was serving in the military.
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). 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).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. #Loy and Howland H. Sargeant returning from a UNESCO conference soon after their marriage in 1951.
In 1950, Loy co-starred with Clifton Webb in Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), which was a box-office hit, grossing $4.4 million in the United States. The same year, she divorced Markey. Her fourth and final husband was Howland H. Sargeant, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and president of Radio Liberty, whom she married on June 2, 1951, in Fort Myer, Virginia. Sargeant, a Presbyterian, wanted the marriage officiated in the church, but they were unable to do so due to Loy's recent divorce.
Throughout the 1950s, Loy assumed an influential role as co-chairman of the Advisory Council of the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing. In 1948, she had become a member of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, the first Hollywood celebrity to do so. In 1952, she starred in the Cheaper by the Dozen sequel, Belles on Their Toes. In 1956, she appeared in The Ambassador's Daughter along with John Forsythe and Olivia de Havilland. She played opposite Montgomery Clift and Robert Ryan in Lonelyhearts (1958), Dore Schary's adaptation of Nathanael West's classic 1933 novel Miss Lonelyhearts. In 1960, she appeared in Midnight Lace and From the Terrace, but was not in another film until 1969 in The April Fools. In 1965, Loy won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre. Loy, a lifelong Democrat, publicly supported the election of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
After divorcing her fourth husband Sargeant in 1960, Loy relocated to 23 East 74th Street in Manhattan's Upper East Side. She later lived at 425 East 63rd Street. In 1967, she was cast in the television series The Virginian, appearing an episode titled "Lady of the House". In 1972, she appeared as the suspect's mother-in-law in the television series Columbo in an episode titled "Etude in Black". In 1974, she was a supporting actress in Airport 1975. Loy played Mrs. Devane, a heavy-drinking woman, imbibing Jim Beam and Olympia Beer mixed together. She played a foil to Sid Caesar. The film also starred Gloria Swanson. In 1975, Loy was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent two mastectomies to treat the disease. She kept her cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment from the public until the publication of her autobiography in 1987.
In 1978, she appeared in the film The End as the mother of the main character played by Burt Reynolds. Her last motion picture performance was in 1980 in Sidney Lumet's Just Tell Me What You Want. She also returned to the stage, making her Broadway debut in a short-lived 1973 revival of Clare Boothe Luce's The Women. She toured in a 1978 production of Alan Ayckbourn's Relatively Speaking, directed by David Clayton.
In 1981, she appeared in the television drama Summer Solstice, which was Henry Fonda's last performance. Her last acting role was a guest spot on the sitcom Love, Sidney, in 1982.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Her autobiography, Myrna Loy: Being and Becoming, was published in 1987. The following year, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center. Although Loy was never nominated for an Academy Award for any single performance, after an extensive letter-writing campaign and years of lobbying by screenwriter and then-Writers Guild of America, West board member Michael Russnow, who enlisted the support of Loy's former screen colleagues and friends such as Roddy McDowall, Sidney Sheldon, Harold Russell, and many others, she received a 1991 Academy Honorary Award "for her career achievement". She accepted via camera from her New York City home, simply stating, "You've made me very happy. Thank you very much." It was her last public appearance in any medium.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#Loy's grave in Helena, Montana
Loy died at age 88 on December 14, 1993, at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan during a surgery following a long, unspecified illness. She had been frail and in failing health, which had resulted in her being unable to attend the 1991 Academy Awards ceremony, where she was to receive a lifetime achievement Oscar. She was cremated in New York and her ashes interred at Forestvale Cemetery in her native Helena, Montana.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For her contribution to the film industry, 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. 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.
In 1991, the Myrna Loy Center for the Performing and Media Arts opened in downtown Helena, not far from Loy's childhood home. Located in the historic Lewis and Clark Country Jail, it sponsors live performances and alternative films for underserved audiences.
The songwriter Josh Ritter included a song about Loy on his 2017 album Gathering.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Myrna Loy filmography presents a chronology of the motion picture and television appearances of actress Myrna Loy. All of Loy's films released prior to The Desert Song (1929) were silent except where noted. All of Loy's films were produced in the United States except for That Dangerous Age (1949), which was produced in Great Britain. Her television credits are also listed.
Film
Year Title Role Director Other Players Notes
1925 What Price Beauty? Vamp Tom Buckingham Nita Naldi, Natacha Rambova released January 22, 1928, lost film
The Wanderer Girl at Baccanal
(uncredited) Raoul Walsh Greta Nissen, Wallace Beery Incomplete film
Pretty Ladies Ziegfeld Girl
(uncredited) Monta Bell ZaSu Pitts, Tom Moore, Ann Pennington Film survives, but Technicolor sequences are lost
Sporting Life Chorus Girl with Lord Wainwright
(uncredited) Maurice Tourneur Bert Lytell, Marian Nixon
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ Slave Girl
(uncredited) Fred Niblo Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy Technicolor sequences, cut from the film
1926 The Caveman Maid Lewis Milestone Matt Moore Film survives, but one reel is missing
The Love Toy Bit Part
(uncredited) Erle C. Kenton Lowell Sherman Lost film
Why Girls Go Back Home Sally Short James Flood Patsy Ruth Miller, Clive Brook Lost film
The Gilded Highway Inez Quartz J. Stuart Blackton Dorothy Devore Lost film
The Exquisite Sinner Living statue Phil Rosen
Josef von Sternberg Conrad Nagel, Renée Adorée
So This is Paris Maid Ernst Lubitsch Monte Blue, Patsy Ruth Miller
Don Juan
(soundtrack—music and sound effects) Mai, Lady in Waiting Alan Crosland John Barrymore, Mary Astor
Across the Pacific Roma Roy Del Ruth Monte Blue Lost film
The Third Degree Bit part
(uncredited) Michael Curtiz Dolores Costello
1927 Finger Prints Vamp Lloyd Bacon Louise Fazenda, Helene Costello Lost film
When a Man Loves
His Lady (UK title)
(soundtrack—music and sound effects) Convict behind Manon
(uncredited) Alan Crosland John Barrymore, Dolores Costello
Bitter Apples Belinda White Harry O. Hoyt Monte Blue Lost film
The Climbers Countess Veya Paul L. Stein Irene Rich Lost film
Simple Sis Edith Van Herman C. Raymaker Louise Fazenda, Clyde Cook Lost film
The Heart of Maryland Mulatta Lloyd Bacon Dolores Costello Incomplete film
A Sailor's Sweetheart Claudette Ralston Lloyd Bacon Louise Fazenda, Clyde Cook Incomplete film
The Jazz Singer
(Part Talkie) Chorus girl
(uncredited) Alan Crosland Al Jolson, May McAvoy
The Girl from Chicago Mary Carlton Ray Enright Conrad Nagel Lost film
If I Were Single Joan Whitley Roy Del Ruth May McAvoy, Conrad Nagel
Ham and Eggs at the Front Fifi Roy Del Ruth Tom Wilson, Louise Fazenda
1928 Beware of Married Men Juanita Sheldon Archie Mayo Irene Rich, Clyde Cook Lost film, only 4th reel survives
A Girl in Every Port Girl in China (uncredited) Howard Hawks Victor McLaglen, Robert Armstrong, Louise Brooks
Turn Back the Hours Tiza Torreon Howard Bretherton Walter Pidgeon
The Crimson City Isobel/State Street Sadie Archie Mayo Conrad Nagel
Pay as You Enter
(soundtrack—music and sound effects) Yvonne De Russo Lloyd Bacon Louise Fazenda, Clyde Cook Lost film
State Street Sadie
The Girl from State Street (UK)
(Part Talkie) Isobel Archie Mayo Conrad Nagel Lost film
The Midnight Taxi Gertie Fairfax John G. Adolfi Antonio Moreno, Helene Costello Silent version survives, but the talkie version is presumed lost
Noah's Ark
(Part Talkie) Dancer/Slave Girl Michael Curtiz Dolores Costello, George O'Brien, Noah Beery A 108 minute version of the film survives, but the original 2 hour and 15 minute version is lost
1929 Fancy Baggage
(Part Talkie) Myrna John G. Adolfi Audrey Ferris Lost film
Hardboiled Rose
(Part Talkie) Rose Duhamel F. Harmon Weight William Collier, Jr. Film survives, but the soundtrack is lost save for the fourth disc
The Desert Song Azuri Roy Del Ruth John Boles, Carlotta King Technicolor sequences are lost, only black and white version exists
The Black Watch
King of the Khyber Rifles (UK) Yasmani John Ford Victor McLaglen
The Squall Nubi Alexander Korda Alice Joyce, Loretta Young
The Great Divide Manuella Reginald Barker Dorothy Mackaill, Ian Keith
Evidence Native Girl John G. Adolfi Pauline Frederick Film is lost, but soundtrack survives
The Show of Shows Herself
("What Became of the Floradora Boys"
and "Chinese Fantasy" numbers) John G. Aldolphi All-Star Cast Technicolor
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1930 Cameo Kirby Lea Irving Cummings J. Harold Murray, Norma Terris
Isle of Escape Moira Howard Bretherton Monte Blue Lost film, only a 40 second fragment exists
Under a Texas Moon Lolita Romero Michael Curtiz Frank Fay Technicolor
Cock o' the Walk Narita Walter Lang
Roy William Neill Joseph Schildkraut Lost film
Bride of the Regiment
Lady of the Rose (UK) Sophie John Francis Dillon Vivienne Segal Technicolor, lost film, only soundtrack survives
The Last of the Duanes Lola Bland Alfred L. Werker George O'Brien
The Jazz Cinderella
Love Is Like That (UK) Mildred Vane Scott Pembroke Jason Robards, Sr.
The Bad Man Bit Part Clarence G. Badger Walter Huston Incomplete film; one reel is missing
Renegades Eleanore Victor Fleming Warner Baxter, Noah Beery, Bela Lugosi
The Truth About Youth Kara - the Firefly William A. Seiter Loretta Young, David Manners
Rogue of the Rio Grande Carmita Spencer Gordon Bennet José Bohr
The Devil to Pay! Mary Crayle George Fitzmaurice Ronald Colman, Loretta Young
1931 The Naughty Flirt Linda Gregory Edward F. Cline Alice White
Body and Soul Alice Lester Alfred Santell Charles Farrell, Elissa Landi, Humphrey Bogart
A Connecticut Yankee
The Yankee at King Arthur's Court (UK) Morgan le Fay David Butler Will Rogers
Hush Money Flo Curtis Sidney Lanfield Joan Bennett
Rebound Evie Lawrence Edward H. Griffith Ina Claire
Transatlantic Kay Graham William K. Howard Edmund Lowe, Lois Moran
Skyline Paula Lambert Sam Taylor Thomas Meighan, Maureen O'Sullivan
Consolation Marriage Elaine Brandon Paul Sloane Irene Dunne, Pat O'Brien
Arrowsmith Mrs. Joyce Lanyon John Ford Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes
1932 Emma Countess Isabelle "Izzy" Smith Marlin Clarence Brown Marie Dressler
Vanity Fair Becky Sharp Chester M. Franklin Conway Tearle
The Wet Parade Eileen Pinchon Victor Fleming Walter Huston
The Woman in Room 13 Sari Loder Henry King Elissa Landi, Ralph Bellamy
New Morals for Old Myra Charles Brabin Robert Young
Love Me Tonight Countess Valentine Rouben Mamoulian Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald
Thirteen Women Ursula Georgi George Archainbaud Irene Dunne, Peg Entwistle
The Mask of Fu Manchu Fah Lo See Charles Brabin Boris Karloff
The Animal Kingdom
The Woman in His House (UK) Cecilia "Cee" Henry Collier Edward H. Griffith Ann Harding, Leslie Howard
1933 Topaze Coco Harry D'Arrast John Barrymore
The Barbarian
A Night in Cairo (UK) Diana "Di" Standing Sam Wood Ramon Novarro
The Prizefighter and the Lady Belle W.S. Van Dyke Max Baer
When Ladies Meet Mary Howard Harry Beaumont Ann Harding, Robert Montgomery
Penthouse
Crooks in Clover (UK) Gertie Waxted W. S. Van Dyke Warner Baxter
Night Flight Wife of Brazilian pilot Clarence Brown John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable
Scarlet River Herself
(uncredited) Otto Brower Tom Keene
1934 Men in White Laura Hudson Ryszard Boleslawski Clark Gable
Manhattan Melodrama Eleanor Packer W.S. Van Dyke Clark Gable, William Powell
The Thin Man Nora Charles W.S. Van Dyke William Powell
Stamboul Quest Annemarie, aka Fräulein Doktor
and Helena Bohlen Sam Wood George Brent
Evelyn Prentice Evelyn Prentice William K. Howard William Powell, Rosalind Russell
Broadway Bill
Strictly Confidential (UK) Alice Higgins Frank Capra Warner Baxter, May Robson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1935 Wings in the Dark Sheila Mason James Flood Cary Grant
Whipsaw Vivian Palmer Sam Wood Spencer Tracy
1936 Wife vs. Secretary Linda Stanhope Clarence Brown Clark Gable, Jean Harlow
Petticoat Fever Irene Campton George Fitzmaurice Robert Montgomery
The Great Ziegfeld Billie Burke Robert Z. Leonard William Powell, Luise Rainer
To Mary - with Love Mary Wallace John Cromwell Warner Baxter
Libeled Lady Connie Allenbury Jack Conway Jean Harlow, William Powell, Spencer Tracy
After the Thin Man Nora Charles W.S. Van Dyke William Powell, James Stewart
1937 Parnell Mrs. Katie O'Shea John Stahl Clark Gable
Double Wedding Margit "Baby" Agnew Richard Thorpe William Powell
1938 Man-Proof Mimi Swift Richard Thorpe Franchot Tone, Rosalind Russell, Walter Pidgeon
Test Pilot Ann Barton Victor Fleming Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy
Too Hot to Handle Alma Harding Jack Conway Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon
Another Romance of Celluloid Herself
(uncredited)
1939 Lucky Night Cora Jordan Overton Norman Taurog Robert Taylor
The Rains Came Lady Edwina Esketh Clarence Brown Tyrone Power, George Brent Sepia
Another Thin Man Nora Charles W.S. Van Dyke William Powell
Verdensberømtheder i København Herself
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1940 I Love You Again Katherine "Kay" Wilson W.S. Van Dyke William Powell
Third Finger, Left Hand Margot Sherwood Merrick Robert Z. Leonard Melvyn Douglas
Northward, Ho! Herself
1941 Love Crazy Susan Ireland Jack Conway William Powell, Jack Carson
Shadow of the Thin Man Nora Charles W.S. Van Dyke William Powell, Donna Reed
1943 Show Business at War Herself Louis De Rochemont
1945 The Thin Man Goes Home Nora Charles Richard Thorpe William Powell
1946 So Goes My Love
A Genius in the Family (UK) Jane Frank Ryan Don Ameche
The Best Years of Our Lives Milly Stephenson William Wyler Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Virginia Mayo, Teresa Wright
1947 The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
Bachelor Knight (UK) Margaret Irving Reiss Cary Grant, Shirley Temple, Rudy Vallee
Song of the Thin Man Nora Charles Edward Buzzell William Powell, Dean Stockwell
The Senator Was Indiscreet
Mr. Ashton Was Indiscreet (UK) Mrs Ashton
(uncredited cameo appearance) George S. Kaufman William Powell, Ella Raines
1948 Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House Muriel Blandings H.C. Potter Cary Grant, Melvyn Douglas
1949 The Red Pony Alice Tiflin Lewis Milestone Robert Mitchum Technicolor
That Dangerous Age
If This Be Sin (US) Lady Cathy Brooke Gregory Ratoff Roger Livesey, Peggy Cummins, Richard Greene
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1950 Cheaper by the Dozen Mrs. Lillian Gilbreth Walter Lang Clifton Webb, Jeanne Crain Technicolor
1952 Belles on Their Toes Mrs. Lillian Gilbreth Henry Levin Jeanne Crain, Debra Paget, Jeffrey Hunter Technicolor
1956 The Ambassador's Daughter Mrs. Cartwright Norman Krasna Olivia de Havilland, John Forsythe, Adolphe Menjou CinemaScope
Deluxe color
1958 Lonelyhearts Florence Shrike Vincent J. Donehue Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan
1960 From the Terrace Martha Eaton Mark Robson Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward CinemaScope
Deluxe color
Midnight Lace Beatrice ("Aunt Bea") Vorman David Miller Doris Day, Rex Harrison
1969 The April Fools Grace Greenlaw Stuart Rosenberg Jack Lemmon, Catherine Deneuve, Charles Boyer Technicolor
1974 Airport 1975 Mrs. Devaney Jack Smight Charlton Heston, Gloria Swanson Technicolor
1978 The End Maureen Lawson Burt Reynolds Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Sally Field Deluxe color
1980 Just Tell Me What You Want Stella Liberti Sidney Lumet Ali MacGraw, Alan King Technicolor
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1955 General Electric Theater
(TV Episode: "It Gives Me Great Pleasure") Kate Kennedy Patric Knowles
1957 General Electric Theater
(TV Episode: "Lady of the House") Maggie Webster Robert Preston
General Electric Theater
(TV Episode: "Love Came Late") Allie Evans Melvyn Douglas
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
(TV Episode: "No Second Helpingre") Jill St. John
1959 Meet Me in St. Louis
(TV Special) Mrs. Smith George Schaefer Jane Powell, Walter Pidgeon, Jeanne Crain, Patty Duke, Tab Hunter
1960 The DuPont Show with June Allyson
(TV Episode: "Surprise Party") Mary Sidney Gerald Mohr, Mark Goddard
What's My Line?
(Episode: July 31) Mystery Guest
I've Got a Secret
Episode: November 30 Herself
1967 Family Affair
(TV Episode: "A Helping Hand") Adele William D. Russell Brian Keith, Sebastian Cabot color
1969 The Virginian
(TV Episode: "Lady of the House") Mrs. Miles Abner Biberman Doug McClure, James Drury color
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1970 The 42nd Annual Academy Awards Herself
(Presenter: Best Short Films, Art Direction, and Best Director) Jack Haley, Jr.
Richard Dunlap color
1971 Death Takes a Holiday
(TV movie) Selena Chapman Robert Butler Yvette Mimieux, Monte Markham Technicolor
1971 Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate
(TV movie) Evelyn Tryon Ted Post Helen Hayes, Mildred Natwick, Sylvia Sidney color
1972 Columbo (TV series)
(TV Episode: "Étude in Black") Lizzy Fielding Nicholas Colasanto Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Blythe Danner Technicolor
The Couple Takes a Wife
(TV movie) Mrs. Flanagan (Mother) Jerry Paris Bill Bixby, Paula Prentiss Technicolor
The Movie Game
(Episode: February 7 Herself Larry Blyden color
1973 Ironside
(TV Episode: "All About Andrea") Andrea Wollcott Raymond Burr color
1974 Indict and Convict
(TV movie) Judge Christine Tayloy Boris Sagal George Grizzard, William Shatner Technicolor
The Elevator
(TV movie) Amanda Kenyon Jerry Jameson James Farentino, Roddy McDowell Technicolor
ABC's Wide World of Entertainment
(Episode: "That's Entertainment! 50 Years of MGM") Herself color
1976 The American Film Institute Presents a Salute to William Wyler Herself William Wyler
(honoree) color
1977 It Happened at Lakewood Manor
(TV movie) Ethel Adams Robert Scheerer Suzanne Somers, Robert Foxworth color
1981 Summer Solstice
(TV movie) Margaret Turner Ralph Rosenblum Henry Fonda color
Henry Fonda and the Making of Summer Solstice Herself Henry Fonda color
1982 Love, Sidney
(TV Episode: "Sidney and the Actress") Vera Lonnigan Tony Randall color
Night of 100 Stars Herself Clark Jones color
1988 The Kennedy Center Honors:
A Celebration of the Performing Arts Herself
(Honoree) George Burns color
1991 The 63rd Annual Academy Awards Herself
(Honorary Award Recipient) Jeff Margolis Billy Crystal color
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Program Episode Ref.
1936 Lux Radio Theatre "The Thin Man"
1937 Maxwell House Good News of 1938 "Herself"
1940 The Gulf Screen Guild Theater "Single Crossing"
1940 Lux Radio Theatre "After The Thin Man"
1940 Lux Radio Theatre "Manhattan Melodrama"
1941 The Gulf Screen Guild Theater "Magnificent Obsession"
1941 Lux Radio Theatre "I Love You Again"
1941 Lux Radio Theatre "Hired Wife"
1942 Lux Radio Theatre "Appointment For Love"
1945 Suspense "Library Book"
THE END.
=============================================================
==============================================================
10/12/2019.
Myrna Loy - Actress
============================================================1. Profile :
Loy c. 1930s
Born - Myrna Adele Williams, August 2, 1905, Helena, Montana, U.S.Died - December 14, 1993 (aged 88), New York City, U.S.
Resting place - Forestvale Cemetery, Helena, Montana, U.S.46.6562°N 112.0365°W
Education Westlake School for Girls - Venice High School
Occupation - Actress
Years active - 1925–1982
Political party - Democratic
Spouse(s)
1.Arthur Hornblow Jr.
(m. 1936; div. 1942)
2.John Hertz, Jr.
(m. 1942; div. 1944)
3.Gene Markey
(m. 1946; div. 1950)
4.Howland H. Sargeant
(m. 1951; div. 1960)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Introduction :
Born in Helena, Montana, Loy was raised in rural Radersburg during her early childhood, before relocating to Los Angeles with her mother in her early adolescence. There, she began studying dance, and trained extensively throughout her high school education. She was discovered by production designer Natacha Rambova, who helped facilitate film auditions for her, and she began obtaining small roles in the late 1920s, mainly portraying vamps. Her role in The Thin Man helped elevate her reputation as a versatile actress, and she reprised the role of Nora Charles five more times.
Loy's career began to slow in the 1940s, and she appeared in only a few films in the 1950s, including a lead role in the comedy Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), as well as supporting parts in The Ambassador's Daughter (1956) and the drama Lonelyhearts (1958). She appeared in only eight films between 1960 and 1981, after which she retired from acting.
Although Loy was never nominated for an Academy Award, in March 1991 she received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her life's work both onscreen and off, including serving as assistant to the director of military and naval welfare for the Red Cross during World War II, and a member-at-large of the U.S. Commission to UNESCO. Loy died in December 1993 in New York City, aged 88.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Life and career :
3.1. 1905–1924: Early life :
Loy was born Myrna Adele Williams on August 2, 1905, in Helena, Montana, the daughter of Adelle Mae (née Johnson) and rancher David Franklin Williams. Her parents had married in Helena in 1904, one year before Loy was born. She had one younger brother, David Frederick Williams (d. 1982). Loy's paternal grandfather, David Thomas Williams, was Welsh, and immigrated from Liverpool, England to the United States in 1856, arriving in Philadelphia. Unable to read or write in English, he later settled in the Montana Territory where he began a career as a rancher. Loy's maternal grandparents were Scottish and Swedish immigrants. During her childhood, her father worked as a banker, real estate developer, and farmland appraiser in Helena, and was the youngest man ever elected to serve in the Montana state legislature. Her mother had studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, and at one time considered a career as a concert performer, but instead devoted her time to raising Loy and her brother. Loy's mother was a lifelong Democrat, while her father was a staunch Republican. She was raised in the Methodist faith.
#Loy modeled for the central figure in Harry Fielding Winebrenner's Fountain of Education, a sculpture at Venice High School in Los Angeles (1922)
Loy spent her early life in Radersburg, Montana, a rural mining community approximately 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Helena. During the winter of 1912, Loy's mother nearly died from pneumonia, and her father sent his wife and daughter to La Jolla, California. Loy's mother saw great potential in Southern California, and during one of her husband's visits, she encouraged him to purchase real estate there. Among the properties he bought was land that he would later sell, at a considerable profit, to filmmaker Charlie Chaplin for his film studio there. Although her mother tried to persuade her husband to move to California permanently, he preferred ranch life and the three eventually returned to Montana. Soon afterward, Loy's mother needed a hysterectomy and insisted Los Angeles was a safer place to have it done, so she, Loy, and Loy's brother David moved to Ocean Park, where Loy began to take dancing lessons. After the family returned to Montana, Loy continued her dancing lessons, and at the age of 12, Myrna Williams made her stage debut performing a dance she had choreographed based on "The Blue Bird" from the Rose Dream operetta at Helena's Marlow Theater.'
When Loy was 12, her father died during the 1918 flu pandemic in November of that year. Loy's mother permanently relocated the family to California, where they settled in Culver City, outside Los Angeles. Loy attended the exclusive Westlake School for Girls while continuing to study dance in downtown Los Angeles. When her teachers objected to her extracurricular participation in theatrical arts, her mother enrolled her in Venice High School, and at 15, she began appearing in local stage productions.
In 1921, Loy posed for Venice High School sculpture teacher Harry Fielding Winebrenner as "Inspiration"; the full length figure was central in his allegorical sculpture group Fountain of Education. Completed in 1922, the sculpture group was installed in front of the campus outdoor pool in May 1923 where it stood for decades. Loy's slender figure with her uplifted face and one arm extending skyward presented a "vision of purity, grace, youthful vigor, and aspiration" that was singled out in a Los Angeles Times story that included a photo of the "Inspiration" figure along with the model's name—the first time her name appeared in a newspaper. A few months later, Loy's "Inspiration" figure was temporarily removed from the sculpture group and transported aboard the battleship Nevada for a Memorial Day pageant in which "Miss Myrna Williams" participated. Fountain of Education can be seen in the opening scenes of the 1978 film Grease. After decades of exposure to the elements and vandalism, the original concrete statue was removed from display in 2002, and replaced in 2010 by a bronze duplicate paid for through an alumni-led fundraising campaign.
Loy left school at the age of 18 to begin to help with the family's finances. She obtained work at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, where she performed in what were called prologues, elaborate musical sequences that were related to and served as preliminary entertainment before the feature film. During this period, Loy saw Eleonora Duse in the play Thy Will Be Done, and the simple acting techniques she employed made such an impact on Loy that she tried to emulate them throughout her career.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2. 1925–1932: Career beginnings :
#In its September 1925 issue, Motion Picture magazine featured two Henry Waxman photographs of Loy, costumed by Adrian, as she appeared in What Price Beauty?
While Loy was dancing in prologues at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, portrait photographer Henry Waxman took several pictures of her that were noticed by Rudolph Valentino when the actor went to Waxman's studio for a sitting. Valentino was looking for a leading lady for Cobra, the first independent project he and his wife Natacha Rambova 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 she and fellow newcomer Joan Crawford were among a bevy of chorus girls dangling from an elaborate chandelier.
Rambova hired Loy for a small but showy role opposite Nita Naldi in What Price Beauty?, a film she was producing. Shot in May 1925, the film remained unreleased for three years; but stills of Loy in her exotic makeup and costume appeared in Motion Picture magazine and led to a contract with Warner Bros. There, 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), which she later recalled "kind of solidified my exotic non-American image." In 1930 she appeared in The Great Divide. It took years for her to overcome this stereotype, and as late as 1932, she was cast as a villainous Eurasian in Thirteen Women (1932). She also played, opposite Boris Karloff, the depraved sadistic daughter of the title character in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932).
In 1932, Loy began dating producer Arthur Hornblow Jr., when he was still married to his wife, Juliette Crosby. Prior to that, Loy appeared in small roles in The Jazz Singer and a number of early lavish Technicolor musicals, including The Show of Shows, The Bride of the Regiment, and Under a Texas Moon. As a result, she became associated with musical roles, and when they began to lose favor with the public, her career went into a slump. 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.3. 1933–1938: Rise to stardom :
#Loy, William Powell and Asta in The Thin Man (1934)
After appearing with Ramón Novarro in The Barbarian (1933), Loy was cast as Nora Charles in the 1934 film The Thin Man. Director W. S. Van Dyke chose Loy after he detected a wit and sense of humor that her previous films had not revealed. At a Hollywood party, he pushed her into a swimming pool to test her reaction, and felt that her aplomb in handling the situation was exactly what he envisioned for Nora. Louis B. Mayer at first refused to allow Loy to play the part because he felt she was a dramatic actress, but Van Dyke insisted. Mayer finally relented on the condition that filming be completed within three weeks, as Loy was committed to start filming Stamboul Quest. The Thin Man became one of the year's biggest hits, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. 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."
Her successes in Manhattan Melodrama and The Thin Man marked a turning point in her career, and she was cast in more important pictures. Such films as Wife vs. Secretary (1936) with Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, and Petticoat Fever (1936) with Robert Montgomery gave her opportunity to develop comedic skills. She made four films in close succession with William Powell: Libeled Lady (1936), which also starred Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy; The Great Ziegfeld (1936), in which she played Billie Burke opposite Powell's Florenz Ziegfeld; the second Thin Man film, After the Thin Man (1936), with Powell and James Stewart; and the romantic comedy Double Wedding (1937). Loy married Arthur Hornblow in 1936 in-between filming the successive productions. She was later rumored to have had affairs with co-star Tracy between 1935 and 1936 while filming Whipsaw and Libeled Lady.
She also made three more films with Gable at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM): Parnell (1937) was a historical drama and one of the most poorly received films of either Loy's or Gable's career, but their other pairings in Test Pilot and Too Hot to Handle (both 1938) were successes. While working for MGM, Loy was outspoken about the studio's casting hierarchy, especially based on race, and was quoted as saying: "Why does every black person in the movies have to play a servant? How about a black person walking up the steps of a court house carrying a briefcase?"
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. 1939–1949: Mainstream work and war activism :
By the late 1930s, Loy was highly regarded for her performances in romantic comedies, and she was anxious to demonstrate her dramatic ability. She was cast in the lead female role in 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.
On June 1, 1942, Loy divorced husband Hornblow in Reno, citing "mental cruelty" as the impetus for separating. Five days after the divorce, she married John D. Hertz, Jr. an advertising executive and founder of Hertz Rent A Car, at his sister's home in New York City. They remained married for two years, eventually divorcing in Cuernavaca, Mexico, on August 21, 1944, with Loy again citing mental cruelty.
With the outbreak of World War II the same year, Loy all but abandoned her acting career to focus on the war effort and began devoting her time working with the Red Cross. She was so fiercely outspoken against Adolf Hitler that her name appeared on his blacklist, resulting in her films being banned in Germany. She also helped run a Naval Auxiliary canteen and toured frequently to raise funds for the war efforts. Around 1945, Loy began dating producer and screenwriter Gene Markey, who had previously been married to actresses Joan Bennett and Hedy Lamarr. The two were married in a private ceremony on January 3, 1946, at the chapel on Terminal Island, while Markey was serving in the military.
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). 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).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. 1950–1982: Later career and political activities ;
In 1950, Loy co-starred with Clifton Webb in Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), which was a box-office hit, grossing $4.4 million in the United States. The same year, she divorced Markey. Her fourth and final husband was Howland H. Sargeant, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and president of Radio Liberty, whom she married on June 2, 1951, in Fort Myer, Virginia. Sargeant, a Presbyterian, wanted the marriage officiated in the church, but they were unable to do so due to Loy's recent divorce.
Throughout the 1950s, Loy assumed an influential role as co-chairman of the Advisory Council of the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing. In 1948, she had become a member of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, the first Hollywood celebrity to do so. In 1952, she starred in the Cheaper by the Dozen sequel, Belles on Their Toes. In 1956, she appeared in The Ambassador's Daughter along with John Forsythe and Olivia de Havilland. She played opposite Montgomery Clift and Robert Ryan in Lonelyhearts (1958), Dore Schary's adaptation of Nathanael West's classic 1933 novel Miss Lonelyhearts. In 1960, she appeared in Midnight Lace and From the Terrace, but was not in another film until 1969 in The April Fools. In 1965, Loy won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre. Loy, a lifelong Democrat, publicly supported the election of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
After divorcing her fourth husband Sargeant in 1960, Loy relocated to 23 East 74th Street in Manhattan's Upper East Side. She later lived at 425 East 63rd Street. In 1967, she was cast in the television series The Virginian, appearing an episode titled "Lady of the House". In 1972, she appeared as the suspect's mother-in-law in the television series Columbo in an episode titled "Etude in Black". In 1974, she was a supporting actress in Airport 1975. Loy played Mrs. Devane, a heavy-drinking woman, imbibing Jim Beam and Olympia Beer mixed together. She played a foil to Sid Caesar. The film also starred Gloria Swanson. In 1975, Loy was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent two mastectomies to treat the disease. She kept her cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment from the public until the publication of her autobiography in 1987.
In 1978, she appeared in the film The End as the mother of the main character played by Burt Reynolds. Her last motion picture performance was in 1980 in Sidney Lumet's Just Tell Me What You Want. She also returned to the stage, making her Broadway debut in a short-lived 1973 revival of Clare Boothe Luce's The Women. She toured in a 1978 production of Alan Ayckbourn's Relatively Speaking, directed by David Clayton.
In 1981, she appeared in the television drama Summer Solstice, which was Henry Fonda's last performance. Her last acting role was a guest spot on the sitcom Love, Sidney, in 1982.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. 1983–1993: Final years :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Death :
Loy died at age 88 on December 14, 1993, at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan during a surgery following a long, unspecified illness. She had been frail and in failing health, which had resulted in her being unable to attend the 1991 Academy Awards ceremony, where she was to receive a lifetime achievement Oscar. She was cremated in New York and her ashes interred at Forestvale Cemetery in her native Helena, Montana.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Legacy :
For her contribution to the film industry, 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. 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.
In 1991, the Myrna Loy Center for the Performing and Media Arts opened in downtown Helena, not far from Loy's childhood home. Located in the historic Lewis and Clark Country Jail, it sponsors live performances and alternative films for underserved audiences.
The songwriter Josh Ritter included a song about Loy on his 2017 album Gathering.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Myrna Loy filmography :
#Myrna Loy publicity portrait
The Myrna Loy filmography presents a chronology of the motion picture and television appearances of actress Myrna Loy. All of Loy's films released prior to The Desert Song (1929) were silent except where noted. All of Loy's films were produced in the United States except for That Dangerous Age (1949), which was produced in Great Britain. Her television credits are also listed.
Film
Year Title Role Director Other Players Notes
1925–1929 :
The Wanderer Girl at Baccanal
(uncredited) Raoul Walsh Greta Nissen, Wallace Beery Incomplete film
Pretty Ladies Ziegfeld Girl
(uncredited) Monta Bell ZaSu Pitts, Tom Moore, Ann Pennington Film survives, but Technicolor sequences are lost
Sporting Life Chorus Girl with Lord Wainwright
(uncredited) Maurice Tourneur Bert Lytell, Marian Nixon
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ Slave Girl
(uncredited) Fred Niblo Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy Technicolor sequences, cut from the film
1926 The Caveman Maid Lewis Milestone Matt Moore Film survives, but one reel is missing
The Love Toy Bit Part
(uncredited) Erle C. Kenton Lowell Sherman Lost film
Why Girls Go Back Home Sally Short James Flood Patsy Ruth Miller, Clive Brook Lost film
The Gilded Highway Inez Quartz J. Stuart Blackton Dorothy Devore Lost film
The Exquisite Sinner Living statue Phil Rosen
Josef von Sternberg Conrad Nagel, Renée Adorée
So This is Paris Maid Ernst Lubitsch Monte Blue, Patsy Ruth Miller
Don Juan
(soundtrack—music and sound effects) Mai, Lady in Waiting Alan Crosland John Barrymore, Mary Astor
Across the Pacific Roma Roy Del Ruth Monte Blue Lost film
The Third Degree Bit part
(uncredited) Michael Curtiz Dolores Costello
1927 Finger Prints Vamp Lloyd Bacon Louise Fazenda, Helene Costello Lost film
When a Man Loves
His Lady (UK title)
(soundtrack—music and sound effects) Convict behind Manon
(uncredited) Alan Crosland John Barrymore, Dolores Costello
Bitter Apples Belinda White Harry O. Hoyt Monte Blue Lost film
The Climbers Countess Veya Paul L. Stein Irene Rich Lost film
Simple Sis Edith Van Herman C. Raymaker Louise Fazenda, Clyde Cook Lost film
The Heart of Maryland Mulatta Lloyd Bacon Dolores Costello Incomplete film
A Sailor's Sweetheart Claudette Ralston Lloyd Bacon Louise Fazenda, Clyde Cook Incomplete film
The Jazz Singer
(Part Talkie) Chorus girl
(uncredited) Alan Crosland Al Jolson, May McAvoy
The Girl from Chicago Mary Carlton Ray Enright Conrad Nagel Lost film
If I Were Single Joan Whitley Roy Del Ruth May McAvoy, Conrad Nagel
Ham and Eggs at the Front Fifi Roy Del Ruth Tom Wilson, Louise Fazenda
1928 Beware of Married Men Juanita Sheldon Archie Mayo Irene Rich, Clyde Cook Lost film, only 4th reel survives
A Girl in Every Port Girl in China (uncredited) Howard Hawks Victor McLaglen, Robert Armstrong, Louise Brooks
Turn Back the Hours Tiza Torreon Howard Bretherton Walter Pidgeon
The Crimson City Isobel/State Street Sadie Archie Mayo Conrad Nagel
Pay as You Enter
(soundtrack—music and sound effects) Yvonne De Russo Lloyd Bacon Louise Fazenda, Clyde Cook Lost film
State Street Sadie
The Girl from State Street (UK)
(Part Talkie) Isobel Archie Mayo Conrad Nagel Lost film
The Midnight Taxi Gertie Fairfax John G. Adolfi Antonio Moreno, Helene Costello Silent version survives, but the talkie version is presumed lost
Noah's Ark
(Part Talkie) Dancer/Slave Girl Michael Curtiz Dolores Costello, George O'Brien, Noah Beery A 108 minute version of the film survives, but the original 2 hour and 15 minute version is lost
1929 Fancy Baggage
(Part Talkie) Myrna John G. Adolfi Audrey Ferris Lost film
Hardboiled Rose
(Part Talkie) Rose Duhamel F. Harmon Weight William Collier, Jr. Film survives, but the soundtrack is lost save for the fourth disc
The Desert Song Azuri Roy Del Ruth John Boles, Carlotta King Technicolor sequences are lost, only black and white version exists
The Black Watch
King of the Khyber Rifles (UK) Yasmani John Ford Victor McLaglen
The Squall Nubi Alexander Korda Alice Joyce, Loretta Young
The Great Divide Manuella Reginald Barker Dorothy Mackaill, Ian Keith
Evidence Native Girl John G. Adolfi Pauline Frederick Film is lost, but soundtrack survives
The Show of Shows Herself
("What Became of the Floradora Boys"
and "Chinese Fantasy" numbers) John G. Aldolphi All-Star Cast Technicolor
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1930–1934 :
Isle of Escape Moira Howard Bretherton Monte Blue Lost film, only a 40 second fragment exists
Under a Texas Moon Lolita Romero Michael Curtiz Frank Fay Technicolor
Cock o' the Walk Narita Walter Lang
Roy William Neill Joseph Schildkraut Lost film
Bride of the Regiment
Lady of the Rose (UK) Sophie John Francis Dillon Vivienne Segal Technicolor, lost film, only soundtrack survives
The Last of the Duanes Lola Bland Alfred L. Werker George O'Brien
The Jazz Cinderella
Love Is Like That (UK) Mildred Vane Scott Pembroke Jason Robards, Sr.
The Bad Man Bit Part Clarence G. Badger Walter Huston Incomplete film; one reel is missing
Renegades Eleanore Victor Fleming Warner Baxter, Noah Beery, Bela Lugosi
The Truth About Youth Kara - the Firefly William A. Seiter Loretta Young, David Manners
Rogue of the Rio Grande Carmita Spencer Gordon Bennet José Bohr
The Devil to Pay! Mary Crayle George Fitzmaurice Ronald Colman, Loretta Young
1931 The Naughty Flirt Linda Gregory Edward F. Cline Alice White
Body and Soul Alice Lester Alfred Santell Charles Farrell, Elissa Landi, Humphrey Bogart
A Connecticut Yankee
The Yankee at King Arthur's Court (UK) Morgan le Fay David Butler Will Rogers
Hush Money Flo Curtis Sidney Lanfield Joan Bennett
Rebound Evie Lawrence Edward H. Griffith Ina Claire
Transatlantic Kay Graham William K. Howard Edmund Lowe, Lois Moran
Skyline Paula Lambert Sam Taylor Thomas Meighan, Maureen O'Sullivan
Consolation Marriage Elaine Brandon Paul Sloane Irene Dunne, Pat O'Brien
Arrowsmith Mrs. Joyce Lanyon John Ford Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes
1932 Emma Countess Isabelle "Izzy" Smith Marlin Clarence Brown Marie Dressler
Vanity Fair Becky Sharp Chester M. Franklin Conway Tearle
The Wet Parade Eileen Pinchon Victor Fleming Walter Huston
The Woman in Room 13 Sari Loder Henry King Elissa Landi, Ralph Bellamy
New Morals for Old Myra Charles Brabin Robert Young
Love Me Tonight Countess Valentine Rouben Mamoulian Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald
Thirteen Women Ursula Georgi George Archainbaud Irene Dunne, Peg Entwistle
The Mask of Fu Manchu Fah Lo See Charles Brabin Boris Karloff
The Animal Kingdom
The Woman in His House (UK) Cecilia "Cee" Henry Collier Edward H. Griffith Ann Harding, Leslie Howard
1933 Topaze Coco Harry D'Arrast John Barrymore
The Barbarian
A Night in Cairo (UK) Diana "Di" Standing Sam Wood Ramon Novarro
The Prizefighter and the Lady Belle W.S. Van Dyke Max Baer
When Ladies Meet Mary Howard Harry Beaumont Ann Harding, Robert Montgomery
Penthouse
Crooks in Clover (UK) Gertie Waxted W. S. Van Dyke Warner Baxter
Night Flight Wife of Brazilian pilot Clarence Brown John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable
Scarlet River Herself
(uncredited) Otto Brower Tom Keene
1934 Men in White Laura Hudson Ryszard Boleslawski Clark Gable
Manhattan Melodrama Eleanor Packer W.S. Van Dyke Clark Gable, William Powell
The Thin Man Nora Charles W.S. Van Dyke William Powell
Stamboul Quest Annemarie, aka Fräulein Doktor
and Helena Bohlen Sam Wood George Brent
Evelyn Prentice Evelyn Prentice William K. Howard William Powell, Rosalind Russell
Broadway Bill
Strictly Confidential (UK) Alice Higgins Frank Capra Warner Baxter, May Robson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1935–1939 :
Whipsaw Vivian Palmer Sam Wood Spencer Tracy
1936 Wife vs. Secretary Linda Stanhope Clarence Brown Clark Gable, Jean Harlow
Petticoat Fever Irene Campton George Fitzmaurice Robert Montgomery
The Great Ziegfeld Billie Burke Robert Z. Leonard William Powell, Luise Rainer
To Mary - with Love Mary Wallace John Cromwell Warner Baxter
Libeled Lady Connie Allenbury Jack Conway Jean Harlow, William Powell, Spencer Tracy
After the Thin Man Nora Charles W.S. Van Dyke William Powell, James Stewart
1937 Parnell Mrs. Katie O'Shea John Stahl Clark Gable
Double Wedding Margit "Baby" Agnew Richard Thorpe William Powell
1938 Man-Proof Mimi Swift Richard Thorpe Franchot Tone, Rosalind Russell, Walter Pidgeon
Test Pilot Ann Barton Victor Fleming Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy
Too Hot to Handle Alma Harding Jack Conway Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon
Another Romance of Celluloid Herself
(uncredited)
1939 Lucky Night Cora Jordan Overton Norman Taurog Robert Taylor
The Rains Came Lady Edwina Esketh Clarence Brown Tyrone Power, George Brent Sepia
Another Thin Man Nora Charles W.S. Van Dyke William Powell
Verdensberømtheder i København Herself
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1940–1949 :
Third Finger, Left Hand Margot Sherwood Merrick Robert Z. Leonard Melvyn Douglas
Northward, Ho! Herself
1941 Love Crazy Susan Ireland Jack Conway William Powell, Jack Carson
Shadow of the Thin Man Nora Charles W.S. Van Dyke William Powell, Donna Reed
1943 Show Business at War Herself Louis De Rochemont
1945 The Thin Man Goes Home Nora Charles Richard Thorpe William Powell
1946 So Goes My Love
A Genius in the Family (UK) Jane Frank Ryan Don Ameche
The Best Years of Our Lives Milly Stephenson William Wyler Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Virginia Mayo, Teresa Wright
1947 The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
Bachelor Knight (UK) Margaret Irving Reiss Cary Grant, Shirley Temple, Rudy Vallee
Song of the Thin Man Nora Charles Edward Buzzell William Powell, Dean Stockwell
The Senator Was Indiscreet
Mr. Ashton Was Indiscreet (UK) Mrs Ashton
(uncredited cameo appearance) George S. Kaufman William Powell, Ella Raines
1948 Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House Muriel Blandings H.C. Potter Cary Grant, Melvyn Douglas
1949 The Red Pony Alice Tiflin Lewis Milestone Robert Mitchum Technicolor
That Dangerous Age
If This Be Sin (US) Lady Cathy Brooke Gregory Ratoff Roger Livesey, Peggy Cummins, Richard Greene
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1950–1980 :
1952 Belles on Their Toes Mrs. Lillian Gilbreth Henry Levin Jeanne Crain, Debra Paget, Jeffrey Hunter Technicolor
1956 The Ambassador's Daughter Mrs. Cartwright Norman Krasna Olivia de Havilland, John Forsythe, Adolphe Menjou CinemaScope
Deluxe color
1958 Lonelyhearts Florence Shrike Vincent J. Donehue Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan
1960 From the Terrace Martha Eaton Mark Robson Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward CinemaScope
Deluxe color
Midnight Lace Beatrice ("Aunt Bea") Vorman David Miller Doris Day, Rex Harrison
1969 The April Fools Grace Greenlaw Stuart Rosenberg Jack Lemmon, Catherine Deneuve, Charles Boyer Technicolor
1974 Airport 1975 Mrs. Devaney Jack Smight Charlton Heston, Gloria Swanson Technicolor
1978 The End Maureen Lawson Burt Reynolds Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Sally Field Deluxe color
1980 Just Tell Me What You Want Stella Liberti Sidney Lumet Ali MacGraw, Alan King Technicolor
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.Television :
Year Title Role Director Other Players Filmed in1955–1969 :
(TV Episode: "It Gives Me Great Pleasure") Kate Kennedy Patric Knowles
1957 General Electric Theater
(TV Episode: "Lady of the House") Maggie Webster Robert Preston
General Electric Theater
(TV Episode: "Love Came Late") Allie Evans Melvyn Douglas
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
(TV Episode: "No Second Helpingre") Jill St. John
1959 Meet Me in St. Louis
(TV Special) Mrs. Smith George Schaefer Jane Powell, Walter Pidgeon, Jeanne Crain, Patty Duke, Tab Hunter
1960 The DuPont Show with June Allyson
(TV Episode: "Surprise Party") Mary Sidney Gerald Mohr, Mark Goddard
What's My Line?
(Episode: July 31) Mystery Guest
I've Got a Secret
Episode: November 30 Herself
1967 Family Affair
(TV Episode: "A Helping Hand") Adele William D. Russell Brian Keith, Sebastian Cabot color
1969 The Virginian
(TV Episode: "Lady of the House") Mrs. Miles Abner Biberman Doug McClure, James Drury color
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1970–1991 :
(Presenter: Best Short Films, Art Direction, and Best Director) Jack Haley, Jr.
Richard Dunlap color
1971 Death Takes a Holiday
(TV movie) Selena Chapman Robert Butler Yvette Mimieux, Monte Markham Technicolor
1971 Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate
(TV movie) Evelyn Tryon Ted Post Helen Hayes, Mildred Natwick, Sylvia Sidney color
1972 Columbo (TV series)
(TV Episode: "Étude in Black") Lizzy Fielding Nicholas Colasanto Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Blythe Danner Technicolor
The Couple Takes a Wife
(TV movie) Mrs. Flanagan (Mother) Jerry Paris Bill Bixby, Paula Prentiss Technicolor
The Movie Game
(Episode: February 7 Herself Larry Blyden color
1973 Ironside
(TV Episode: "All About Andrea") Andrea Wollcott Raymond Burr color
1974 Indict and Convict
(TV movie) Judge Christine Tayloy Boris Sagal George Grizzard, William Shatner Technicolor
The Elevator
(TV movie) Amanda Kenyon Jerry Jameson James Farentino, Roddy McDowell Technicolor
ABC's Wide World of Entertainment
(Episode: "That's Entertainment! 50 Years of MGM") Herself color
1976 The American Film Institute Presents a Salute to William Wyler Herself William Wyler
(honoree) color
1977 It Happened at Lakewood Manor
(TV movie) Ethel Adams Robert Scheerer Suzanne Somers, Robert Foxworth color
1981 Summer Solstice
(TV movie) Margaret Turner Ralph Rosenblum Henry Fonda color
Henry Fonda and the Making of Summer Solstice Herself Henry Fonda color
1982 Love, Sidney
(TV Episode: "Sidney and the Actress") Vera Lonnigan Tony Randall color
Night of 100 Stars Herself Clark Jones color
1988 The Kennedy Center Honors:
A Celebration of the Performing Arts Herself
(Honoree) George Burns color
1991 The 63rd Annual Academy Awards Herself
(Honorary Award Recipient) Jeff Margolis Billy Crystal color
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Radio appearances :
1936 Lux Radio Theatre "The Thin Man"
1937 Maxwell House Good News of 1938 "Herself"
1940 The Gulf Screen Guild Theater "Single Crossing"
1940 Lux Radio Theatre "After The Thin Man"
1940 Lux Radio Theatre "Manhattan Melodrama"
1941 The Gulf Screen Guild Theater "Magnificent Obsession"
1941 Lux Radio Theatre "I Love You Again"
1941 Lux Radio Theatre "Hired Wife"
1942 Lux Radio Theatre "Appointment For Love"
1945 Suspense "Library Book"
THE END.
=============================================================
Comments
Post a Comment