Myrna Loy was born Myrna Williams on August 2, 1905 in Radersburg, Montana, the daughter of a cattle baron who died when she was twelve. Her family moved to Los Angeles and she was educated at the Westlake School for Girls. She had some stage experience performing in shows at Grauman's Theatre. She was discovered by Mrs. Rudolph Valentino and danced in chorus lines before making her screen debut in Pretty Ladies[1925]. She was often chosen to play exotic femme fatales early in her career because her auburn hair photographed much darker and her features, especially her eyes, suggested her as Oriental. She worked steadily in silent films, including The Jazz Singer [1927].
Loy's weak, high pitched voice made her transition to talkies difficult. She was often cast as Oriental or Mexican vamps in her early sound films. Her performance in Penthouse [1933] convinced the MGM brass to cast her opposite William Powell in the first of the six "Thin Man" features, 1934's The Thin Man in which she portrayed Nora Charles. The film was a huge success and catapaulted her to Hollywood stardom. She became Hollywood's "perfect" wife, bright, witty and humorous. Some of Loy's best appearances include Manhattan Melodrama [1934], the film John Dillinger "just had to see" much to his regret, I'm sure, The Great Ziegfeld [1936], Libeled Lady [1936], Wife vs. Secretary [1936], Test Pilot [1938], and Too Hot to Handle [1938]. In 1937 she was crowned the "Queen of Hollywood" by Ed Sullivan opposite Clark Gable's "King".
Loy took a hiatus from filmmaking during World War II except for a stint as Nora Charles to devote herself to Red Cross work and selling war bonds.
She returned to the movies in 1946 making such notable films as The Best Years of Our Lives [1946], Song of the Thin Man [1947], the last of the series, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer [1947], Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House [1948], The Red Pony [1949], Cheaper by the Dozen [1950], and its sequel Belles on Their Toes [1952].
She became more involved with politics and only acted occasionally from the 1950's through the rest of her life. For five years (1949-54) she served as a film advisor for UNESCO and she served as an advisor to the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing. She appeared in Midnight Lace and From the Terrace in 1960, The April Fools [1969], Airport 1975 [1974], The End [1978], and Just Tell Me What You Want [1980]. She starred in several films for television and made her Broadway debut in 1973 in a revival of "The Women".
On a personal note, her autobiography "Myrna Loy: Being and Becoming" was published in 1987. Her hobbies included dancing and sculpting. She was married to: Howland H. Sergeant (1951 - 1960) (divorced), Gene Markey (1946 - 1950) (divorced), John Hertz Jr. (1942 - 1944) (divorced) and Arthur Hornblow Jr. (1936 - 1942) (divorced). She received an honorary Academy Award in 1991. Myrna Loy passed away in New York City during surgery on December 14, 1993.
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FILMOGRAPHY
Summer Solstice (1981) (TV)
TV APPEARANCES OF NOTE
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