EARLY DAYS PRODUCTIONS
Loy was born Myrna Adele Williams in Radersburg, Montana (near Helena), the daughter of Adelle Mae (née Johnson) and rancher David Franklin Williams. She was of Welsh and Scottish ancestry. Loy's first name came from a train station whose name her father liked. Her father was also a banker and real estate developer and the youngest man ever elected to the Montana state legislature. Her mother studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.
1905 - 1993
Stats:
Birth Name: Myrna Adele Williams
Height: 5' 6"
Eye Color: green
Hair Color: brown
Nickname: Queen of Hollywood
Quote: "Life, is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming."
Birth Name: Myrna Adele Williams
Height: 5' 6"
Eye Color: green
Hair Color: brown
Nickname: Queen of Hollywood
Quote: "Life, is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming."
Natacha Rambova, the second wife of Rudolph Valentino, arranged a screen test for Loy, which she failed. She kept auditioning and in 1925, appeared in the Rambova-penned movie What Price Beauty?, opposite Nita Naldi. Her silent film roles were mainly those of vampish exotic women. For a few years, she struggled to overcome this stereotype with many producers and directors believing that, while she was perfect as femmes fatales, she was capable of little more. Studios thought she was perfect for Asian roles and cast her in yellowface several times.
After appearing with Ramón Novarro in The Barbarian (1933), Loy landed the part that established her as a major actress, Nora Charles in The Thin Man (1934). 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, saying that she was a dramatic actress only, but Van Dyke insisted. Mayer relented on the condition that filming be completed within three weeks, as Loy was committed to start filming Stamboul Quest (1934). The Thin Man became one of the year's biggest hits, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Loy received excellent reviews and was acclaimed for her comedic skills. She and her costar William Powell proved to be a popular screen couple and appeared in 14 films together, the most prolific pairing in Hollywood history. Loy later referred to The Thin Man as the film "that finally made me... after more than 80 films"
For more information about Myrna Loy please visit: Wikipedia
Myrna Loy's Selected Filmography
Just Tell Me What You Want (1980)
The End (1978)
Airport 1975 (1974)
The April Fools (1969)
Midnight Lace (1960)
From the Terrace (1960)
Lonelyhearts (1958)
The Ambassador's Daughter (1956)
Belles on Their Toes (1952)
Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)
That Dangerous Age (1949)
The Red Pony (1949)
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)
Song of the Thin Man (1947)
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
So Goes My Love (1946)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
Love Crazy (1941)
Third Finger, Left Hand (1940)
I Love You Again (1940)
Another Thin Man (1939)
The Rains Came (1939)
Lucky Night (1939)
Too Hot to Handle (1938)
Test Pilot (1938)
Man-Proof (1938)
Double Wedding (1937)
Parnell (1937)
After the Thin Man (1936)
Libeled Lady (1936)
To Mary - with Love (1936)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
Petticoat Fever (1936)
Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
Whipsaw (1935)
Wings in the Dark (1935)
Broadway Bill (1934)
Evelyn Prentice (1934)
Stamboul Quest (1934)
The Thin Man (1934)
Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
Men in White (1934)
The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933)
Night Flight (1933)
Penthouse (1933)
When Ladies Meet (1933)
The Barbarian (1933)
Topaze (1933)
The Animal Kingdom (1932)
The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
Thirteen Women (1932)
Love Me Tonight (1932)
New Morals for Old (1932)
The Woman in Room 13 (1932)
The Wet Parade (1932)
Vanity Fair (1932)
Emma (1932)
Arrowsmith (1931)
Consolation Marriage (1931)
Skyline (1931)
Transatlantic (1931)
Rebound (1931)
Hush Money (1931)
A Connecticut Yankee (1931)
Body and Soul (1931)
The Naughty Flirt (1931)
The Devil to Pay! (1930)
Rogue of the Rio Grande (1930)
The Truth About Youth (1930)
Renegades (1930)
The Bad Man (1930)
The Jazz Cinderella (1930)
The Last of the Duanes (1930)
Bride of the Regiment (1930)
Cock o' the Walk (1930)
Under a Texas Moon (1930)
Isle of Escape (1930)
Cameo Kirby (1930)
The Show of Shows (1929)
Evidence (1929)
The Great Divide (1929)
The Squall (1929)
The Black Watch (1929)
The Desert Song (1929)
Hardboiled Rose (1929)
Fancy Baggage (1929)
Noah's Ark (1928)
The Midnight Taxi (1928)
State Street Sadie (1928)
Pay as You Enter (1928)
The Crimson City (1928)
Turn Back the Hours (1928)
A Girl in Every Port (1928)
Beware of Married Men (1928)
Ham and Eggs at the Front (1927)
If I Were Single (1927)
The Girl from Chicago (1927)
The Jazz Singer (1927)
A Sailor's Sweetheart (1927)
The Heart of Maryland (1927)
Simple Sis (1927)
The Climbers (1927)
Bitter Apples (1927)
When a Man Loves (1927)
Finger Prints (1927)
The Third Degree (1926)
Across the Pacific (1926)
Don Juan (1926)
So This Is Paris (1926)
Exquisite Sinner (1926)
The Gilded Highway (1926)
Why Girls Go Back Home (1926)
The Love Toy (1926)
The Caveman (1926)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
Sporting Life (1925)
Pretty Ladies (1925)
The Wanderer (1925)
What Price Beauty? (1925)
The End (1978)
Airport 1975 (1974)
The April Fools (1969)
Midnight Lace (1960)
From the Terrace (1960)
Lonelyhearts (1958)
The Ambassador's Daughter (1956)
Belles on Their Toes (1952)
Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)
That Dangerous Age (1949)
The Red Pony (1949)
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)
Song of the Thin Man (1947)
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
So Goes My Love (1946)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
Love Crazy (1941)
Third Finger, Left Hand (1940)
I Love You Again (1940)
Another Thin Man (1939)
The Rains Came (1939)
Lucky Night (1939)
Too Hot to Handle (1938)
Test Pilot (1938)
Man-Proof (1938)
Double Wedding (1937)
Parnell (1937)
After the Thin Man (1936)
Libeled Lady (1936)
To Mary - with Love (1936)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
Petticoat Fever (1936)
Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
Whipsaw (1935)
Wings in the Dark (1935)
Broadway Bill (1934)
Evelyn Prentice (1934)
Stamboul Quest (1934)
The Thin Man (1934)
Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
Men in White (1934)
The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933)
Night Flight (1933)
Penthouse (1933)
When Ladies Meet (1933)
The Barbarian (1933)
Topaze (1933)
The Animal Kingdom (1932)
The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
Thirteen Women (1932)
Love Me Tonight (1932)
New Morals for Old (1932)
The Woman in Room 13 (1932)
The Wet Parade (1932)
Vanity Fair (1932)
Emma (1932)
Arrowsmith (1931)
Consolation Marriage (1931)
Skyline (1931)
Transatlantic (1931)
Rebound (1931)
Hush Money (1931)
A Connecticut Yankee (1931)
Body and Soul (1931)
The Naughty Flirt (1931)
The Devil to Pay! (1930)
Rogue of the Rio Grande (1930)
The Truth About Youth (1930)
Renegades (1930)
The Bad Man (1930)
The Jazz Cinderella (1930)
The Last of the Duanes (1930)
Bride of the Regiment (1930)
Cock o' the Walk (1930)
Under a Texas Moon (1930)
Isle of Escape (1930)
Cameo Kirby (1930)
The Show of Shows (1929)
Evidence (1929)
The Great Divide (1929)
The Squall (1929)
The Black Watch (1929)
The Desert Song (1929)
Hardboiled Rose (1929)
Fancy Baggage (1929)
Noah's Ark (1928)
The Midnight Taxi (1928)
State Street Sadie (1928)
Pay as You Enter (1928)
The Crimson City (1928)
Turn Back the Hours (1928)
A Girl in Every Port (1928)
Beware of Married Men (1928)
Ham and Eggs at the Front (1927)
If I Were Single (1927)
The Girl from Chicago (1927)
The Jazz Singer (1927)
A Sailor's Sweetheart (1927)
The Heart of Maryland (1927)
Simple Sis (1927)
The Climbers (1927)
Bitter Apples (1927)
When a Man Loves (1927)
Finger Prints (1927)
The Third Degree (1926)
Across the Pacific (1926)
Don Juan (1926)
So This Is Paris (1926)
Exquisite Sinner (1926)
The Gilded Highway (1926)
Why Girls Go Back Home (1926)
The Love Toy (1926)
The Caveman (1926)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
Sporting Life (1925)
Pretty Ladies (1925)
The Wanderer (1925)
What Price Beauty? (1925)
Early Days Productions: Myrna Loy 03/10/2012
Full Movie: The Thin Man (1934)
Nick and Nora Charles, a former detective and his rich, playful wife, investigate a murder case mostly for the fun of it. - Edited from IMDB
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. 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 U.S. for the stars that had generated the most revenue in their theaters over the previous year.
With the outbreak of World War II, she all but abandoned her acting career to focus on the war effort and worked closely with the Red Cross. She returned to films with The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), playing the wife of returning serviceman Fredric March. In later years, Loy considered this film her proudest acting achievement. Loy was paired with Cary Grant in David O. Selznick's comedy film The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). The film co-starred a teenage 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). Her film career continued sporadically afterwards. In 1960, she appeared in Midnight Lace and From the Terrace, but was not in another until 1969 in The April Fools. Her last motion picture performance was 1980 in Sidney Lumet's Just Tell Me What You Want.
On December 14, 1993, she died during surgery. She was cremated and the ashes interred at Forestvale Cemetery, in Helena, Montana.
On December 14, 1993, she died during surgery. She was cremated and the ashes interred at Forestvale Cemetery, in Helena, Montana.
