Being and Becoming
A Memoir
by Myrna Loy
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Book Presentation:
“There ought to be a law against any man who doesn’t marry Myrna Loy.” James Stewart
Myrna Loy is an indelible star of Hollywood’s golden era, enjoying an extraordinarily successful film career lasting over fifty years. Her most famous and evergreen role is perhaps as Nora Charles in the long-running Thin Man series of films, gilding her screen persona as ‘the perfect wife’.
Myrna Loy’s early life was spent in Montana. After relocating to California, her talent for dancing and her personal charm soon brought her to the attention of Hollywood, where she began appearing in movies in 1925. In addition to detailing her hard-working acting career, she talks openly of her close friendships with her leading men, as well as stars such as Joan Crawford (whom she met as a youngster in a chorus line). Along the way we hear personal reminiscences of Myrna from many luminaries, Gary Cooper (a fellow Montanan), William Powell, Loretta Young, Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell and Burt Reynolds among them.
An equally important part of Myrna Loy’s life was built around her political passions, supporting the UN and Democratic presidential candidates from Truman onwards.
Myrna Loy is a luminous and inspirational twentieth-century figure, a champion of humanity as well as a great film star. If there is one word that sums her up, it is ‘exemplary’. This new edition of her memoir features an introduction by film historian Imogen Sara Smith.
About the Author:
Myrna Adele Williams was born in 1905 in Helena, Montana. She was raised a Methodist.After relocating permanently to the Los Angeles area aged 13, Myrna attended Westlake School for Girls, and later Venice High School, while intensively studying dance.Myrna made her first film in 1925, and appeared in numerous silent movies throughout the rest of the 1920s. Having successfully made the transition to talkies, her big break came in 1934 when cast as Nora Charles in The Thin Man, opposite William Powell. She subsequently became one of Hollywood's most popular actresses throughout the remainder of the 1930s, the 1940s and 1950s.During World War Two, Myrna became increasingly involved in politics, initially as an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler. She later became a member of the US National Commission for UNESCO, and actively supported the nomination of several Democratic candidates.Myrna married four times, each union ending in divorce. In 1960 she moved to New York City, and continued to appear in movies and television productions. Her last motion picture was Sidney Lumet's Just Tell Me What You Want in 1980.In 1991 Myrna won an Academy Honorary Award, presented by Angelica Huston. She died in New York, aged 88, in 1993.
Press Reviews:
From Publishers Weekly : Kotsilibas-Davis (The Barrymores, etc.) and others contribute here to the story of a remarkable woman, but it's told mainly in her own words. Of pioneer ancestry, all-American Myrna Williams was born in 1905 on a Montana farm. As a young dancer, she was cast in "native" vamp roles in films and named Loy to suit the image. It was in the Thin Man series of the 1930s that the actress's quicksilver wit made her the ideal Nora to the late William Powell's Nick Charles. Loy continued to shine in memorable films with Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, Gable et al., all of whom she recalls fondly here, as she does her women friends. There are spirited defenses, for instance, of Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford with critical views of the latter's daughter Christina, author of Mommie Dearest. Loy became a political activist during World War II and has kept working for human rights, primarily on UNICEF and UNESCO committees. The reader discovers a great deal in this story of a person who seems to have learned early on what Matthew Arnold too observed: "Life is . . . a being and a becoming." Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See the publisher website: Dean Street Press
See the complete filmography of Myrna Loy on the website: IMDB ...
> On a related topic:
Becoming Nick and Nora (2023)
The Thin Man and the Films of William Powell and Myrna Loy
Subject: One Film > The Thin Man
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