Biography
She came to embody the perfect wife--sympathetic, wise and sexy--opposite William Powell, Clark Gable and others. Loy was the ultimate proof that marriage and companionship in the movies need not be an exercise in mutual henpecking or a mere happy ending, but rather something fun and exciting in and of itself.
A former dancer, Loy began in films as a bit player from the mid-20s and was primarily cast as mysterious, exotic types for the first …
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Career Milestones
1990 | Documentary profile, "Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To", produced by and aired on cable network station TNT, hosted by Kathleen Turner | |
1985 | Received tribute at Carnegie Hall in New York hosted by Lauren Bacall | |
1983 | Career feted in a syndicated documentary TV special, "Legends of the Screen" | |
1981 | Last acting role: starring opposite Henry Fonda in the acclaimed made-for-TV movie, "Summer Solstice" | |
1980 | Final film appearance, "Just Tell Me What You Want" | |
1974 | Toured in "Don Juan in Hell" with Ricardo Montalban, Edward Mulhare, and Kurt Kasznar | |
1973 | Made Broadway debut in a revival of Clare Boothe Luce's comedy, "The Women" | |
1969 | Returned to features after a nine-year absence to play a supporting role opposite Charles Boyer in "The April Fools", starring Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve | |
| Played the heroine's mother in a touring stage production of Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park" | ||
1960 | Stage debut in "Marriage-go-Round" | |
1956 | Took second billing to another actress for the first time in 20 years (since she and Jean Harlow co-starred with Powell and Spencer Tracy in "Libeled Lady" 1936) when she played a major but supporting role in "The Ambassador's Daughter", starring Olivia de Havilland and John Forsythe | |
| Active as a member of UNESCO's U.S. Commission | ||
1950 | Went to England to star in the film, "If This Be Sin" | |
1948 | After WWII, became a member of the US National Commission for UNESCO; first Hollywood celebrity to work for the United Nations; helped organize its Hollywood Film Committee | |
1947 | Made last appearance with Powell, in a cameo role as his wife near the end of "The Senator Was Indiscreet" | |
1947 | Last of the "Thin Man" series of films opposite William Powell, "Song of the Thin Man" | |
1947 | Founding member of the Committee of the First Amendment | |
| Put her film career on hold to work for the New York Red Cross as assistant head of welfare activities for much of the duration of WWII; also arranged entertainment for over 50 military hospitals and worked at stage door canteens | ||
1942 | Moved to New York | |
1938 | Last film opposite Gable, "Too Hot to Handle" | |
1938 | Voted "Queen of the Movies" in "New York Daily News" poll | |
1936 | Voted the number one box-office star by US theater owners | |
1934 | First of 14 teamings with William Powell, "Manhattan Melodrama" | |
1933 | First of seven films opposite Clark Gable, "Night Flight" | |
1933 | Roles in "The Prizefighter and the Lady" and "Penthouse" complete transformation of image to that of sympathetic American romantic leads | |
1932 | Supporting role in musical comedy "Love Me Tonight" was a turning point in career, start the breaking of her typecasting as exotic vamps | |
1931 | Signed contract with MGM | |
1930 | Signed one-year contract with Fox | |
1925 | Signed five-year contract with Warner Bros. | |
1925 | Adopted name "Myrna Loy", suggested by a poet friend | |
1925 | Made film debut in "Pretty Ladies"; also played a bit part that year in the filming of the massive Biblical epic "Ben Hur" | |
1923 | Joined the chorus line of the pre-feature show at Graumann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood at age 18 (date approximate) | |
1918 | Moved with family to California after the death of her father | |
1917 | Took dancing lessons from a Miss Alice Thompson; performed in a fundraising event in Helena and later repeated her "Bluebird" performance at a nearby Army base (date approximate) | |
1916 | Took part in a family trip to California which included a tour of the Universal Studios | |
1912 | Family moved to Helena, MT when Loy was 7 | |
Awards
1983 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Career Achievement Award |