Myrna Loy - Bio (original) (raw)
Myrna Loy was born Myrna Adele Williams on August 2, 1905. The "Queen of Hollywood" was born on a cattle ranch in Radersburg, Montana to David Franklin Williams and Adelle May Johnson. Myrna's father was a modern Super Man: a rancher, banker, real estate developer, AND the youngest man ever elected to the Montana state legislature at age 21. Myrna must have caught the performance bug from her mother Adelle, who studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.
Myrna's acting career began at the age of 12 when she first appeared on stage at the Helena's Marlow Theatre. Myrna performed a dance she had choreographed herself. Her father died in 1918 from a flu epidemic and shortly after Myrna moved with her brother and mother to the Palms District in Los Angeles and began attending the Westlake School for Girls in the Holmby Hills neighborhood. Myrna started to appear in local plays around the age of 15 while attending Venice High School in Venice, California.
The Virgin and The Vamp
At 18, Myrna was hired as a dancer at Sid Grauman's Egyptian Movie House. Today's previews were yesterday's prologue. Then, before a film began dancers would set up a scene for the film itself. She was first spotted by Rudolph Valentino who tested her for a part in his upcoming film Cobra. Myrna did not get the part but her test gave her some extra exposure which leaded to another screen test, this time for the part of The Virgin Mary in Ben Hur. Though she wasn't cast as The Virgin, Myrna did manage to score a spot as an extra in the film; one of the mistresses to a Roman senator.
Myrna dropped the 'Williams' and added 'Loy' in 1925 when she signed a $75 a week contract for 7 years with Warner Brothers. Myrna was repeatedly cast as a vamp throughout her tenure with Warner Brothers. Her first speaking role was in State Street Sallie, a film originally written as silent however a dialogue sequence was added in to capitalize on the new movie marvel of sound.
Myrna's first full-on sound film was 1929's The Desert Song in which she played the role of Azuri, a native girl. Later that year the Stock Market Crash turned Hollywood, and practically every other U.S. industry, to go upside and Myrna's 7 year contract ended three years too soon with her release from Warner Brothers. It should be noted however, that during Myrna's early years in film she was cast in 80 (EIGHTY) films. Mostly vamp roles of course : )
A Thin Man and A Perfect Woman
1934 brought Myrna and William Powell together for the first time in the smash hit The Thin Man. The film was as "overnight" as an over night sensation could get; it was filmed in 16 days! Men-Must-Marry-Myrna Clubs began sprouting up across the country while Myrna waited on then beau Arthur Hornblow to finally divorce himself.
Box office hits like Wife vs. Secretary and The Great Zigfield soon followed and in 1936 Hornblow managed to get a divorce and marry Myrna. The two wed on June 27, 1936 in Mexico.