Myrna Loy | |
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Myrna Loy publicity photo
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Born |
Myrna Adele Williams August 2, 1905 Helena, Montana, United States |
Died | December 14, 1993 New York City, New York, United States |
(aged 88)
Cause of death | Surgical complications |
Resting place | Forestvale Cemetery, Helena, Montana |
Nationality | American |
Education |
Westlake School for Girls Venice High School |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1925–1982 |
Spouse(s) |
Arthur Hornblow, Jr. (m. 1936; div. 1942) John Hertz, Jr. (m. 1942; div. 1944) Gene Markey (m. 1946; div. 1950) Howland H. Sargeant (m. 1951; div. 1960) |
Awards | Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award (1988) |
Website | myrnaloycenter |
Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress.
Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. She was originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, but her career prospects improved greatly following her portrayal of Nora Charles in The Thin Man (1934).
Although Loy was never nominated for a competitive Academy Award, in March 1991 she was presented with an Honorary Academy Award with the inscription "In recognition of her extraordinary qualities both on screen and off, with appreciation for a lifetime's worth of indelible performances."
During World War II, Loy served as assistant to the director of military and naval welfare for the Red Cross. She was later appointed a member-at-large of the U.S. Commission to UNESCO. While the height of her popularity was during the 1930s and '40s, she continued to actively pursue stage, television and film roles in subsequent decades.
Loy was born in Helena, Montana, the daughter of Adelle Mae (née Johnson) and rancher David Franklin Williams, and raised in Radersburg. She had a younger brother, David Williams (died 1982). Loy's paternal grandparents were Welsh, and her maternal grandparents were Scottish and Swedish. Her first name was derived from a whistle stop near Broken Bow, Nebraska, 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.