Real Name: Myrna Adele Williams
Birthdate: August 2,1905
Birthplace: Raidersburg, Montana
Deathdate: December 14, 1993
Deathplace: New York, New York
Cause Of Death: Complications During Surgery
HUSBANDS:
Arthur Hornblow Jr. (27 June 1936 - 1 June 1942) (divorced)
Hertz Jr., John (6 June 1942 - 21 August 1944) (divorced)
Gene Markey (January 1946 - August 1950) (divorced)
H. Sergeant, Howland (2 June 1951 - 31 May 1960) (divorced)
Nicknames:The Perfect Wife and Queen of Hollywood
Height: 5'6"
For five years (1949-54) she served as a film advisor for UNESCO.
She served as an advisor to the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing.
She made her Broadway debut in the 1973 revival of "The Women".
Hobbies: Sculpturing and dancing.
One of a handful of great movie stars never nominated for an acting Oscar, she received an honorary Academy Award in 1991.
Interred at Forestvale Cemetery, Helena, Montana, USA.
Retired to New York in later years.
Loy's last film was also the last for Henry Fonda.
In 1946 Myrna left MGM after 15 years.
She became a founder member of the American Place Theatre, a non-profit theatre set up to help new writers develop.
'Caterina Williams' is sometimes quoted as her real name.
In 1937 Myrna had a narrow escape when her horse bolted during the filming of The Rains Came with Tyrone Power - she was nearly killed.
Loy donned a uniform during the War when she joined the Hollywood Chapter of 'Bundles for Bluejackets' -- helping to run a Naval Auxiliary Canteen and going on fund raising tours.
Men-Must-Marry-Myrna Clubs were formed due to her portrayal as 'The Perfect Wife.'
In late 1931, Irving Thalberg signed Myrna to MGM.
In 1925 she changed her name to Myrna Loy and also signed up for a 7 year contract with Warner Brothers, starting at $75 a week.
Myrna enrolled at Venice High School -- a school which later named its annual speech and drama awards 'Myrnas'.
Spent her early years on a ranch and in the town of Helena, Montana, which was also the home of Gary Cooper.
When her father was travelling by train in early 1905, he went through a small station called 'Myrna' -- he eventually named her after that station.
After graduating from high school in 1923, Myrna got a job dancing in the chorus during the prologue for The Ten Commandments at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
In 1936 Myrna was named Queen of the Movies and Clark Gable King in a national poll, winning a crown of tin and purple velvet.
Began acting at age 15 to support the family, eventually appearing in over 100 movies.
In 1918, her father died in a flu epidemic, and Myrna, her mom, and brother moved to LA.
A Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kennedy Center in 1988.
Best remembered for her role as Nora in the Thin Man series, this was but one in her 57 year career in film.
She organized an opposition to the stupidity of the Un-American Committee hearing on Hollywood.
In 1923 she was photographed by Henry Waxman, who showed the pictures to Valentino. Impressed with Myrna, Valentino arranged for a screen test for his upcoming film, Cobra. She failed it.
She was a favorite of FDR, Winston Churchill and Jimmy Stewart.
Her father, at age 21 the youngest man ever elected to the Montana State Legislature, owned a small cattle ranch.
At Venice High school, in the middle of a small rose garden, is a larger-than-life-size statue of actress Myrna Loy. And it was made years before Myrna appeared in a single movie. Actually, it isn't a particularly good likeness of Miss Loy. Standing atop a stone pedestal, back arched, the short-haired figure is semi-nude (wearing only a thin gown which leaves little to the imagination), with one arm raised in a dramatic pose. All three statues were modeled by Venice High students, and the trio are meant to depict the "Mental," "Physical" and "Spiritual." According to the bronze plaque on the east side of the pedestal, the statues were erected in 1921, which means that Myrna Loy (then named Myrna Williams) was only 16 years old when she posed for the "Spiritual" statue - long before she became a celebrity.
Received a Honorary Academy Award in the same year as Sophia Loren.
Unable to attend the 63rd Annual Academy Awards to receive her Honorary Award in 1991, she accepted it through a live link to her New York apartment.
Myrna Williams made her stage debut at age twelve at Helena's old Marlow Theater in a dance she choreographed, based on "The Blue Bird" from the Rose Dream Operatta.
In honor of Myrna Loy, a poem was created called, Montana Women, which was read at the celebration of her 96th birthday.
Underwent two mastectomies after being diagnosed with breast cancer twice.
Changing last name from Williams to Loy was suggested by legendary pulp writer Paul Cain (AKA Peter Ruric).
Diagnosed with Breast Cancer twice in 1975 and 1979
