Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood

449 Pages·2011·3.35 MB·English

by  Emily W. Leider

Myrna Loy

Myrna Loy
The Only Good Girl in Hollywood
Emily W. Leider
University of California Press
Berkeley • LosAngeles • London
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UniversityofCaliforniaPress
BerkeleyandLosAngeles,California
UniversityofCaliforniaPress,Ltd.
London,England
©2011byEmilyW.Leider
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Leider,EmilyW.
MyrnaLoy:theonlygoodgirlinHollywood/
EmilyW.Leider.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-0-520-25320-9(cloth:alk.paper)
1. Loy,Myrna,1905–1993. 2. Motionpictureactors
andactresses—UnitedStates—Biography. I. Title.
PN2287.L67L46 2011
791.43'028092—dc22
[B] 2011011571
ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
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Contents
ListofPlates ix
Introduction 1
1. TheClimb 6
2. NotYourTypicalHelenaGirl 18
3. LifewithoutFather 28
4. EnterMyrnaLoy 43
5. WarnerBros.’ExoticVixen 56
6. Breakthrough 77
7. CuttingtheVeil 89
8. Mr.andMrs.ThinMan 112
9. MyrnaLoyvs.MGM 132
10. Mrs.ArthurHornblowJr. 149
11. Wifevs.Mistress 164
12. Trouble 186
13. ThingsFallApart 211
14. Rebound 232
15. Postwar 248
16. BreakingAway 264
17. Mrs.HowlandSargeant 277
18. NewYorkEnding 290
Appendix.MyrnaLoy’sFilm,Television,andTheaterCredits 313
Notes 341
Bibliography 365
Acknowledgments 377
Index 381
Platesfollowpage180
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Plates
1. DavidT.andAnnWilliams,paternalgrandparentsofMyrnaLoy.
2. AuntLuWilder,maternalgrandmotherIsabellaJohnson,and
DellaJohnsonWilliams,ca.1900.
3. MyrnaAdeleWilliams,1905.
4. TheWilliamsfamily,1912:Della,DavidJr.,seven-year-oldMyrna,
andDavidSr.
5. MyrnaWilliamsatagefifteen,1920.
6. MyrnaLoyrevisitstheWilliamsranchinCrowCreekValley,1940.
7. “FountainofEducation,”VeniceHighSchoolsculpturebyHarryF.
Winebrenner,1922.
8. MyrnaLoyandanunidentifieddancerintheGrauman’sEgyptian
TheatreProloguetoTheTenCommandments.
9. TheSeptember1925issueofMotionPictureintroducedMyrna
Loywithaquestion,“Whoisshe?”
10. JoanCrawfordandMyrnaLoyasdancersinPrettyLadies
(MGM,1925).
11. MyrnaLoytheexotic,inaretouchedpressphotograph.
12. MyrnaLoywithcastandcrewofDonJuan(WarnerBros.,1926).
13. ApublicityheraldforTheGirlfromChicago(WarnerBros.,
1927).
14. TomWilson,MyrnaLoy,andHeinieConklininblackfaceinHam
andEggsattheFront(WarnerBros.,1927).
ix