Myrna Loy: Being and Becoming - Hardcover

Myrna Loy; James Kotsilibas-Davis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394555937 ISBN 13: 9780394555935

Publisher: Knopf, 1987

Synopsis

The actress recalls her long, rich, and varied career in Hollywood, on the stage, and as a political activist

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Kotsilibas-Davis (The Barrymores, etc.) and others contribute here to the story of a remarkable woman, but it's told mainly in her own words. Of pioneer ancestry, all-American Myrna Williams was born in 1905 on a Montana farm. As a young dancer, she was cast in "native" vamp roles in films and named Loy to suit the image. It was in the Thin Man series of the 1930s that the actress's quicksilver wit made her the ideal Nora to the late William Powell's Nick Charles. Loy continued to shine in memorable films with Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, Gable et al., all of whom she recalls fondly here, as she does her women friends. There are spirited defenses, for instance, of Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford with critical views of the latter's daughter Christina, author of Mommie Dearest. Loy became a political activist during World War II and has kept working for human rights, primarily on UNICEF and UNESCO committees. The reader discovers a great deal in this story of a person who seems to have learned early on what Matthew Arnold too observed: "Life is . . . a being and a becoming." Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

For most of Loy's long Hollywood career she was known as "the perfect wife." On the basis of this memoir, it would seem that she was also pretty nearly "the perfect human being" as well. The narrative emphasizes her political activism working for the United Nations and for several Democratic presidential candidates, but Loy also recalls her early days in Montana, social and working life in Hollywood, and her later stage work. Interspersed throughout are remembrances by friends and co-workers, none of whom have anything but praise for Loy. Some readers may find themselves wishing the authors had been less tasteful and genteel. John Smothers, Monmouth Cty . Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0394555937
• ISBN 13: 9780394555935
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 372