Synopses & Reviews
From the beginning, Myrna Loyand#8217;s screen image conjured mystery, a sense of something withheld. and#147;Who is she?and#8221; was a question posed in the first fan magazine article published about her in 1925. This first ever biography of the wry and sophisticated actress best known for her role as Nora Charles, wife to dapper detective William Powell in The Thin Man, offers an unprecedented picture of her life and an extraordinary movie career that spanned six decades. Opening with Loyand#8217;s rough-and-tumble upbringing in Montana, the book takes us to Los Angeles in the 1920s, where Loyand#8217;s striking looks caught the eye of Valentino, through the silent and early sound era to her films of the thirties, when Loy became a top box office draw, and to her robust postand#150;World War II career. Throughout, Emily W. Leider illuminates the actressand#8217;s friendships with luminaries such as Cary Grant, Clark Gable, and Joan Crawford and her collaborations with the likes of John Barrymore, David O. Selznick, Sam Goldwyn, and William Wyler, among many others. This highly engaging biography offers a fascinating slice of studio era history and gives us the first full picture of a very private woman who has often been overlooked despite her tremendous star power.
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and#8220;A top-notch biography of a great performer. . . . Highly recommended.and#8221;
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and#8220;A crisp, smart biography.and#8221;
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and#8220;Loy's gifts are easy to enjoy, hard to describe. She's been lucky in attracting an even-tempered sympathetic biographer like Ms. Leider, whose book, like the best of its genre, sends you back to the films.and#8221;
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"This is a must read for anyone who is a Myrna Loy fan."--San Francisco Book Review / Sacramento Book Review
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and#8220;Reveals the shy, warm, and modest figure behind the image of the cool, chic urbanite. . . . Leiderand#8217;s books are smart and witty trips through the lives of her subjects, and this work is no exception.and#8221;
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“A crisp, smart biography.” Choice
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and#8220;In addition to thoroughly documenting each of Loyand#8217;s films . . .the book describes her activities during the leave she took from filmmaking in the early 1940s.and#8221;
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“This is a must read for anyone who is a Myrna Loy fan.” Betsy Butler - Cbq Communication Booknotes Qtly
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and#8220;An engaging and heartening portrait of the classic movie star who never let the glamour of her impossibly glamorous profession go to her head.and#8221;
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“An excellent biography.” Teri Shiel - Library Journal
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“Leiders new book is certainly one of the best film books of the year.” Scott Eyman - Palm Beach Post
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“Kudos to author Emily Leider for a brilliant, riveting portrait. . . . ‘Myrna Loy is an encyclopedic, fascinating page-turner for film buffs.” Thomas Gladysz - San Francisco Chronicle
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and#8220;I've not wanted to put the book down. It's that good, yes, it is really THAT good. . . . If you're a fan of Myrna Loy and her films, this is a must read.and#8221;
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and#8220;A well-researched and comprehensive biography. . . . Leiderand#8217;s portrait nicely details Myrna Loy as not only a movie star but also an ardent activist.and#8221;
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and#8220;Movie buffs will appreciate the careful research that went into this book, while readers wanting intimacy will delight in hearing Myrnaand#8217;s own voice come through.and#8221;
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“Well-researched and shrewdly conceived.” Alicea Swett - Portland Book Review
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and#8220;Emily W. Leider has managed to give us the biography of an actress that avoids the crass tell-all format of many celebrity biographiesand#8212;it is well researched, the prose is eminently readable. . . . It is a must read for fans of Myrna Loy, it will interest fans of film in general and classic film in particular, and it is also an interesting read from a purely historical perspective, thanks to the research put into it and its scholarly tone. Pick up the book and revisit these films.and#8221;
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and#8220;Leider . . . has penned a thoroughly researched and stylishly written biography of an accomplished actress who was more than just her screen credits.and#8221;
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and#8220;This is a must read for anyone who is a Myrna Loy fan.and#8221;
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and#8220;An excellent biography.and#8221;
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and#8220;Leiderand#8217;s new book is certainly one of the best film books of the year.and#8221;
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and#8220;Kudos to author Emily Leider for a brilliant, riveting portrait. . . . and#8216;Myrna Loyand#8217; is an encyclopedic, fascinating page-turner for film buffs.and#8221;
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and#8220;Well-researched and shrewdly conceived.and#8221;
Synopsis
and#147;Myrna Loy has found an ideal biographer in Emily Leider, a gifted writer who loves film history and knows how to mine the field for the kind of details that help her paint a full and rounded picture of her subject.and#8221; and#151;Leonard Maltin, film critic/historian
"A masterful tribute to MGM's subtlest star."and#151;David Stenn, author of Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow
"Finally, a biography worthy of Myrna Loyand#151;a smart, fascinating book about a smart, fascinating woman."and#151;Eve Golden, author of Platinum Girl: The Life and Legends of Jean Harlow
and#147;This first biography of Myrna Loy is so conscientiously researched, so closely written in detail and intelligent style that there will be no need for a second. Emily Leider documents both the woman and the actress: the early years in Montana and the multiple and sometimes foolish marriages of the former, and the development of the latter from exotic silent player to sophisticated lead in the Thin Man series to everyoneand#8217;s image of a proud, understanding middle-class wife in the 1940s and beyond.and#8221;and#151;Anthony Slide, author of Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators, and Gossip Mongers
About the Author
Biographer, poet, and memoirist Emily W. Leider is the author of Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino, Becoming Mae West, and Rapid Eye Movement and Other Poems, among other books.
Table of Contents
List of Plates
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Climb
2. Not Your Typical Helena Girl
3. Life without Father
4. Enter Myrna Loy
5. Warner Bros.and#8217; Exotic Vixen
6. Breakthrough
7. Cutting the Veil
8. Mr. and Mrs. Thin Man
9. Myrna Loy vs. MGM
10. Mrs. Arthur Hornblow Jr.
11. Wife vs. Mistress
12. Trouble
13. Things Fall Apart
14. Rebound
15. Postwar
16. Breaking Away
17. Mrs. Howland Sargeant
18. New York Ending
Appendix. Myrna Loyand#8217;s Film, Television, and Theater Credits
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Plates follow page