Myrna Loy by Emily Wortis Leider

Myrna Loy by Emily Wortis Leider

From the beginning, Myrna Loy's screen image conjured mystery, a sense of something withheld. 'Who is she?' 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 Loy's rough-and-tumble upbringing in Montana, the book takes us to Los Angeles in the 1920s, where Loy'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 post-World War II career. Throughout, Emily W. Leider illuminates the actress' 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.

"A top-notch biography of a great performer.. Highly recommended."--Choice "A crisp, smart biography."--Washington Post "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."--Wall Street Journal "This is a must read for anyone who is a Myrna Loy fan."--San Francisco Book Review / Sacramento Book Review "Reveals the shy, warm, and modest figure behind the image of the cool, chic urbanite... Leider's books are smart and witty trips through the lives of her subjects, and this work is no exception."--Library Journal

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.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780520253209
ISBN 10	0520253205
Title	Myrna Loy
Author	Emily Wortis Leider
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	University of California Press
Year published	2011-10-03
Number of pages	424
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable