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Myrna Loy
The Only Good Girl in Hollywood
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Book Presentation:
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’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.
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.
Press Reviews:
"A top-notch biography of a great performer. . . . Highly recommended."— Choice
"A crisp, smart biography. . . . Loy tried to tell her fans, ‘There’s nothing sensational about me,’ but that’s wasn’t so. Her sensational contribution was to make an ideal credible: the beautiful, intelligent, high-spirited and supportive wife that every mature, heterosexual American male would like to marry."— 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
"In addition to thoroughly documenting each of Loy’s films and her roles on television, Broadway, and in New York theatre, the book describes her activities during the leave she took from filmmaking in the early 1940s, including volunteering for the American Red Cross."— Cbq Communication Booknotes Qtly
"This is a must read for anyone who is a Myrna Loy fan."— San Francisco Book Review / Sacramento Book Review
"An engaging and heartening portrait of the classic movie star who never let the glamour of her impossibly glamorous profession go to her head."— The Oklahoman
"Leider’s meticulous research reveals the shy, warm, and modest figure behind the image of the cool, chic urbanite. Sprinkled throughout the text like small, glittering gems are glimpses of Loy’s friendships with famed celebrities such as Joan Crawford, Cary Grant, Rudolph Valentino, Clark Gable, and John Barrymore. VERDICT Leider’s books are smart and witty trips through the lives of her subjects, and this work is no exception."— Library Journal
"Leider . . . has penned a thoroughly researched and stylishly written biography of an accomplished actress who was more than just her screen credits."— Huffington Post
"A highly readable, well-informed biography. . . . Leider peppers her narrative with savvy comments and behind-the-scenes stories about Loy’s many films."— Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy"A well-researched and comprehensive biography. . . . Leider’s portrait nicely details Myrna Loy as not only a movie star but also an ardent activist."— Publishers Weekly
"An excellent biography."— Palm Beach Post
"Emily W. Leider has managed to give us the biography of an actress that avoids the crass tell-all format of many celebrity biographies—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."— Kpbs.org
"I've not wanted to put the book down. It's that good, yes, it is really THAT good. . . . Leider's impeccable research coupled with her elegant prose make for a thoroughly enjoyable read. . . . Leider's prose, in so many ways, reflects or mimics the manner, the lightness, the quirkiness of Loy's own voice as she tosses off quips with William Powell. It's a pure delight to read. . . . Myrna Loy was really much more, much deeper than Nora Charles and this book tells you why. I'm beyond grateful she portrayed Nora Charles as delightfully as she did, but I'm more grateful to read about and learn from her life off screen. Not a perfect wife, but quite a life. If you're a fan of Myrna Loy and her films, this is a must read."— Strictly Vintage Hollywood
"Kudos to author Emily Leider for a brilliant, riveting portrait of a well-bred lady, an anomaly in the salacious, boudoir-driven Hollywood of the era. . . . ‘Myrna Loy’ is an encyclopedic, fascinating page-turner for film buffs."— Charleston Post & Courier
"Leider’s new book is certainly one of the best film books of the year."— San Francisco Chronicle
"Movie buffs will appreciate the careful research that went into this book, while readers wanting intimacy will delight in hearing Myrna’s own voice come through."— Portland Book Review
"Well-researched and shrewdly conceived."— The National Post
"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." —Leonard Maltin, film critic/historian
"A masterful tribute to MGM's subtlest star."—David Stenn, author of Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow
"Finally, a biography worthy of Myrna Loy—a smart, fascinating book about a smart, fascinating woman."—Eve Golden, author of Platinum Girl: The Life and Legends of Jean Harlow
"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 everyone’s image of a proud, understanding middle-class wife in the 1940s and beyond."—Anthony Slide, author of Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators, and Gossip Mongers
See the publisher website: University of California Press
See the complete filmography of Myrna Loy on the website: IMDB ...
> From the same author:
> On a related topic:
Becoming Nick and Nora (2023)
The Thin Man and the Films of William Powell and Myrna Loy
Subject: One Film > The Thin Man
Joan Crawford (2021)
The Essential Biography
by Lawrence J. Quirk and William Schoell
Subject: Actor > Joan Crawford
Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old (2025)
Thoughts on Aging as a Woman
by Brooke Shields and Rachel Bertsche
Subject: Actor > Brooke Shields
Master of Me (2025)
The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative
by Keke Palmer
Subject: Actor > Keke Palmer
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