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 Myrna Loy - Forestvale Cemetery - Helena, MT
N 46° 39.340 W 112° 02.220
12T E 420656 N 5167422
Actress Myrna Loy is buried at the western edge of the Valley View section of historic Forestvale Cemetery, Helena, MT.
Waymark Code: WM11VER
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 12/22/2019
Views: 2
Myrna Loy began her career as a dancer before becoming an actress. She got her start during the Silent Era, typically playing Theda Bara-style vamps or Asian women (!). Her role as Nora Charles in "The Thin Man" launched her to stardom as one of the most popular actresses of the 1930s, and at one time, she was dubbed "Queen of Hollywood" alongside the King, Clark Gable.
She is buried near her parents, Adelle and David Franklin Williams, and her raised granite headstone simply reads "Myrna Loy 1905-1993".
Description:
Myrna Loy was born Myrna Adele Williams and grew up about an hour from Helena, MT in Radersburg before moving with her mother to Los Angeles. Interestingly, her father, David Franklin Williams, was a Montana congressman who died during the 1918 influenza epidemic. She initially trained as a dancer, before acting called her, and in 1921, she posed for Fountain of Education, a sculpture at Venice High School in Los Angeles which has its own infamous history.
During the Silent Era, she was cast as "exotic" women, like femmes fatales and vamps, or even mysterious Asian women, and when she signed with Warner Bros in 1925, she changed her last name to "Loy". She did make the transition into sound pictures, and John Dillinger was a big fan: He risked his life to see her in "Manhattan Melodrama" at the Biograph Theater in Chicago, enjoying the film before he lost his life in a shootout with the FBI.
It was "The Thin Man" that put Myrna Loy on the map, where she played William Powell's witty and intelligent wife, and she reprised the part multiple times with Powell, with whom she had a great working relationship. Other notable work includes "The Great Ziegfeld", "Libeled Lady", "Wife vs. Secretary", "Test Pilot", "Too Hot to Handle", "The Best Years of Our Lives" "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House", "Cheaper by the Dozen", and its sequel "Belles on Their Toes".
Loy worked with the Red Cross during World War II, and was later involved in politics: Her father had been a supporter of the League of Nations, and inspired his daughter to public service with the United Nations. She worked against McCarthyism, and was a thorn in Richard Nixon's side before it became popular.
She did continue her movie career, and eventually worked on Broadway. Her final appearances were in 1980 and 1981, and the latter, "Summer Solstice", was also Henry Fonda's final appearance. She was married four times, but had no children. She received an honorary Oscar in 1991, two years before her death.
Date of birth: 08/02/1905
Date of death: 12/14/1993
Area of notoriety: Entertainment
Marker Type: Horizontal Marker
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daily, 7 AM to 4 PM
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
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