Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 15, 1993 TAG: 9312150203
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Loy died at Lenox Hill Hospital after a lengthy illness, said Pat Sumers, a nursing supervisor.
A freckle-faced redhead from Montana, she was the woman every man wanted to marry.
She was best known as socialite Nora Charles, wife of sleuth Nick Charles, in the six "Thin Man" movies of the 1930s and 1940s. Together, knocking back martinis and dining with thugs, she and co-star William Powell made marriage look like a sophisticated lark.
In real life, Loy had trouble coping with the expectations of Hollywood's perfect wife. She was married and divorced four times - to Arthur Hornblow Jr., John Hertz Jr., Gene Markey and Howland Sargent. She had no children, but remained close to Hornblow's son and had "plenty of godchildren."
Many of her films, from "The Thin Man" to "The Best Years of Our Lives," would become favorites with revival-house audiences, but she never received an Oscar nomination.
Finally, Loy received an honorary Oscar in 1991. "You've made me very happy. Thank you very much," she said in a satellite hookup from her Manhattan apartment.
Myrna Williams was born in Raidersburg, Mont., on Aug. 2, 1905. Childhood moviegoing sparked her interest in acting, which flourished after her family moved to California when she was a schoolgirl.
Loy said she changed her name at the suggestion of someone who thought it sounded Oriental - "I didn't intend to keep it very long. But then I signed a contract and . . . I was stuck with it."
For years, despite her freckles and upturned nose, Loy found herself cast in one exotic role after another, playing Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, Hindu or Polynesian sirens.
Her film credits included "Wife Versus Secretary," "Too Hot to Handle," "Manhattan Melodrama," "Test Pilot," "Libeled Lady," "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" and "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House."
by CNB