Being and Becoming: A Memoir

Not wild about size of font. Takes me too long to read. Too small.

What can I say, she's a star and her biography was an enjoyable read!

Myrna's review (above) is an excellent detailed one,yet there are even more points that may be of interest1) Miss Loy spends little time discussing individual movies. Possibly because each one was made in pieces simultaneously with 2 others perhaps,and I don't have the impression she viewed many of the final products. All very understandable,for someone whose entire life was busy. I would have liked to see her discuss the movie "Penthouse" starring Myrna Loy,a movie made just before the Thin Man. Her mid career persona begins to develop in that movie (and what did she think of that bow on the front of her dress?)2) Later in life she is led to stage performances,partly for money (was that needed because she was fairly careless with it in her glory days)? Initially nervous about stage performances,she became quite gifted in that medium too 3) I found the book slow to read because she includes so much detail (and almost all of it presents something new) 4) The photographs are an essential part of the book. The photo of her as a 15 year old is striking. Next in line,I would say is the studio shot of her in "the" Thin Man dress. And the cover tells us she was a red head. All and all an impressive life. She was brought up well,and it never left her.Example, in returning for a winter visit to her birthplace (in Montana) ,she takes a plain cloth coat,rather than furs

The most recent comment on this book mentioned that the later part was mostly loaded with her politics, which is true. If you are an unabashed liberal, which Loy was, I am sure you will love the book. If you expect to find out that Loy was much like her on screen persona of loving wife and dream woman, you are going to be severely disappointed. If you are in for getting the background on Hollywood from the early silent days well into the seventies, you will probably get past gagging from either side. I love Loy in her pictures but have to admit her lifestyle "being less than becoming". Four failed marriages and her unabashed liberalism are a little hard to stomach when pasted up against her Nora Charles character. Certainly no actor should be expected to mirror their on screen facades, but when Loy claims repeatedly that she was against dating married men while simultaneously admitting to a four year relationship with one who she also had and aborted her only child with, you are a little disappointed. She also comes up with statements like a UN resolution might have staved off WWII and that we needed to understand and work with the Soviets and not fight the Cold War.

Just love her writing and sense of self. Confidence with no pretense. A delightful read.

One of the reasons I enjoyed this book is the honesty and humor with which Miss Myrna Loy recounts the details of her interesting life. Myrna Loy was beautiful, honest and down to earth. She possessed a frank and no nonsense approach to life. I could not put the book down.She talks about early Hollywood and the many great stars she worked with through out her life providing detailed and vivid discriptions of the encounters. Her life was not without heartaches and challenges yet she prevails and goes on to have a long and distinguished career. I was already a fan, did not know much about her and ended up absolutely loving her and vowing to revisit her films as soon as possible. Many times one reads about a movie star one already likes only to be disappointed on getting to know more about that star Myrna Loy does not disappoint! What a terrific lady. Gotta love a women who speaks truth to power when her conscience is her guide. I would recommend this book to friends who love a good yarn and loves movies.

So many great inside stories about Hollywood and politics during a very interesting time in history. Myrna was as smart, independent and fearless as she was beautiful. A must read for any true fan.

I like to read biographies like this to get a feel for the person, who they were, and how their life was behind the scenes. I did get that here, and I very much enjoyed the book at first. But the further along I got, the more it almost chiefly talked about her political activities. I understand now that this was apparently a big part of her life, and that's why it was in the book. I just wasn't expecting it. I do not like politics, so lost interest when it didn't seem to move to any other topic midway through the book :(

What a fabulous entertaining read☺

Great book - loved it.

I honestly loved the look at first sight!!! I'm a giant Myrna Loy fan! And it smells wonderful!! :) :)