You know us men… there’s always an actress or two (okay, or three or four) that make us go “gaga” – which is to say, “get all hot and bothered.”
A couple of weeks ago, one of my dear friends asked me who my favorite actresses are – as in, which ones make me go “gaga”. I suspect she was expecting me to list names from the current crop of Hollywood starlets. I didn’t.
One of the first names that flew off my tongue is Myrna Loy. The heyday of her film career was in Hollywood’s golden era: 1930s-1940s (her last screen appearance was in 1981). When I view her films, it’s not the characters she plays that “sends” me; it’s how she chooses to play those characters that moves right into me: the intelligence, craft, inspiration and creativity at work there.
Myrna took that intelligence, craft, inspiration and creativity into her life outside of acting as a social activist. Yes, it is true that there are contemporary Hollywood folks who are socially conscious and are activist in one form or another. But never forget that, as the film industry goes, it was people like Myrna, and her like-spirited contemporaries, that paved the way for celebrities actively giving back to the world.
What was her internal motivation for doing this? I’ll let her explain it in her own words (which also provide a clue about her perspective on acting):
“Life, is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming.”
- Myrna Loy
So, the next time August 2nd rolls around (Myrna’s birthday), join me in toasting a wonderful person who exemplified “being and becoming.”
P.S. And yes, I think Myrna is absolutely beautiful!!
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