Loretta Young

Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1916 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and three Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work in film and television.

She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film The Farmer's Daughter (1947) and received her second Academy Award nomination for her role in Come to the Stable (1949). She also starred in films such as Born to Be Bad (1934), Call of the Wild (1935), The Crusades (1935), Eternally Yours (1939), The Stranger (1946), The Bishop's Wife (1947), and Key to the City (1950).

Young moved to the relatively new medium of television, where she had a dramatic anthology series, The Loretta Young Show, from 1953 to 1961. It earned three Primetime Emmy Awards, and was rerun successfully on daytime TV and later in syndication. She also starred in The New Loretta Young Show from 1962 to 1963. Young returned to the small screen in the 1980s starring in two NBC television movies, Christmas Eve (1986), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film, and Lady in a Corner (1989).

Early life and education

Young was born Gretchen Michaela Young on January 6, 1913, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the daughter of Gladys (née Royal) and John Earle Young. She was of Luxembourgish descent. When she was two years old, her parents separated. A year later, her mother moved the family to Hollywood. A priest helped Gladys establish a boarding house to generate income. Gladys' brother-in-law helped Gretchen and her sisters get small parts in silent films for income.

Career

1916–1939: Film Young's first role was at the age of just three (although uncredited) in the silent film Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1916). During her high-school years, she was educated at Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California. She was signed to a contract by John McCormick, husband and manager of actress Colleen Moore, who saw the young girl's potential. Moore gave her the name Loretta, explaining that it was the name of her favorite doll.

Young was billed as Gretchen Young in the silent film Sirens of the Sea (1917). She first appeared as Loretta Young in 1928, in the First National Pictures film The Whip Woman. That same year, she co-starred with Lon Chaney in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) film Laugh, Clown, Laugh. The next year, she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. In 1930, when Young was 17, she eloped with 26-year-old actor Grant Withers; they were married in Yuma, Arizona. The marriage was annulled the next year, just as their second movie together for First National (entitled Too Young to Marry) was released.

In 1931, Young costarred with Jean Harlow and Robert Williams in his final role in the Columbia Pictures release, Platinum Blonde. In 1934, she co-starred with Cary Grant in the pre-Code drama Born to be Bad, released by Twentieth Century Pictures. This film was rejected by the Hays Office, which enforced film morality, twice before it was finally approved. The next year, Young starred opposite Clark Gable and Jack Oakie in the 1935 film adaptation of Jack London's action-adventure novel The Call of the Wild, directed by William Wellman for Twentieth Century. Also in 1935, she portrayed Berengaria, Princess of Navarre in the Cecil B. DeMille-directed historical epic The Crusades (1935) for Paramount Pictures. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, where it received an award for Best Foreign Film.

The following year, Young starred as Lady Helen Dudley Dearden in the MGM picture The Unguarded Hour (1936). The film was directed by Sam Wood and was based on the 1935 play of the same name by Bernard Merivale. In 1938, she played Countess Eugenie de Montijo in the romantic drama Suez, starring opposite Tyrone Power. The film was directed by Allan Dwan and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck.

1940–1952: Career breakthrough During World War II, Young made Ladies Courageous (1944; reissued as Fury in the Sky) for Universal Pictures. The film was the fictionalized story of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. The plot depicted a unit of female pilots who flew bomber planes from the factories to their final destinations. Young made as many as eight movies a year, and her films in the 1940s were among the best regarded and most memorable of her career.

In 1946, Young made The Stranger, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. She protrayeda small-town American woman who unknowingly marries a Nazi war criminal (Orson Welles) who later tries to kill her. Welles recalled that the film's producer ordered a close-up of Young during a pivotal scene, a choice that Welles, the director, considered "fatal" to the scene's impact. Young took Welles' side, even getting her agent on the phone to support them. "Imagine getting a star's agent in to ensure that she wouldn't get a closeup!", Welles later said. "She was wonderful." Critic Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post noted in his movie review,"The languorous Miss Young has the toughest assignment, being called on to shift from the starry-eyed bride of the early reels to the woman who must know in her heart that her husband is one of the most hated of men." In 1947, Young won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Farmer's Daughter, a political comedy from RKO that required her to learn a Swedish accent. Ruth Roberts, who had coached Ingrid Bergman on how to lose her Swedish accent, taught Young how to gain one. That same year, Young co-starred with Cary Grant and David Niven in the romantic comedy by RKO, The Bishop's Wife. In 1949, she received another Academy Award nomination for her role as Sister Margaret in the 20th Century Fox comedy drama Come to the Stable.

Young reunited in 1950 with Gable for the romantic comedy Key to the City. The next year, Young starred in the MGM melodrama Cause for Alarm! (1951) and the 20th Century Fox comedy Half Angel (1951). These were followed by Columbia Pictures' film noir release, Paula (1952). Also in 1952, she starred in the romance drama Because of You from Universal Pictures. In 1953, Young acted in her final theatrical film, It Happens Every Thursday. It was a comedy from Universal about a New York couple who move to California to take over a struggling weekly newspaper; her co-star was John Forsythe.

1953–1961: The Loretta Young Show Starting in 1953, Young hosted and acted in the half-hour anthology television series Letter to Loretta (later retitled as The Loretta Young Show) on the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). She earned three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for the program. Her trademark introduction of each episode showed her walking onto a living room set wearing a high-fashion evening gown. At the conclusion of the episode, she returned to offer a brief Bible passage or a famous quote that reflected upon the evening's story. In her contract, Young stipulated that the introductions and concluding remarks of each episode be cut for reruns. Her reason was that she did not want the gowns to date the episodes.

The Loretta Young Show was originally based on the premise that each drama answered a question from Young's fan mail. The program title was changed to The Loretta Young Show during season one (as of the episode of February 14, 1954). The "letter" concept was dropped from the series at the end of season two. Toward the end of season two, Young was hospitalized as a result of overwork. The network then replaced her with guest hosts and guest stars; Young's first appearance in the 1955–1956 season was for the Christmas show. For the remaining seasons, Young acted in half the episodes and hosted the remainder. The Loretta Young Show ran in prime time for eight years, the longest-running primetime network program hosted by a woman up to that time.

After The Loretta Young Show ended it first run, NBC repackaged it for daytime viewing as the Loretta Young Theatre from 1960 to 1964. As per the contract, the introductions and final remarks were deleted. The series also appeared in syndication into the early 1970s, before being withdrawn. In 1972, a jury in Los Angeles awarded Young $550,000 in a lawsuit against NBC for breach of contract. Filed in 1966, the suit contended that NBC had allowed foreign television outlets to rerun episodes without cutting the introductions. Young testified that showing her in "outdated gowns" had damaged her image. She had sought damages of $1.9 million.

1986–1994: Final roles Young came out of retirement to star in the NBC television film Christmas Eve (1986). The story revolves around an elderly woman, played by Young, who befriends the homeless and volunteers time with children. They learn that she has a terminal illness and desperately wants to reunite her three grown grandchildren before she dies. Young starred in Christmas Eve with Trevor Howard and Ron Leibman, all three of whom received Golden Globe Award nominations. Young won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film.

Young then starred in her final role, another NBC television film, Lady in a Corner (1989). She portrayed the editor-in-chief of a high-fashion magazine. Her co-stars were Brian Keith, Roscoe Lee Brown, and Bruce Davison. For her performance, Young received another Golden Globe Award nomination in the same category, but lost to Christine Lahti. Personal life Marriages

Young was married three times Her first marriage was an elopement with actor Grant Withers in 1930. This action fractured her family as Withers was non-Catholic. Young soon grew disillusioned with Withers and had the marriage annulled the following year. She then reconciled with her family.

From September 1933 to June 1934, she had a well-publicized affair with actor Spencer Tracy, her co-star in Man's Castle. Tracy, also a Catholic, was separated from his wife Louise Tracy, but would not contemplate a divorce. In 1940, Young married producer Tom Lewis. They divorced in 1969.

In 1993, Young married for the third and final time to fashion designer Jean Louis. Their marriage lasted until his death in April 1997. Young was godmother to Marlo Thomas (daughter of TV star Danny Thomas).

Children

Young had three children. She and Tom Lewis had two sons: Christopher Lewis, born in 1944, and Peter Lewis, born in 1945.

Young's only daughter was Judith Lewis, the daughter of Clark Gable, born in 1935. Young and Gable were the lead actors of the 1935 Twentieth Century Pictures film The Call of the Wild. Young was then 22 and Gable was 34. She was single and he was married to Maria "Ria" Langham. According to on-location reports, both Gable and Young were flirting with each other. Young herself felt that "you fell a bit in love with your co-stars." Young's biography stated that she was "wildly infatuated" with Gable.

Nothing happened between Gable and Young until they took an overnight train trip together. During the night, Gable visited Young in her separate sleeping compartment. According to Young, this was the only time that they had sex.

Young and Gable in 1950 starred in the film Key to the City. During its production, Gable visited the Lewis household and met 15-year-old Judith for the first and last time. As Judith grew older, she started showing a strong resemblance to Gable; her true parentage was widely rumored in entertainment circles. Young refused to confirm or comment publicly on the rumors.

When Judith was age 31 in 1966, she confronted Young about her parentage. In 1999, Joan Wester Anderson wrote Young's authorized biography. In interviews for the book, Young confirmed that she and Gable were Judith's parents. Anderson agreed to hold the biography for publication until after Young's death. She was a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild. A devout Catholic, she worked with various Catholic charities.

Other A tobacco smoker since age eight, Young quit the habit in the mid-1980s, gaining . Young kept a -tall silver crucifix in her home, bought in Mexico in the 1940s. (the wife of actor Ricardo Montalbán) in Los Angeles, California. She was interred in the family plot in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Her ashes were buried in the grave of her mother, Gladys Belzer.

Filmography Film

Television

Radio Year Program Episode/source 1936 Lux Radio Theatre ""Polly Of The Circus" 1940 The Campbell Playhouse "Theodora Goes Wild" 1943 Lux Radio Theatre "The Philadelphia Story" 1945 Cavalcade of America "Children, This Is Your Father" 1950 Suspense "Lady Killer" 1952 Family Theater "Heritage of Home" 1953 Family Theater "The Longest Hour"

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Results Ref. 1947 Academy Awards Best Actress The Farmer's Daughter 1949 Come to the Stable 1950 Golden Apple Awards Most Cooperative Actress 1958 Golden Globe Awards Television Achievement The Loretta Young Show 1986 Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television Christmas Eve 1989 Lady in the Corner 2020 Online Film & Television Association Awards Television Hall of Fame: Actors 1954 Primetime Emmy Awards Best Female Star of a Regular Series Letter to Loretta 1955 Best Actress Starring in a Regular Series The Loretta Young Show 1956 Best Actress in a Single Performance 1957 Best Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Series 1958 Best Continuing Performance (Female) in a Series by a Comedienne, Singer, Hostess, Dancer, M.C., Announcer, Narrator, Panelist, or any Person who Essentially Plays Herself 1959 Best Actress in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series 1960 Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Series (Lead or Support) 1961 Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Series (Lead) 1988 Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards Crystal Award for Advocacy Retrospective

Young has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for her work in television, at 6135 Hollywood Boulevard, and the other for her work in motion pictures, at 6100 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2011, a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars, in Palm Springs, California, was dedicated to her.