Loretta Young

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).

Loretta Young studied at Ramona Convent Secondary School. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is acting. Distinctions recorded are Academy Award for Best Actress, Siena Medal, Crystal Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film.

• Name — Loretta Young • Birth Name — Gretchen Michaela Young • Born — 6 January 1913 • Birthplace — Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. • Died — 12 August 2000 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City • Known for — * The Farmer's Daughter • Come to the Stable • Occupation — * Actress • television host • Years Active — 1916–1994 • Relatives — * Polly Ann Young (sister) • Sally Blane (sister) • Georgiana Young (maternal half-sister) • David Lindley (nephew) • Children — * Judy • Christopher • Peter

• Illustration — Polly Ann Young (1935) 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. Around 1925, Gladys met Ida Botiller Lindley, a very wealthy widow. Ida had no children, but wanted to carry on her husband's name. To do so, she proposed adopting Gretchen's younger brother John Royal Young (1914–1997), educating him to be a lawyer like her late husband. Her brother thus became John Royal Young Lindley (later John R. Lindley), and he became a lawyer. As a result, though, he did not remain in close contact with his sisters. Gretchen and her sisters, Polly Ann and Elizabeth Jane (better known as Sally Blane), all worked as child actresses, but of the three, Gretchen was the most successful. Polly Ann Young, Sally Blane, and John R. Lindley all died in their 80s in 1997. John R. Lindley's son, David, became a well-known multi-instrumentalist rock musician.

• Illustration — Young and Lon Chaney in the film Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928) • Illustration — Young in 1930 • Illustration — Young and David Niven in the film Eternally Yours (1939)

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. • Illustration — Young in the trailer for Cause for Alarm! (1951)

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.

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.

• Illustration — Young in 1938 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).

• Illustration — Judith Lewis (1961) • Illustration — Clark Gable (1938) 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 did not want her pregnancy to damage her or Gable's careers. She also knew that if Twentieth Century found out, they would pressure her to have an abortion. She believed abortion to be a mortal sin and would not consent to it. To avoid this scenario, Young, her sisters and their mother devised a plan; they would conceal the pregnancy by sending Young away, hide the baby after the birth and then pretend to adopt them. When Young's pregnancy began to show a baby bump, she announced a "vacation" to England. After returning to California months later, she gave an interview from her bed, covered in blankets to hide her pregnancy. During the interview, she stated that her long work absence was due to a condition she had had since childhood. Young secretly gave birth to Judith on November 6, 1935, in Venice, California. Young named her after St. Jude because he was the patron saint of difficult situations. After Judith was born, a family member sent a telegram to Gable informing him that his baby was well, "blonde and beautiful."Young's mother had told Gable that her daughter was pregnant. Weeks after Judith's birth, Young placed her in an orphanage. Judith spent the next 19 months in various "hideaways and orphanages" before being reunited with her mother. Young then publicly announced that she had adopted a baby named Judith. After Young married Tom Lewis in 1940, Judith took Lewis as her last name. Young and Gable starred in the film Key to the City in 1950. 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. Young finally admitted that she and Gable were her birth parents, telling her that she was "a walking mortal sin." 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. In 2015, Linda Lewis, the wife of Christopher Lewis, stated that the 85-year-old Young had told her in 1998 that she was a victim of date rape. Lewis claimed that Young learned about "date rape" from watching the Larry King Live show. Young said that she previously believed it was a woman's obligation to fend off a man's sexual advances. She had previously perceived her failure to stop Gable as her moral failing. Linda Lewis said that the family chose not to reveal this story until after Judith died in 2011.

Young was a lifelong member of the Republican Party. In 1952, she appeared in radio, print, and magazine ads in support of General Dwight D. Eisenhower in his campaign for US president. After he won the election, she attended his 1953 inauguration ceremony in Washington D.C.. She was a vocal supporter of Vice President Richard Nixon and California Governor Ronald Reagan in their successful presidential campaigns in 1968 and 1980, respectively. Young was also an active member of the Hollywood Republican Committee.

After retiring from television, Young devoted herself to volunteer work for charities and churches. 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.

A tobacco smoker since age eight, Young quit the habit in the mid-1980s, gaining 10 lb. Young kept a -tall silver crucifix in her home, bought in Mexico in the 1940s.

Young died of ovarian cancer on August 12, 2000, at the home of her maternal half-sister, Georgiana Young (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.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1953–1961 — The Loretta Young Show — Self - Host — 162 episodes; 8 seasons • 1962–1963 — The New Loretta Young Show — Christine Massey — 26 episodes; 1 season • 1986 — Christmas Eve — Amanda Kingsley — TV movie • 1989 — Lady in a Corner — Grace Guthrie — TV movie • 1994 — Life Along the Mississippi — Narrator — Voice; TV documentary

• 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" • 1947 — Family Theater — "Flight from Home" • 1950 — Suspense — "Lady Killer" • 1952 — Lux Radio Theatre — "Come to the Stable" • 1952 — Family Theater — "Heritage of Home" • 1953 — Family Theater — "The Longest Hour"

Loretta Young was recorded at birth as Gretchen Michaela Young. The authorities additionally record the heading Gretchen Young. Her recorded language was English. Her recorded confession was Catholic Church. She married Grant Withers, Tom Lewis and Jean Louis. 3 children are recorded: Judy Lewis, Christopher Lewis and Peter Lewis.

Loretta Young is recorded as having received Academy Award for Best Actress, Siena Medal and Crystal Award.

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. • Illustration — Young and Orson Welles in the film The Stranger (1946) 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.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1916 — Sweet Kitty Bellairs — unknown — Lost; uncredited • 1917 — The Primrose Ring — Fairy — Lost; uncredited • 1917 — Sirens of the Sea — Child — As Gretchen Young • 1919 — The Only Way — Child on operating table • 1921 — White and Unmarried — Child — Uncredited • 1921 — The Sheik — Arab child — Extant; uncredited • 1927 — Naughty But Nice — Bit part — Extant; uncredited • 1927 — Her Wild Oat — Bit by ping pong table — Extant; uncredited • 1927 — Orchids and Ermine — unknown — Extant; uncredited • 1928 — The Whip Woman — The Girl — Lost • 1928 — Laugh, Clown, Laugh — Simonetta — Extant; made at MGM • 1928 — The Magnificent Flirt — Denise Laverne — Lost; made at Paramount Pictures • 1928 — The Head Man — Carol Watts — Lost • 1928 — Scarlet Seas — Margaret Barbour — Extant (Vitaphone track of music and effects survives). Picture elements discovered at Cineteca Italiana, Milan • 1929 — Seven Footprints to Satan — One of Satan's victims — Extant; uncredited • 1929 — The Squall — Irma — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1929 — The Girl in the Glass Cage — Gladys Cosgrove — Lost • 1929 — Fast Life — Patricia Mason Stratton — Lost (Vitaphone soundtrack discs at UCLA Film and Television) • 1929 — The Careless Age — Muriel — Lost • 1929 — The Forward Pass — Patricia Carlyle — Lost • 1929 — The Show of Shows — "Meet My Sister" number — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1930 — Loose Ankles — Ann Harper Berry — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1930 — The Man from Blankley's — Margery Seaton — Lost (Vitaphone soundtrack discs at UCLA Film and Television) • 1930 — Showgirl in Hollywood — Extant, in Library of Congress; uncredited • 1930 — The Second Floor Mystery — Marion Ferguson — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1930 — Road to Paradise — Mary Brennan/Margaret Waring — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1930 — Warner Bros. Jubilee Dinner — Herself — Short subject • 1930 — Kismet — Marsinah — Lost (Vitaphone soundtrack discs at UCLA Film and Television) • 1930 — War Nurse — Nurse — Extant; made at MGM; uncredited (Young's scenes deleted) • 1930 — The Truth About Youth — Phyllis Ericson — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1930 — The Devil to Pay! — Dorothy Hope — Extant; produced by Samuel Goldwyn; released by United Artists • 1931 — How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: "The Brassie" — Herself — Short subject • 1931 — Beau Ideal — Isobel Brandon — Extant; made at RKO • 1931 — The Right of Way — Rosalie Evantural — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1931 — The Stolen Jools — Herself — Short subject • 1931 — Three Girls Lost — Norene McMann — Extant • 1931 — Too Young to Marry — Elaine Bumpstead — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1931 — Big Business Girl — Claie "Mac" McIntyre — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1931 — I Like Your Nerve — Diane Forsythe — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1931 — The Ruling Voice — Gloria Bannister — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1931 — Platinum Blonde — Gallagher • 1932 — Taxi! — Sue Riley Nolan — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1932 — The Hatchet Man — Sun Toya San — Extant, in Library of Congress; original title The Honorable Mr. Wong • 1932 — Play Girl — Buster "Bus" Green Dennis — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1932 — Week-End Marriage — Lola Davis Hayes — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1932 — Life Begins — Grace Sutton — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1932 — They Call It Sin — Marion Cullen — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1933 — Employees' Entrance — Madeleine Walters West — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1933 — Grand Slam — Marcia Stanislavsky — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1933 — Zoo in Budapest — Eve — Extant • 1933 — The Life of Jimmy Dolan — Peggy — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1933 — Heroes for Sale — Ruth Loring Holmes — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1933 — Midnight Mary — Mary Martin • 1933 — She Had to Say Yes — Florence "Flo" Denny — Extant, in Library of Congress • 1933 — The Devil's in Love — Margot Lesesne — Extant • 1933 — Man's Castle — Trina — Extant • 1934 — The House of Rothschild — Julie Rothschild • 1934 — Born to Be Bad — Letty Strong • 1934 — Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back — Lola Field • 1934 — Caravan — Countess Wilma • 1934 — The White Parade — June Arden • 1935 — Clive of India — Margaret Maskelyne Clive • 1935 — Shanghai — Barbara Howard • 1935 — The Call of the Wild — Claire Blake • 1935 — The Crusades — Berengaria, Princess of Navarre • 1935 — Hollywood Extra Girl — Herself — Short subject • 1936 — The Unguarded Hour — Lady Helen Dudley Dearden • 1936 — Private Number — Ellen Neal • 1936 — Ramona — Ramona • 1936 — Ladies in Love — Susie Schmidt • 1937 — Love Is News — Toni Gateson • 1937 — Café Metropole — Laura Ridgeway • 1937 — Love Under Fire — Myra Cooper • 1937 — Wife, Doctor and Nurse — Ina Heath Lewis • 1937 — Second Honeymoon — Vicky • 1938 — Four Men and a Prayer — Miss Lynn Cherrington • 1938 — Three Blind Mice — Pamela Charters • 1938 — Suez — Countess Eugenie de Montijo • 1938 — Kentucky — Sally Goodwin • 1939 — Wife, Husband and Friend — Doris Borland • 1939 — The Story of Alexander Graham Bell — Mrs. Mabel Hubbard Bell • 1939 — Eternally Yours — Anita • 1940 — The Doctor Takes a Wife — June Cameron • 1940 — He Stayed for Breakfast — Marianna Duval • 1941 — The Lady from Cheyenne — Annie Morgan • 1941 — The Men in Her Life — Lina Varsavina • 1941 — Bedtime Story — Jane Drake • 1942 — A Night to Remember — Nancy Troy • 1943 — China — Carolyn Grant • 1943 — Show Business at War — Herself — Short subject • 1944 — Ladies Courageous — Roberta Harper — biopic of the WWII WASPs, pioneering women pilots • 1944 — And Now Tomorrow — Emily Blair • 1945 — Along Came Jones — Cherry de Longpre • 1946 — The Stranger — Mary Longstreet • 1947 — The Perfect Marriage — Maggie Williams • 1947 — The Farmer's Daughter — Katrin "Katy" Holstrum — Academy Award for Best Actress • 1947 — The Bishop's Wife — Julia Brougham • 1948 — Rachel and the Stranger — Rachel Harvey • 1949 — The Accused — Dr. Wilma Tuttle • 1949 — Mother Is a Freshman — Abigail Fortitude Abbott • 1949 — Come to the Stable — Sister Margaret — Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress • 1950 — Key to the City — Clarissa Standish • 1951 — You Can Change the World — Herself — Short subject • 1951 — Cause for Alarm — Ellen Jones • 1951 — Half Angel — Nora Gilpin • 1951 — Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Awards — Herself — Short subject • 1952 — Paula — Paula Rogers • 1952 — Because of You — Christine Carroll Kimberly • 1953 — It Happens Every Thursday — Jane MacAvoy