A&E's "Biography" (1987) said Loretta Young "remains a symbol of beauty, serenity, and grace. But behind the glamor and stardom is a woman of substance whose true beauty lies in her dedication to her family, her faith, and her quest to live life with a purpose." Loretta Young was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 6, 1913. Her parents separated when Loretta was three years old. Her mother moved Loretta and her two older sisters to Southern California, where Mrs. Young ran a boarding house. Mrs. Young's brother-in-law was an assistant director and got young Loretta a small role in the film The Only Way (1914). The role consisted of nothing more than a small, weeping child lying on an operating table. Later that year, she appeared in another small role in The Primrose Ring (1917). The film starred Mae Murray , who was so taken with little Loretta that she offered to adopt her. Loretta lived with the Murrays for about a year and a half. In 1921, she had a brief scene in The Sheik (1921). Loretta and her sisters attended parochial schools, after which they helped their mother run the boarding house. In 1927, Loretta returned to films in a small part in Naughty But Nice (1927). Even at the age of fourteen, she was an ambitious actress. Beginning with her role as Denise Laverne in The Magnificent Flirt (1928), she shaped any character she took on with total dedication. In 1928, she received second billing in The Head Man (1928) and continued to toil in many roles throughout the 20s and 30s, making anywhere from six to nine films a year. Her two sisters were also actresses but were not as successful as Loretta, whose natural beauty was her distinct advantage. By the mid-30's, Loretta left First National Studios for rival Fox, where she had previously worked on a loan-out basis. Loretta became one of the premiere leading ladies of Hollywood. In 1938, Loretta starred as Sally Goodwin in Kentucky (1938), an outstanding success. Her co-star Walter Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Peter Goodwin. By the 1940's, Loretta was still one of the most beautiful ladies in Hollywood. She reached the pinnacle of her career when she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in The Farmer's Daughter (1947), the tale of a farm girl who rises through the ranks and becomes a congresswoman. It was a smash and today is her best remembered film. The same year, she starred in the delightful fantasy The Bishop's Wife (1947) with David Niven and Cary Grant . It was another box office success and continues to be a TV staple during the holiday season. In 1949, Loretta starred in the well-received film, Mother Is a Freshman (1949) with Van Johnson and Rudy Vallee and Come to the Stable (1949). The latter garnered Loretta her second Oscar nomination, but she lost to Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress (1949). In 1953, Loretta made It Happens Every Thursday (1953), which was to be her final big screen role. Later in 1953, she entered the relatively new medium of television with her own TV series "Letter to Loretta" (1953), today more popularly known as "The Loretta Young Show". Loretta won three Emmy Award s as Best Actress in a TV series. After the show ended, she took some time off before returning in 1962 with "The New Loretta Young Show" (1962), which was not so successful, lasting only one season. For the next 24 years, Loretta did not appear in any entertainment medium. Her final performance was in a made for TV film Lady in the Corner (1989) (TV). She lived a quiet retirement in Palm Springs, California until her death on August 12, 2000 from ovarian cancer at the home of her sister Georgiana and Georgiana's husband, Ricardo Montalban .
Miss Young's return to the screen following convent school came about rather fortuitously. A casting call was sent out by the producers of Naughty But Nice (1927) for her sister Polly Ann Young . Answering the telephone, the young Gretchen replied that her sister was unavailable and wondered if she herself might substitute. And so she did. It was merely a bit part, but it led to a movie contract and eventual stardom for Loretta Young .Cast members in the 1939 film The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939) included not only Loretta Young but, portraying her character's sisters, her real-life, actress sisters as well: Polly Ann Young and Sally Blane . Further, portraying the fourth on-screen sister was a fourth real-life half sister, Georgiana Young , although the latter was not a professional actress. (Years later, Georgiana, whom Loretta dubbed "Georgie," would appear occasionally on Loretta's TV show "Letter to Loretta" (1953) (better known as "The Loretta Young Show").).In 1972, Miss Young sued NBC for violating her contract in allowing reruns of "Letter to Loretta" (1953) (better known as "The Loretta Young Show") to be shown, wherein audiences might have ridiculed her gowns and hairstyles, which were by then 10 or even 20 years out of date. The court awarded her more than a half-million dollars.Had an illegitimate daughter by Clark Gable . For years this was covered up in Hollywood, and was presented as an adoption. The daughter's resemblance to both parents is uncanny. The daughter Judy Lewis later dabbled in acting before becoming a psychologist. Judy Lewis wrote a book "Uncommon Knowledge" with the truth of her parentage.Loretta Young's third husband was Academy Award winning clothing and costume designer, Jean Louis . He was well known for designing for the stars at Columbia Studios, Universal and in his own salon in Beverly Hills. His most famous creations included the strapless gown for Rita Hayworth in the film Gilda (1946) as well as Marilyn Monroe 's white sequined gown she wore to sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to John F. Kennedy . Jean Louis married Loretta after the death of his first wife, Maggy, who was a personal friend of Loretta for over 50 years.She died at the home of her sister Georgiana Montalban and Georgiana's husband, actor Ricardo Montalban , early morning Saturday 12 August 2000.In her posthumously published autobiography, she admitted that her "adopted" daughter, Judy Lewis , was her biological daughter by Clark Gable .Sister of Polly Ann Young and Sally Blane , half-sister of Georgiana Young , sister-in-law of Norman Foster , half-sister-in-law of Ricardo Montalban , mother of Judy Lewis .Country singer Loretta Lynn was named after her.In 1976 there was talk of a comeback role for Loretta, as Mother Cabrini in a biography of the first American to attain sainthood to be directed by Martin Scorsese . The project unfortunately never materialised.Caused a buzz in 1999 when she appeared on the cover of 'Vanity Fair' looking a lot younger than her 86 years, "todays air brushing techniques can do wonders" was her explanation.She is the mother of singer/songwriter Peter Lewis, a former member of the infamous 1960s San Francisco rock band Moby Grape.She chose her own middle name, "Michaela" at the time of her confirmation as a teen. She was raised as a Catholic, and some Catholics back then were able to choose the name or names of a saint or saints whom they most admired and add it onto their own. She simply liked the name Michaela. Apparently, her mother never actually gave her one at birth.Loretta's family moved to Los Angeles in 1915. Shortly after, her father abandoned the large family. The eldest child, John R. Young ("Jack"), was adopted by two sisters who changed his surname to Lindley. He later became an attorney and the father of five. He had little contact over the years with his blood family.Loretta and older sisters Sally Blane and Polly Ann Young worked as extras during school vacations while young. Their mother ran a boarding house to support the family.In Italy, unlike other major Hollywood actresses, she didn't have an official dubbing voice. She was in turn dubbed by Lidia Simoneschi , Rina Morelli , Renata Marini (in her Oscar-winning performance in The Farmer's Daughter (1947)) and Giovanna Scotto most notably in the much-loved The Bishop's Wife (1947). Dhia Cristiani , Lia Orlandini and Andreina Pagnani also lent their voice to Young at some point.Sister of John R. Young . All the Young children were child extras in silent films.Marlene Dietrich said of her: "Every time she 'sins,' she builds a church. That's why there are so many Catholic churches in Hollywood.".Aunt of Robert Foster who, from 1975 to 1978, played the role of Grimsley, the vampire-mortician horror host of "Fright Night" (1970) on Channels 9 (then KHJ-TV) and 5 (KTLA) in Southern California.Owned a successful cosmetics company in the 1960s that was headquartered in New York.Godmother of Marlo Thomas .Turned down the part of Ellie Andrews in It Happened One Night (1934). Claudette Colbert was then given the role and won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance.Young was a pro-business Republican. She appeared in print and radio ads in support for such presidents as Dwight D. Eisenhower , Richard Nixon , Gerald Ford , and Ronald Reagan . She even donated money to the Republican National Committee and like close friend Irene Dunne she was active in an array of conservative Republican causes.
In England, Otis Madison learns from the girl that he loves, Isobel Brandon, that the man she loves is his best friend, John Geste, and so there is nothing that Otis can do but stiffen his upper lip and set sail for Morocco and tell John that he is the man that Isobel loves. This is not easy to do as John is confined to a prison for disgraced Legionaires and the people who put him there aren't overly concerned about who Isobel loves. But the resourceful John promises his love to an Arabian beauty, Zuleika, the 'Angel of Death', which gets him out of prison, and then he has to go after the evil Emir who caused him to fall into disgrace. Isobel waits patiently in England.