Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 35 I T IS OFTEN FORGOTTEN, IF NOT COMPLETELY UN- KNOWN BY THE YOUNGER VIEWING PUBLIC, THAT THE TREASURE STATE WAS THE BIRTHPLACE OF TWO OF THE BIGGEST MOVIE STARS OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICAN CINEMA: GARY COOPER AND MYRNA LOY. If readers don't recognize the names, they would do well to look into them. For all of the obvious differences between their respective screen images, Cooper the all-American cowboy Everyman and Loy the chic Perfect Wife, there are also intriguing symmetries to be found between the two, and not just because of where they were born. Though they never appeared in any films together (something for which Loy later expressed regret), their acting careers were active during the same period, beginning at the tail-end of the silent era and extending into the birth of the New Holly- wood. They both had performance styles characterized by understatement. And while Cooper, with his lifelong associ- ation with the Western genre, is perhaps the more obvious Montana connection, Loy can also be read as being shaped by the ethos of the Big Sky Country in her grace, indepen- dence, and integrity. She was born Myrna Adele Williams on August 2, 1905, also in Helena, though the bulk of her early childhood would be spent on the ranch her family owned in Crow Creek Valley, near Radersburg. Her father, David F. Wil- liams, had served a term in the Montana state legislature, representing Broadwater County as a Republican in 1903. Along with his friend and fellow legislator Frank Linder- man, he joined in an effort led by Native people to establish the Rocky Boy Reservation for landless Cree and Chippewa, which succeeded in 1911. Though she never ran for political office herself, Myrna would possess a sense of civic respon- sibility and engagement throughout her life. Her father, in a stroke of irony, took a dim view of the performing arts in general and of women publically displaying themselves in particular. She was born Myrna Adele Williams ON AUGUST 2, 1905, IN HELENA, THOUGH THE BULK OF HER EARLY CHILDHOOD WOULD BE SPENT ON THE RANCH HER FAMILY OWNED NEAR RADERSBURG. Myrna Loy standing in a mine shaft in the Spring Hill Mine at Grizzly Gulch near Helena After Gary was expelled from Helena High, HIS PARENTS SENT HIM TO BOZEMAN TO FINISH HIGH SCHOOL. IT WAS IN BOZEMAN THAT HE HAD HIS FIRST ACTING EXPERIENCE IN HIS SENIOR CLASS PLAY. by KARI BOWLES 943-554, MONTANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY RESEARCH CENTER PHOTOGRAPH ARCHIVES, HELENA, MT. PHOTO COURTESY OF GALLATIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUM. Young Gary Cooper (far right) and friends on the lawn of what is now the Willson School in Bozeman

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