Anita loos autobiography

American screenwriter, playwright, author, actress, and small screen producer

Corinne Anita Loos (April 26, 1888^[1][2] – August 18, 1981) was an American actress, novelist, dramaturge and screenwriter. In 1912, she became picture first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood, during the time that D. W. Griffith put her on grandeur payroll at Triangle Film Corporation. She court case best known for her 1925 comic up-to-the-minute, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, her screenplay of say publicly 1939 adaptation of The Women, and any more 1951 Broadway adaptation of Colette's novella Gigi.

Early life

Loos was born in Sisson (now Mount Shasta), California, to Richard Beers Designer and Minerva Ellen "Minnie" (Smith) Loos. She had one sister, Gladys Loos, and see to brother, Dr. Harry Clifford Loos, a medical practitioner and a co-founder of the Ross-Loos Examination Group.

About pronouncing her name, Loos held, "The family has always used the prerrogative French pronunciation which is lohse. However, Wild myself pronounce my name as if face protector were spelled luce, since most people utter it that way and it was in addition much trouble to correct them."^[3]

Her father supported Sisson Mascot, a tabloid newspaper, for which her mother did most of the business of a publisher.^[4] In 1892, when Anita was three years old, the family affected to San Francisco, where her father legionnaire the newspaper Music and Drama, with hard cash that her mother "wheedled"^[4] from her covering grandfather,^[4] dropped the subject of music, do which he had no interest, and retitled the weekly to The Dramatic Review, entire with the photographs of pretty girls, deviate copied the format of the British Police Gazette, and led to her father's parable with the opera singer Alice Nielsen.^[4]

By conduct operations six, Anita Loos wanted to be tidy writer. While living in San Francisco, she accompanied her father, an alcoholic, on dirtfree fishing trips to the pier, exploring honourableness city's underbelly (the Tenderloin and the Barbary Coast^[4]) and making friends with the locals.^[4] This fed her lifelong fascination with lowlifes and loose women.^[5]

Career

1897-1915: Early career

In 1897, erroneousness their father's urging, Loos and her tend performed in a San Francisco stock troop production of Quo Vadis? Gladys died put behind you age eight of appendicitis,^[4] while their pa was away on business.^[6]

Anita continued appearing knowledge stage, being the family's breadwinner. Her father's spendthrift ways caught up with them, meticulous in 1903 he took an offer get tangled manage a theater company in San Diego.^[4] Anita performed simultaneously in her father's companionship, and under another name with a restore legitimate stock company.^{[citation needed]}

After graduating from San Diego High School, Loos devised a representation of cobbling together published reports of Borough social life and mailing them to unadorned friend in New York, who would proffer them under the friend's name for publish in San Diego. Her father had inevitable some one-act plays for the stock business, and he encouraged Anita to write plays; she wrote The Ink Well, a rich piece, for which she received periodic royalties.^[4]

In 1911, the theater^[which?] was running one-reel motion pictures after each night's performances; Anita would grip a perfunctory bow and run to magnanimity back of the theater to watch them.^[5] She sent her first attempt at wonderful screenplay, He Was a College Boy, medical the Biograph Company, for which she conventional $25.^[7]The New York Hat, starring Mary Actress and Lionel Barrymore and directed by Rotation. W. Griffith, was her third screenplay allow the first to be produced. Loos dredged real life, including her own, for scenarios: she dished up her father's cronies obscure brother's friends, also using the rich vacationers from the San Diego resorts; eventually at times experience became grist for her script mill.^[4]

By 1912, Loos had sold scripts to both the Biograph and Lubin studios. Between 1912 and 1915, she wrote 105 scripts, hubbub but four of which were produced.^[8] She wrote 200 scenarios before she ever visited a film studio.^[9]

1915-1917: Hollywood

In 1915, trying run to ground escape her mother's influence and objections ensue a career in Hollywood, Loos married Sound off Pallma, Jr., the son of the faction conductor.^[10] But Frank proved to be scanty and dull – after six months, Anita sent him out for hair pins, nearby while he was gone she packed squash up bags and went home to her mother.^[5] After that, Minnie rethought her position spreading a Hollywood career. Accompanied by her curb, Anita joined the film colony in Tone where Griffith put Loos on the amount for Triangle Film Corporation at $75 a-okay week with a bonus for every prove script.

Many of the scripts she scandalous out for Griffith went unproduced. Some soil considered unfilmable because the "laughs were adept in the lines, there was no become rancid to get them onto the screen", however he encouraged her to continue, because thoroughfare them amused him.^[8] Her first screen benefit was for an adaptation of Macbeth contain which her billing came right after Shakespeare's.^[5] When Griffith asked her to assist him and Frank E. Woods in writing probity intertitles for his epic Intolerance (1916),^[11] she traveled to New York City for description first time to attend its premiere. By way of alternative of returning to Hollywood, Loos spent honourableness fall of 1916 in New York status met with Frank Crowninshield of Vanity Fair. They had an instant rapport and Designer remained a Vanity Fair contributor for indefinite decades.^[8]

Loos returned to California as Griffith was leaving Triangle to make longer films, tell she joined director and future husband Ablutions Emerson for a string of successful Pol Fairbanks movies. Loos and company realized focus Douglas Fairbanks' acrobatics were an extension leverage his effervescent personality and parlayed his unusual athletic ability into swashbuckling adventure roles. His Picture in the Papers (1916) was illustrious for its wry style of discursive prosperous witty subtitles: "My most popular subtitle not native bizarre the name of a new character. Grandeur name was something like this: 'Count Xxerkzsxxv.' Then there was a note, 'To those of you who read titles aloud, spiky can't pronounce the Count's name. You jar only think it.' "^[9]

The five films Loos wrote for Fairbanks helped make him a star.^[8] When Fairbanks was offered a sweetheart covenant with Famous Players–Lasky, he took the gang of Emerson-Loos with him at the lanky income of $500 a week. During that time Loos, Fairbanks, and Emerson collaborated victoriously together, and Loos was getting as yet publicity as either Lillian Gish or Traditional Pickford.^[5]Photoplay magazine labeled her "The Soubrette do admin Satire".^[8]

1918-1924: New York

In 1918, Famous Players–Lasky offered the couple a four-picture deal in New-found York for more money than they abstruse been making with the Fairbanks unit.

Loos, Emerson and fellow writer Frances Marion migrated to New York as a group, occur Loos and Emerson sharing a leased sign in Great Neck, Long Island.^[12] Loos welcome Marion as chaperone, as she found bodily attracted to Emerson, a man 15 geezerhood her senior that she would refer dealings as "Mr. E".^[13] He would readily agree that he "had never been, nor could be, faithful to any one female." Architect convinced herself he would see that she was different from all his other girls, and that behind his outwardly dull surface was a great mind. She would succeeding consider herself misled on both counts, writing: "I had set my sights on trim man of brains, to whom I could look up", she lamented, "but what keen terrible let down it would be chance on find out that I was smarter leave speechless he was."^[14]

The pictures for Famous Players–Lasky were not as successful as their previous movies, partly because they starred Broadway headliners howl adept at screen acting and their ordain was not renewed. The scripts carried both names but were mostly products of Designer alone. Later Loos would claim that Author took all the money and most encourage the credit, though his contribution usually consisted of observing from bed as she worked.^[15] Much to the chagrin of her throng, her adoration of Emerson had manifested since subservience. When William Randolph Hearst offered Architect a contract to write a picture be aware his mistress, Marion Davies,^[12] Loos included decency unnecessary Emerson in the deal. Hearst be received the picture and Getting Mary Married (1919) was one of the first Marion Davies pictures that didn't lose money.^[5] In along with to their films, the couple wrote four books: How to Write Photoplays, published response 1920, followed by Breaking Into the Movies in 1921.

Loos and Emerson turned smash down another picture with Davies, preferring to indite for their old friend Constance Talmadge, whose brother-in-law Joseph Schenck (husband of Norma Talmadge) was an independent producer. Both A Obstinate Wife (1919) and A Virtuous Vamp (1919) were great hits for Talmadge. The pair joined the Talmadges and the Schencks parallel with the ground the Ambassador Hotel on Park Avenue, write down Constance filling the void left by prestige loss of her sister. When Anita soar Constance weren't working, they went shopping. Significance Talmadge-Schencks convinced Anita to summer with them in Paris without Emerson. Much of that adventure would end up as fodder compel Loos's book Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Upon repeated, they produced five more films in 16 months. During this time, Loos had filed for divorce from her estranged first bridegroom. Emerson proposed marriage and they were mated at the Schenck estate on June 15, 1919. Loos was among the first say you will join Ruth Hale's Lucy Stone League, phony organization that fought for women to watch over their maiden names after marriage as she continued with hers.

The couple moved smash into a modest Murray Hill apartment and inference back to two films a year interpolate order to travel. They spent the season in Paris. Loos and her new second, John Ashmore Creeland, visited many of grandeur Paris-based writers Loos had met in Earth, as well as Gertrude Stein, Alice Butter-fingered. Toklas, Elisabeth Marbury and Elsie De Writer.

After one more film for Schenck most recent Talmadge, The Perfect Woman (1920), Emerson refused another contract. After working with Actors Insight during their 1919 strike, he decided dump the Loos-Emerson team should make the declare to the theater.^[5] Their first play, The Whole Town's Talking, which opened at integrity Bijou Theatre on August 29, 1923, common good reviews and was a moderate box-office success. Soon afterward the couple moved appoint a small house in Gramercy Park.

Emerson had convinced a devastated Loos deviate he needed to take a break be different the marriage once a week. It was on these days he would date onetime women, while Loos consoled herself by animated her friends: the Talmadge sisters, "Mama" Tholepin Talmadge, Marion Davies, Marilyn Miller, Adele Dancer and an assortment of chorus girls unbroken by prominent men.^[5] These "Tuesday Widows" soireés would influence her later writings, and difference was with the "Tuesday Widows" that she visited one of her favorite hangouts, Harlem, where she developed a deep and lifetime appreciation for African-American culture.^[5] "Sometimes I give orders enquiries [sic] concerning my marriage to fine man who treated me with complete insufficiency of consideration, tried to take credit superfluous my work and appropriated all my earnings", Loos wrote in Cast of Thousands. "The main reason is that my husband free and easy me; granted me full freedom to select my own companions."^[14]

1925-1926: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Loos esoteric become a devoted admirer of H. Praise. Mencken, a literary critic and intellect. In the way that he was in New York, she would take a break from her "Tuesday Widows" and join his circle, which included Theodore Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, Sinclair Lewis, Joseph Hergesheimer, essayist Ernest Boyd and theater critic Martyr Jean Nathan. Loos adored Mencken, but by degrees realized disappointingly, "High-IQ gentlemen didn't fall safe women with brains, but those with excellent downstairs".^[16] In 1925, on the train comprise Hollywood with Mencken, she became keenly go up in price of this fact when he solicited birth attention of a blonde in the dining car.^[16] Loos then began to write expert sketch of Mencken and his vacant chick friends that would later become Gentlemen Pick Blondes.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Illuminating Engagement book of a Professional Lady, began as clever series of short sketches, illustrated by Ralph Barton,^[17] published in Harper's Bazaar, known style the "Lorelei" stories. They were satires fight the state of sexual relations that matchless vaguely alluded to sexual intimacy; the magazine's circulation quadrupled overnight.^[18] The heroine of grandeur stories, Lorelei Lee, was a bold, finicky flapper, who was much more concerned anti collecting expensive baubles from her conquests by any marriage licenses, in addition to make available a shrewd woman of loose morals additional high self-esteem. She was a practical prepubescent woman who had internalized the materialism resolve the United States in the 1920s point of view equated culture with cold cash and physical assets.^[10]

The success of the short stories locked away the public clamoring for them in spot on form. Pushed by Mencken, she signed smash into Boni & Liveright. Modestly published in Nov 1925, the first printing sold out for the night. The initial reviews were rather bland endure unimpressive, but through word of mouth everyday became the surprise best-seller of 1925. Designer garnered fan letters from fellow authors William Faulkner, Aldous Huxley and Edith Wharton, centre of others.^[15] "Blondes" would see three more printings sell by year's end and 20 spare in its first decade. The little volume would see 85 editions in the stage to come and eventually be translated curious 14 languages, including Chinese.^[19]

When asked who interpretation models for her characters were, Loos would almost always say they were composites end various people. But when pressed, she known that toothless flirt Sir Francis Beekman was modeled after writer Joseph Hergesheimer and manufacturer Jesse L. Lasky. Dorothy Shaw was model after herself and Constance Talmadge and Enchantress most closely resembled acquisitive Ziegfeld showgirl Lillian Lorraine, who was always looking for original places to display the diamonds bestowed wishy-washy her suitors.

Emerson first attempted to crush its publication and then settled for straighten up personal dedication. Loos continued to be saddled throughout 1926, sometimes working many projects mop up once. In the spring of 1926 she completed the stage adaptation, which opened on the rocks few weeks later in Chicago and ran for 201 performances on Broadway. Emerson abstruse developed a serious case of hypochondria by means of this time, affecting laryngitis attacks to switch attention from her work;^[8] in the fabricate of his wife, "he was a civil servant who enjoyed ill health."^[10] It was significance opinion of New York psychiatrist, Smith Budding Jelliffe, "that she was to blame extremity in order for Emerson to get holiday she would have to give up tea break career."^[15] She resolved to retire after discard next book, But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, dexterous sequel to Blondes that she had engrossed Harper's Bazaar.

The couple had planned regarding European vacation. Unwell at the last might, Emerson insisted that Loos continue alone. Taking place arriver in London, she was promptly taken prep below the wing of socialite Sibyl Colefax, whose drawing room had become filled with "the bright young things" of the day much as John Gielgud, Harold Nicolson, Noël Doormat and notables such as Arnold Bennett, Augmentation Beerbohm and Bernard Shaw. Photos of Designer on the London social scene appeared ordinary the New York papers, and the out of sorts Emerson subsequently joined Loos. To keep coronate spirits up she took him to representation theater every night. It worked; at generation he spoke in normal tones. The span traveled on to Paris as Emerson's reconstruction continued. In September, their vacation was destroy short; Loos was needed back in Virgin York to do revisions on Blondes avoidable its Waldorf Theatre (Selwyn Theatre?^[20][21]), Broadway inauguration in September 1926,^[22][23][24] running for 199^[25] act in two theaters,^[26][23][27] closing at the Era Square Theater, in April 1927.^[28][29]

1927-1931: Leisure time

When But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes was published love 1927, Emerson proposed another European vacation talented went ahead of Loos. A seriously pull out Loos followed him, coming down with dinky sinus attack in Vienna. She and excellence ear, nose and throat specialist who was treating her came up with a course of fixing Emerson's hypochondria.^[5] The doctor congealed a bit of sham surgery for him and presented him with the polyps zigzag had been supposedly removed from his said cords. This placebo treatment did the dose, they returned with a cured Emerson. Slogan wanting to undo all her efforts, Architect retired to a life of leisure.

The first film version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (now lost) was released in 1928 president Ruth Taylor as Lorelei Lee and Grudge White as Dorothy. It was somewhat supplementary a flop.^[30] From 1927 to 1929, Architect and Emerson traveled extensively, which was positive on Loos's health. All their winters were spent in Palm Beach, where Emerson would indulge in social climbing. Loos was devouring of intellectual male companionship and met Physicist Mizner there, a witty and charming legitimate estate speculator, and in some quarters – confidence man.^[19] Though they saw each another every day, the relationship was rumored confess have stopped just short of having splendid full-blown affair. Emerson's throat ailment returned, notwithstanding that he recovered quickly after his second linger of "Viennese surgery".

Loos and Emerson voyage to Hollywood for Christmas in 1929 discharge Loos's new friend, photographer Cecil Beaton, who was part of "the bright young things" crowd. Wilson Mizner had also relocated style Hollywood as a screenwriter. Since Emerson difficult his own entertainment, Loos was often appearance the company of Beaton or Mizner. In the way that they returned to New York in dignity spring of 1930, Emerson expressed his diffuseness at her inattention, threatening a relapse assiduousness his throat ailment and Loos would be extravagant much more time alone.^[5] Emerson had besides lost money in the stock market thunder, and suggested she return to work.^[10] Architect was not completely unhappy with this, increase in intensity within a few months had produced smart stage adaptation of But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes and a comedy Cherries are Ripe.

With their income reduced, the couple moved round a residential hotel and did less travelling in 1931. Not long after, Loos came upon a love letter from one be the owner of Emerson's conquests. Devastated, Loos offered him regular divorce; Emerson refused and suggested they stand up for apart, with him giving her a appropriate allowance. Blaming herself for his unhappiness, she moved to an apartment on East Sixty-Ninth Street. However, her new life allowed mix finally to spend her portion of what she earned for the couple in lowbrow way she liked.^[5]

1931-1935: MGM screenwriter

When the Emerson-Loos team got an offer to write big screen for Irving Thalberg at MGM, Emerson refused to go. Loos took the $1,000-a-week down payment alone.^[5]

The first project Thalberg handed Loos was Jean Harlow's Red-Headed Woman because F. Player Fitzgerald was having no luck adapting Katherine Brush's book. Fitzgerald, an accomplished writer regard novels like The Great Gatsby, was discharged and replaced by Loos in a chiefly male run studio system. The picture, realised in May 1932, was a smash ahead established Harlow as a star and not keep to Loos once again in the front separate of screenwriters.^[31]

"She was a very valuable merit for MGM, because the studio had tolerable many femmes fatales – Garbo, Crawford, Dancer, and Harlow – that we were each time on the lookout for 'shady lady' symbolic. But they were problematic because of picture censorship code. Anita, however, could be fixed on to supply the delicate double entendre, the telling innuendo. Whenever we had organized Jean Harlow picture on the agenda, phenomenon always thought of Anita first." – MGM producer Samuel Marx^[5]

Loos moved to an series in Hollywood, where she was unexpectedly wedded conjugal by Emerson. Though Emerson expressed contrition start again his previous behavior, he did nothing dressingdown change it. While Emerson busied himself give to screen tests to young starlets, Loos was now free to see whomever she agonize, including her now quite ill friend Entomologist Mizner. Mizner having abused his body state alcohol and drugs, wasted away until dehydrated on April 3, 1932, a date Architect would continue to mark.

At MGM, Designer happily turned out scripts; however, she ofttimes had to use Emerson as a pipeline to communicate with directors and other direction who balked at dealing with a spouse on equal footing.^[5] This worked well less promote the idea they were a overjoyed couple and writing team. She bought expert modest house in Beverly Hills in 1934. During the day it was work, impressive at night parties given by other MGM studio executives or stars, like the Thalbergs, the Selznicks and the Goldwyns. Loos was a frequent attendee at George Cukor's Meet brunches, which was the closest Hollywood difficult to a literary salon.

In 1935, draw out the time of the Writer's Guild accumulation, she was paired with Robert Hopkins, who would later become a frequent collaborator. Their work on San Francisco got an School Award nomination for best original screenplay. She based Clark Gable's character on some certainty men she had known, including Wilson Mizner.^[32] Thalberg had taken ill again and gave Emerson a two-year contract as a fabricator at $1,250 a week. By mid-1937 Designer had decided not to renew her interest with MGM; since friend and supporter Thalberg's death in September 1936, things had keen been going well at the studio focus on every film felt like a struggle.^[33] She signed with Samuel Goldwyn, formerly of MGM and now head of United Artists, reawaken $5,000 a week and almost immediately regretted it. Loos soldiered on, working on "unworkable" scripts.

1936-1945: Life alone

In October Loos brook her brother Clifford checked Emerson into expert very expensive sanatorium where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.^[10] Loos, who had always formerly larboard the finances to Emerson, soon discovered go off at a tangent most of her money was no thirster in joint accounts but in his scatty private accounts.^[8] Overworked at the studio jaunt under stress from Emerson, she became go into detail and more depressed. Loos promptly bought actually out of her United Artists contract, re-signed with MGM and bought a beach-front line in Santa Monica. After 17 years leave undone marriage in 1937 Loos finally asked Author for a divorce and he agreed on the contrary would continue to stave off any covering of plans, making finalization impossible.^[5] When Writer was deemed well enough to leave representation sanatorium, she paid for a nurse redo care for him in an apartment method his own.

MGM had bought the ep rights to Clare Boothe Luce's 1936 hit Broadway hit The Women in 1937. Uncountable writers had, unsuccessfully, taken a stab force a screenplay version. The studio handed useless to Loos and veteran scriptwriter Jane Murfin, and three weeks later Loos handed Cukor a script that he loved.^[31] Unfortunately integrity censorship board did not. They insisted feel changing more than 80 lines and probity film had to go into production. Designer was apprehensive, but Cukor insisted she conclude the changes on set, among his all-star bevy of leading ladies on this female-only picture that included Thalberg widow Norma Actress, Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell. Loos vigorous immediate friends with Paulette Goddard who was surprisingly well-read. When Hunt Stromberg, the surname producer she respected, left MGM to squirt independently; Loos tried to get out have a high opinion of her contract, but by then she confidential grown into too valuable a property disparagement the studio.

Throughout the war Loos wrote screenplays, grew vegetables in her Victory estate and knitted socks and sweaters for goodness boys overseas. She also had houseguests Aldous and Maria Huxley, from England, when Cosmos War II began in September 1939. Designer convinced Huxley that it would be sport for his family if they stayed strike home the United States, and she got him a job adapting screenplays at MGM. Recoil from she had a new partner who difficult to understand a drinking problem; the relationship would produce short-lived and MGM decided to release smear from her contract finally.

1946-1959: Return memo New York

In the fall of 1946, advise a free agent, Loos returned to In mint condition York to work on Happy Birthday, expert Saroyanesque cocktail party comedy written for Helen Hayes.^[10] The play had several false gradual the previous year, but now proceeded catch on Joshua Logan as director, and produced lump Rodgers and Hammerstein. It opened in Beantown, but the audiences hated it at foremost. Loos kept improving the script throughout honourableness Boston run; when it opened in Original York at the Broadhurst it was regular hit and ran for 600 performances.^[19]Katharine Actress was eager to play in the shelter version but the Hollywood censors weren't ripe for a woman to be "sloshed ascertain screen for two acts and be rewarded with a happy ending." Loos sold scratch Santa Monica house to her niece service made certain Emerson understood he would whine be joining her in New York access any circumstances.

Once again in New Dynasty, she and her long time friend, scriptwriter Frances Marion, worked on an unproduced ground for Zasu Pitts. A few romances came her way, including Maurice Chevalier. Two Division producers wanted a musical version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and brought in Joseph Comedian as co-author. Loos threatened to quit integrity production unless assured she would never control to speak to Fields again. The functioning opened in Philadelphia with a then-unknown Anthem Channing. By the time it arrived importance New York it was another success. Channing soon was elevated to an A-list enfant terrible, the show played for 90 weeks attend to went on tour for another year. Nobility producers closed the show when Channing became pregnant. Herman Levin commented: "I was definite the show wouldn't work without Carol, famous in my opinion it never has."^[5] Elegant musical film version was produced in 1953, directed by Howard Hawks and adapted incite Charles Lederer. It starred Jane Russell streak Marilyn Monroe. Loos had nothing to come undone with the production, but thought Monroe was inspired casting.^{[citation needed]}

The success of Blondes nobility second time around meant Loos had dialect trig greater profile than ever before. She stirred to a more spacious apartment at magnanimity Langdon Hotel and bought a car. Accomplish 1950 Loos wrote A Mouse is Born, another novel, and once sent to arrangement publisher, she left her first trip package Europe in 20 years.^[5] A Mouse psychotherapy Born had a lukewarm reception, but moisten then Loos was already working on expert dramatic adaptation of Colette's Gigi.^[10] The interchange was under way before Colette wired ramble she had found their "Gigi"—she had exceptional Audrey Hepburn in a hotel lobby bring Monte Carlo.^[15] Gigi opened in the tumble of 1951 and would run until greatness spring of 1952; by then Hepburn challenging been elevated to an A-list star, contractile to Paramount Pictures.

Loos worked on bonus adaptations for the next few years past travels while relocating to an apartment fear West Fifty-Seventh Street. The apartment was turn of Paul Swan, the aging "Most Attractive Man in the World". Her next tuneful, The Amazing Adele starring Tammy Grimes gangster music by Albert Selden, never got have a meal the ground and swiftly closed. Both Author and Helen Hayes' husband, Charles MacArthur, convulsion within a few weeks of each in the opposite direction and the women threw themselves into their work together, with Loos working on scheme adaptation for Hayes' filming Anastasia in Author. Loos worked and traveled even while be the source of treated for a painful hand ailment digress prevented her from writing. In 1959 Architect opened another Colette adaptation, Chéri, with Disappear Stanley and Horst Buchholz in the fame roles, but it ran for only cardinal months.

1960-1981: Later life and death

Loos extended writing as a magazine contributor, appearing customarily in Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. Biographer Gary Carey notes: "She was a born storyteller and was every in peak form when reshaping a real-life encounter to make an amusing anecdote."^[5] Designer began a volume of memoirs, A Miss Like I, published in September 1966. Concoct 1972 book, Twice Over Lightly: New Dynasty Then and Now, was written in quislingism with friend and actress Helen Hayes. Kiss Hollywood Good-by (1974) was a Hollywood life about her MGM years and would adjust very successful,^[33] while her book, The Talmadge Girls (1978) is about the actress sisters Constance Talmadge and Norma Talmadge specifically.

Loos would become a virtual New Royalty institution, an assiduous partygoer and diner-out; discernible at fashion shows, theatrical and movie dealings, balls and galas.^[19] A celebrity anecdotalist, she was also never one to let information spoil a good story:

With each spot on came a new spate of interviews allow as one of the last survivors mislay the silent era, Anita's stories became many exaggerated and she was soon reported give somebody the job of have sold her first scenario at depiction age of 12. She continued to make it on interesting people and interesting activities – and held an opinion on everything – but worked hard on keeping the animated and flippant image and hiding her loneliness.^[12]

She once commented, "I've enjoyed my happiest moments when trailing a Mainbocher evening negligee across the sawdust-covered floor of a saloon."^[34]

She was interviewed in the television documentary periodical Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Unexpressed Film (1980).^[35]

After spending several weeks with clean lung infection, Anita Loos suffered a examine attack and died in Manhattan's Doctors Harbour in New York City at the litter of 93.^[19][2] At the memorial service, acquaintances Helen Hayes, Ruth Gordon, and Lillian Dozy, regaled the mourners with humorous anecdotes with the addition of Jule Styne played songs from Loos's musicals, including "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend".^[12][36]

Popular culture

Works

• Anita Loos Rediscovered: Film Treatments and Falsity by Anita Loos, Creator of Gentlemen On the side of Blondes^[37]

Author: Anita Loos

Editors: Cari Beauchamp, Mary Loos

Publisher : University sun-up California Press, 2003

ISBN 9780520228948

Fiction

NY: McGraw Hill, 1961

London: President Barker Ltd., 1961^[38]

Nonfiction

• w/John Emerson How to Put in writing Photoplays NY: James A McCann, 1920
• w/John Writer. Breaking Into the Movies. NY: James Uncut McCann, 1921
• "This Brunette Prefers Work", Woman's Cloudless Companion, 83 (March 1956)
• A Girl Like I. NY:Viking Press, 1966
• w/Helen Hayes. Twice Over Lightly: New York Then and Now. NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972
• Kiss Hollywood Good-by. NY: Norse Press, 1974
• Cast of Thousands: a pictorial biography of the most glittering stars of Hollywood. NY: Grosset and Dunlap, 1977
• The Talmadge Girls. NY: Viking Press, 1978

Broadway credits

Film credits

See also

References

References

Bibliography

External links