Myrna Loy, Lillian Gish--1980 TV Interview

Myrna Loy and Lillian Gish were among the legends interviewed in this rare 1980 TV appearance. Also on the panel were Ethel Merman and Renata Scotto.

[@dmo116]

I sent Lillian Gish a simple fan letter once when i worked at Disney. She wrote me back and then we basically became pen pals as she wrote me 3 other times asking about my summer and how I was enjoying working....I treasure those letters and have them framed. She also sent a signed photo, it was a photo from the 20's which i loved!

[@dashasl2582]

Oh, you are so lucky!

[@peppercat8718]

Dang, that's fantastic dmo 👍

[@carlgeorge7578]

you are so lucky.

[@JL0ndon]

Gosh Myrna Loy was the absolute picture of sophistication! Her flowing understated dress and long gloves, she looks like the Hollywood royalty she was. She was gorgeous when she young but even in her later years she retained her natural beauty!

[@Imaewok]

Lillian Gish had a great perspective on the movies when she said, "Movies are the most powerful tools we have that can grab the hearts and minds of people. We need to watch what we put up there and take responsibility." Look at society today and that will tell you she knew what she was talking about.

[@cindyknudson2715]

I've noticed that when Hollywood puts out a certain sort of movie they tout it as being something that will influence the world for good. BUT when they put out horrid trash they disavow any responsibility for it influencing anyone. It's particularly, jarringly, apparent when you see the same actor doing it.

[@dailydoseofsunshine2319]

It's pretty ironic for her to say that.

[@wmpetroff2307]

Those monsters at Hollyweird know precisely what they are feeding to the innocents. it's disgusting.

[@michaelg2478]

Myrna Loy always had this mysterious allure about her...subtle, near perfect poise, and never gave much away. Such a fascinating actress to watch onscreen.

[@tarnsand]

+Michael G I wish William Powell and Myrna would have made a film in their senior years.

[@aeichler]

+Tarn Sand I think they might have if Powell's Health hadn't failed. He was very fragile in his last years. But it would have been nice even in the post-"Mr. Roberts" period. Can you imagine them in "The Gin Game" or "On Golden Pond"?

[@tarnsand]

Dan Cowan Yes I remember that one.

[@tarnsand]

Alan Eichler Yes I remember him being in poor health. And around the time he made Mr Roberts would have been perfect. WP has always been my idea of the perfect gentleman; great sense of humour timely sarcasm genuine.

[@SandySaunders9142]

Nicely stated!

[@pktrekgirl2]

I adore both Myrna Loy and Lillian Gish. Lillian is such a joy in this interview! What an adorable person!

[@christopherthorkon3997]

Notice how Lilian Gish's voice resounds throughout the entire room. And yet, she is not shouting or screaming. Instead, she is using proper diaphragmatic breathing and great elocution to tell her stories. Her voice is loud, clear, expressive, and engaging. I could listen to her all day.

[@wmpetroff2307]

Yes! I did notice all you wrote above.

[@direfranchement]

More likely because she couldn’t hear.

[@44032]

The actress famous for her silent films speaks the best.

[@carlgeorge7578]

and Renata Scotto, the opera star sitting down from her understood her elocution and breath control perfectly

[@bcsurvivor4713]

"I'm not good at telling lies, because my memory isn't the good." Great answer!

[@cynthiaennis3107]

God bless William Powell & Myrna Loy! Loved them! ♥️♥️♥️

[@echo-channel77]

Little known fact, Myrna and Lillian died the very same year in 1993, despite their 11 age difference. Both are well missed!

[@steveprice2718]

Miss Loy is enchanting. Miss Gish is a force of nature!!! RIP to both of these legends!!! 🥰😍🤗😘

[@Sbaxter1989]

I never worked for money, I worked for people. Love you Lillian.

[@brianbaker7771]

That's my Aunt Lil. (She's my Great Grandmother's Cousin, but we all called her Aunt Lil.) It's bizarre to see her on TV. Although she told us lots of fun stories, this stuff wasn't available on VHS or cable in the 80's and 90's. It's like nails on a chalkboard watching her flub in interviews. But, her cute moments melt my heart.

[@BLTKellys]

Brian Baker She was a racist who defended Griffith’s disgusting Birth of A nation. She can rot.

[@DavianSinner]

@@BLTKellys That was a great, great film. She must have been pretty cool.

[@michellerodrigues5733]

Oh shut it... that was then... life was different. Different mindset. Enough... move on.

[@edfitz3765]

@@BLTKellys rot is as rot does, like verbal purification

[@peggyhill7283]

I like that the show was respectful to Ms. Gish. She was well spoken. All these ladies are grand! Godspeed to you all!

[@dhgemein2]

And all the other ladies stood for her, too.

[@MARCBSTN]

Lillian was born October 14, 1893 which would make her 86 going on 87 in this 1980 interview. Incredible entrance.

[@tarnsand]

+Marc g I love how she explains how she learned at a very young age to use your voice. Not many 86 year olds have such a strong clear articulate voice and speech. She was such a positive person.

[@jackchen7003]

She’s in good shape for a 86 year old

[@tinaprivitera6669]

I’m a Carole Lombard super freak, but I’m convinced Myrna Loy was the queen of 30’s comedies.

[@mikebowman4692]

They aged very well.

[@johnmagill3072]

Ms. Gish was such a class act on and off screen and stage.

[@brianbaker7771]

It's true. I only knew her from family visits. It's extremely bizarre to see her on tv.

[@mckavitt13]

Myrna Loy. She walked both sides of the line. A true lady & yet perfectly natural, laid back & straight from the shoulder.

[@JSB1882]

I met Lillian Gish one time around 1986 and she was a treat. I really wish that I had met Myrna Loy because she was an incredible woman. I wish that there were more interviews with her.

[@debraharris879]

I'm a big fan of Myrna Loy, I think she was precious, a delicious actress!

[@rkomgm3932]

Can I ask how you met Lillian? It would be fascinating to hear !

[@davidnelson3757]

What would I have given to meet a silent star

[@robertosoto1370]

What an enchanting and wonderful,intelligent lady miss Lillian Gish was beautiful elegant,and one of the most charming celebrities not only in our country, but in the world she makes me so proud and reminds me of my mother who's 89 and still gets around coiking cleaning &taking care of me iam64 yrs &still working i know Miss Gish is gone ,but still lives in our hearths thanks to the magic of film...

[@JamesVaughan]

"The Night of the Hunter" (1955), the only film ever directed by Charles Laughton and referred to here by Miss Gish, is today considered a classic and a masterpiece of film art. Amazing that it was a sleeper when first released. A must if you've never seen it. Maybe Robert Mitchum's greatest role - Miss Gish and Shelley Winters also splendid.

[@citizen1163]

Just think 🙏🏻 for recordings so at least we can watch & replay the incomparable & irreplaceable actors. We've been dealt a bad hand w/ today's movie actors.

[@Bluejeans0701]

Old as she was, Lillian Gish retained her beauty and class. God did not take them away from the legendary actress. She was wonderful.

[@brule1961]

Lillian Gish has such a marvelous voice!

[@veeganboy]

I love that at 09:35 Ethel Merman calls her "Miss Gish". #respectyourelders

[@jamesmonroe7406]

I've always loved and respected her. She loved the western front AND star wars, casablanca AND A Clockwork Orange! That's who Lillian. The history. That pant suit! The epitome of humor. Class. Style Grace. God bless Lillian!

[@citizen1163]

WOW! Lillian Gish! Her strong marvellous voice nearly knocked me off my chair! Wonderful women & interviewer looks genuinely interested.

[@rhyfeddu]

This is lovely to see! Thanks for sharing this. Only wish Merv had spent more time talking to Myrna.

[@iknowthatsrite6009]

This show had enormous Guests for such a short ammount of time. He should have had Only 2 guests fir the entire show, and broken this up over several shows to enjoy these Women for longer time. Bad Plan Merv.

[@JacquelineKeeler]

I love what Lillian Gish says about film being such a powerful force in the world and that we should we be careful what we put up there but then I think....what about Birth of a Nation? Huh.

[@TakersMissy]

Talent, taste, and CLASS not seen today; that's the aura of Miss Lillian Gish, one of the greatest actresses of all time. :-)

[@costernocht]

+TakersMissy Read her memoir, "The Movies, Mr Griffith, and Me", if you're able. It's fantastic and probably available at a lot of libraries. I got my used copy on Amazon.

[@brianbaker7771]

Thank you. I love all these accolades. I had no idea she was so famous. Lillian Gish was always "Aunt Lil" to me and is the reason I was raised where she did movies with Charlie Chaplin: Fremont, CA (NILES.)

[@willec7105]

Now there's a true individual and a real one-of-a-kind person. I could listen to Miss Gish, hanging onto her every word for hours. You can viscerally feel the truth and conviction coming from the core of her being. Her level of energy, aliveness, and vivacity just blows me away.

[@andrewjharrison1]

Lilian Gish was 87 when this was filmed. What an amazing woman. Such a strong vibrant woman. Her voice is clear and strong and very articulate. So entertaining too, could listen to her all day. She died in 1993 at age 99.

[@suziemills2201]

Those types of ladies are gone forever

[@ronniem3592]

Lillian Gish was a known Racist----I adored Myrna Loy

[@georgew2014]

@@ronniem3592 Myrna Loy was outspoken about equality and civil rights as far back as the 30s.

[@deniseireland6154]

Gish wanted to bring the light back to a defined, state of darkness! We need her same drive, conviction and standard today!

[@gingerhaydon4693]

Lillian Gish is just a doll in this and very intelligent. Thanks for posting!

[@jasonday9286]

Love Lill Gish...can't beat her. And what fine words on the preservation of film. Can't believe she was nearly 90 when this was filmed. Cute little trouser suit too - bang on trend! ;-)

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

And a voice that could fill up a theater.

[@jamesmonroe7406]

Love her!

[@katherinehayes9110]

What a awesome woman Lillian Gish was-so much integrity and character. Myrna Loy poised and proper a real lady Loved this show

[@edharbur698]

Lillian Gish, Myrna Loy, Ethel Merman and Renata Scotto. Who would be the present day equivalents of these ladies? NO ONE!!!

[@cmcb09]

Ed Harbur Meryl Streep is an excellent actress and has proven herself to be a great talent in any genre of film, but no where near these ladies greatness. Such a shame.

[@jacktwist5907]

Chris Johnson Meryl Streep does not have an ounce of spontaneity . She is robotic. Gish, in silents, had an incredible inner life and film picked it up. you can not lie to a camera.

[@whoopilaurent529]

Beautiful talented women! They don't make em like this anymore

[@BlueGenesis.]

Myrna is a delight

[@thomstephens]

I love her defending Joan!

[@theexpert8163]

MISS GISH AT 86 87 IS JUST AS SHARP AS A TACK AND HOLDS UR INTEREST ALL THE WAY TO THE END !! < BRAVO > !!

[@georgejetson3702]

The epitome of class.

[@johnnypunish]

Myrna and Lillian! Priceless! Love these ladies. What great joy the brought the world!

[@godsgrace1137]

And now the Kardashians are the new “ celebrities “? How low this world has sunk..........

[@BLTKellys]

Lillian Gish starred in a racist film, so I don’t know how you can say the world is worse?

[@kejiri3593]

@@BLTKellys Birth of a Nation is a cool movie. Problem was KKK that rose up. And even if they were a vigilante group that was to defend the south against northern who were trying to exploit them after losing war. The 20th century of them has pretty much ruined whatever they stood for

[@christianbrown85]

@@BLTKellys White Chicks was a racist movie Roots was a racist movie these things happend it is a movie much better than watching At Home With The Kardashian's.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

A product of its time. Grow up.

[@beyourself2444]

@@christianbrown85 Roots is a factual movie... thosecyhings actually happened...

[@skurlandaficionado]

Lillian Gish is one of the most wonderful actresses and people I’ve ever known.

[@St.Garoosh]

A lovely woman. Such grace, charm, wit and wisdom never to be seen again in the modern era.

[@justinherbert9146]

Lillian lived till 99 and passed away 13 years after this appearance. She never married nor had children. Her closest friend was actress Helen Hayes, the "First Lady of the American Theatre". Gish was the godmother of Hayes's son James MacArthur, and designated Hayes (who survived her by just three weeks) as a beneficiary of her estate. Lillian was worth many millions of dollars at the time of her passing. RIP

[@direfranchement]

Never married nor had children. That’s why she lived so long.

[@bethelle9099]

Lillian Gish....... Wise woman!!!!!!!! Gem of an interview!!!!! Thank you for posting!!!!!!!! Always loved Merv's show!!!!!!!!!!

[@peyote2thumbs]

Lillian, you beautiful, intelligent woman. I still think of you, and I am so grateful you're here. ❤ (Thank you for uploading this.)

[@XX-gy7ue]

what a group , WOW !

[@Lyxs4s]

How pretty Mirna Loy was as an old lady!! It is amazing.😊😊

[@rayito2005]

Lillian Gish : Beautiful lady of Silent film.

[@brianbaker7771]

She was one of very few who made it in The Industry after silent films turned to "talkies."

[@rebeccamnoel6940]

What a woman Ms Gish was. She had a presence and I suspect it is because her mother brought her up with morals. If more of us would bring up our children today with a true sense of right and wrong, we would have a stronger, healthier, happier moral character fiber in this country!

[@Akkordeondirigent]

Gorgeous, marvellous woman! And a very decent interviewer as well.

[@rjlev]

If you want to see more of Lillian Gish look up "The Whales of August"....a tender view of old age with Vincent Price, Bette Davis and Ann Sothern....a fine farewell to an amazing career.

[@louise4053]

I wish they had the entire program. So interesting these legendary icons.

[@bexaidacandelaria5128]

Wow what a group of great leading ladies- quite a history of film actresses here

[@franciscocilloniz4216]

I do love Miss Lillian Gish .. 🎎

[@davidhutchinson5233]

What a time to have lived.....not all puppies and rainbows....but damn people had wit in the 20s, 30s and 40s.......I was born 50 years too late. 1967. Should have been 1917. lol, but watching these wonderfully talented women....and the times in which they lived. Epic.

[@willec7105]

Part of Myrna's appeal is that there is something mysterious about how and why she was/is considered so special. Maybe it's her regal carriage, her beautiful, exotic face, her way of expressing important thoughts and feelings in her nonchalant manner as if they were simply the time of day, etc. Whatever magic and charisma is, she has it from head to toe and you can't take your eyes off of her on the screen.

[@aeichler]

That's part of her gift. You never see her "acting." She just is.

[@heathermarsh8760]

Thankyou for uploading this , I love the real movie stars, this was a real treat :)

[@cynthiaennis3107]

What a lady! Good for her! Real character! ♥️

[@amphetameanqueen]

Lillian was extraordinary, her film career spanned 75 years, from 1912 in silent film shorts to 1987. Who today will be around for 75 years. Nicole Kidman has about 40 to go!!

[@Donde_Lieta]

I love how Lillian studied voice with the original Falstaff, I’ve adored her portrayal of the opera heroine, Mimi in the silent film adaptation of the opera, La Boheme

[@citizen1163]

Whaat? Lillian Gish 87 here?! Astounding '

[@conan6908]

I agree with Mrs. Lillian at 11:21 that film has a lot of power (but), that it needs to be used properly. Well, 38 years later and the film industry has kind of gone backwards, not forwards.

[@cinemaholic730]

In her AFI Speech in the 80s she said Hollywood should bring back silent film. Than in 2011 The Artist won best picture. She was definitely on to something.

[@conan6908]

I'd say so too Christopher! I guess it's possible to mourn for times we never lived in through nostalgia and sentiment for a 'simpler' time before a lot of the problems and complications created in and sometimes, (by) our 'modern' times, back in the day when one, I've heard, 'could leave their front door open'. Thanks Christopher. Prairie G.

[@mikecane]

The Greatest Showman was, um, great.

[@dubbelhenke854]

Myrna Loy is a real class act. Lilian Gish is legendary in "The wind" with Victor Seastrom". It is regarded as a true classic.

[@mindyk4]

Miss Gish - beautiful woman, inside and out!

[@italoman9]

This, and they, all are a TREASURE. 💗

[@XX-gy7ue]

I hope this is preserved in gold !

[@franciscocilloniz4216]

☆ .. Truly legendary people .. as Miss Lillian GISH .. 🐦🤳🧭

[@простадівчина]

Merv was a fine interviewer.

[@raymondcurry2278]

Merv WAS a KIND man. I worked on the show from 1982 -1986.

[@JSB1882]

Young people today haven't a clue of the talent that Merv had right there. Today's entertainers aren't worth S---.

[@secretariatgirl4249]

In another interview, Lillian Gish said she wanted a low salary but a percentage of the profits! I wish she had reflected on Rudooph Valentino. She and her sister Dorothy would go horseback riding with him and he would go back to their house where there mother was always cooking and he cooked, too.. Dorothy actually worked him in film called Out of Luck (now lost) ...she helped him get the part, but she complained that he was so careful in fixing himself up that he took too long to dress and held up the shooting schedule. And Myrna Loy...got one of her earliest parts in his soon to be ex-wife in her failed picture, which she wrote and produced, called "What Price Beauty?"

[@robertc.johnson310]

AE, I believe that All the people on that stage could not or even imagine what Hollywood and The Movies have turned into. The Award Shows are little more than doling out Candy and Cookies For Entitlement and Appearances and Wardrobe too. May All R.I.P. RCJ/LEO

[@jamesmonroe7406]

Lillian gosh is THE fashion plate of Hollywood. Ladies pay attention. That suit has 1980 or later written all over it! She was 87 for Pete's sake! If she were alive today, she would wear today's fashion. I was born Liberated! Love 💘 you ms. GISH!

[@grecogrant2511]

Myrna was a true friend and I believe her when it came to Miss Crawford. Myrna did not mess around!!!

[@JudgeJulieLit]

But here Myrna should have known better, that Joan could be nice to her friends (especially high status colleagues like Miss Loy), but privately not nice to those like her elder children whom she expected to be glass-fishbowl supernumeraries, the foliage to her high tension fading rose.

[@Garsons-oq4lh]

@@JudgeJulieLit Myrna had first hand experience with Christina the brat having worked with her in a 1967 in a stage production Barefoot in the Park (of which Christina was fired from incidentally).

[@JudgeJulieLit]

@@Garsons-oq4lh If Christina by her mid-twenties had developed personality issues (indeed, early childhood and after traumas create dissociated selves and integration issues; and a child raised by a narcissist can Stockholm Syndrome wise, come in part to identify with and emulate their narc abuser), her Hollywood experience can have set her on that course. Per a new biography of Myrna Loy, her experience with her own parents was that of teen girl, "Baby Wampa" star breadwinner for her parents, who freed herself from their overreaching controls. Then she married and divorced four times, but was never a mother, as an abortion had left her sterile. So Myrna herself was a wise mother (as in Cheaper by the Dozen) only onscreen, and in her family had been the narcissist. So she would side with Joan, both careercentric, family subordinators.

[@Garsons-oq4lh]

@@JudgeJulieLit Of course blame everything on Joan again or better yet blame Myrna Loy of all people. Where is the accountability on Christina's part for antics that got her fired. She disregarded her blocking throwing the rest of the cast off and proceeded to act like she was the sole star of the play. Sounds like an entitled spoiled primadona.

[@Celio19891]

JudgeJulieLit Joan has two other two other daughters who have both called bullshit on Christina’s claims (and they both grew up in the exact same environment she did) as well as many, I repeat MANY other people who were close to Joan and her family who all discredited Christina’s portrayal of her mother. Seems like Christina was just a spoiled, entitled brat to me. She got mad when Joan wrote her out of her will and wrote a book of bullshit mixed with exaggerated truths to tarnish her name as revenge and even waited until after her mother was dead to have it published so that Joan couldn’t defend herself. Not to mention Christina’s recollection of events seems to change every time she tells her story. Sorry dude but not buying the Mommie Dearest story.

[@brianelliott3817]

Nice and classy. I appreciate her defense of her friend Joan Crawford regarding that ungrateful Christine's "Mommie Dearest". Always one of my favorites especially in the "Thin Man" series. Check out "The Best Years of Our Lives"

[@MegaDeansy]

These actors were before my time but you just know that they are the very epitome of what a 'Star/Celebrity' truly means - it's heart-breaking when you think of what passes as a 'Star/Celebrity' today !. The only one truly deserving of that status today is Tom Hanks !

[@satori03]

Bravo Lillian Gish

[@latinguy67]

I notice how the amazing women who were making their way during the studio days of old Hollywood refer to the studio owners as "Mr. Mayer" and "Mr. Warner". I think that was a sign of respect. Even Aretha Franklin referred to Clive Davis as "Mr. Davis."

[@antoniorossiz]

I looked up the guy who Lillian Gish said advised her (Victor Maurel). The dude was born in 1848!

[@paulmaloney2383]

The days of seeing someone being interviewed with black evening gloves is long gone

[@susanmercurio5098]

Love Myra Loy!

[@Camop-iz9kt]

Now THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!

[@christianqueneudec2757]

Inoubliables Myrna , Clark et spencer dans ce merveilleux film " test pilot" (Quimper , France )

[@jazzmanchgo]

Class and elegance.

[@marciawade8813]

Magnificence. Actually that charming duo started with I Love You Again & Love Crazy. Even between & after the Thin Man Series they made several other movies & cameo appearances, such as a Ma & Pa Kettle pairing, etc. They remained livelong friends. She remained active in her later years, supporting various causes including w/ the UN.

[@genacunningham1731]

WOW! Lillian Gish is a GOD!

[@norahdenovan8658]

I loved Myrna Loy, always enjoyed her films ❤️🌹 now celebrities … well say no more 🙄

[@PAN-jo2go]

Merv and Dick Cavett got all the great interviews. This is a dying age of all of the great actors and actresses are gone and my fear is that these wonderful talents will be forgotten about in trade for the trash we have in Hollywood today...

[@JudgeJulieLit]

It was their intelligence, acuity and tact as interviewers that made the interviews great.

[@Wolfshield777]

An interesting video. I just watched the Gish sisters and William Powell in Romola yesterday. A great movie about Medici-era France in the fifteenth century, circa 1924. On a side note, that’s a poorly designed set on The Merv Griffin Show. They are forced to turn directly sideways and Merv is absolutely contorted in his seat. It looks rather painful. 😖

[@gingermurray]

Gish was spot on about everything she said (the silent movies, restoring and preserving , good scripts and stories and music). She’d be so proud if she was alive today. She’d be disappointed about what’s going on over at TCM. The garbage they’ve been subjecting subscribers to. Hell, I’ve been thinking about canceling my subscription it’s gotten so bad. Loy, YOU weren’t there living in the Crawford home to know what was happening to those children. Loy’s part of the problem why abused children aren’t believed. Nobody believes Christina because Joan was a great star, loved by the fans. There’s no way possible this movie queen would harm any child. Witnesses to the abuse have spoke out in favor of Christina’s allegations. They witnessed the abuse.

[@akanecortich8197]

I watched a number of her silent movies. She was a real honey!! gorgeous.

[@mehmetokay7073]

Lillian Gish in Way Down East. 1920. DW Griffith. Ice flow scene filmed at White River Junction, Vermont. Dresses by Lucille Duff Gordon, who was on the Titanic.

[@Myplop]

Merv is such a nice host

[@Sunflower-nx5en]

Legends!!!!! ♥️♥️

[@deniseireland6154]

Myna us God's gift to the world! Blessings

[@faithmapstone9982]

Silents, were the loudest joys!

[@MsApril29906]

Thank you for posting this! No femi-nazis present, just strong-willed women.

[@johnvaderna3270]

Had a crush on Loy and idol worship for Powell I was delighted to learn they were best friends in real life

[@searchlight18]

Good ole Merv he had a good show...He also became super wealthy from " Wheel of Fortune" and " Jeopardy"

[@kcirtapelyk6060]

If I could have dinner with any dead famous person, it would definitely be Lillian Gish. She seemed like such a delight to be around.