Myrna Loy and Venice High School

Myrna Loy



1948

If I peaked your interest with the last post featuring the Myrna Loy statue at Venice High School in Los Angeles, I guess I'd better tell the whole story.

In 1963, I attended Venice High School in the 10th grade until our family moved and I went on to University High School in West LA. Unihi, as we called it was the bitter rival of Venice, both in sports and other things.

In 1921, future famed actress Myrna Loy was a 16-year-old student at Venice. The school was building a statue in front of the main building, and then-Myrna Williams was chosen to model for it. It was inaugurated in 1922. Keep in mind, this is probably the only instance of a famous person being the model for a sculpture prior to achieving fame.

Over the years, the statue became not only a landmark after Myrna became famous, but an object of vandalism from neighboring schools, especially University High. It was customary prior to the Venice-Uni football game for students from Uni to throw paint on or otherwise vandalize the statue. When I was a student at Venice, legend had it that one year, a group of students from Uni actually removed the statue and drove it in a truck to Santa Monica pier where they threw it over the side and into the water.

Not surprisingly, damage took its toll. At one point, the arms were reconfigured as a form of restoration. Finally about 20 years ago, the statue was removed and packed away in pieces.





This year, a new sculpture was commissioned, and today, Myrna Loy once again graces the front of Venice High.






Until those Unihi students get to it again.



(LA Times)