Toby Wing

Bubbly blonde Toby Wing was born Martha Virginia Wing in Amelia Court House, Virginia on July 14, 1915. She later took the stage name Toby after a family nickname (for a horse!). She moved to Hollywood in the 1920s with her father, who became an assistant director for Paramount Studios. A natural brunette, Toby dyed her hair platinum blonde and by 1932, at age 16, she landed a rather historic place in Hollywood history as one of the original Goldwyn Girls, billed as the girl "with a face like the morning sun" in Eddie Cantor's hit "Palmy Days" (1931). Many of her roles were small and barely clothed, before the introduction of the 1934 Production Code, but she became widely recognized as a sex symbol. Since her contracted studio was mired in bankruptcy during much of her career, her work was done on loan, primarily at Warner Bros. where she was seen to her best benefit in "42nd Street" (1933). Although she made an impression with producers and moviegoers, Toby seldom broke through to leading roles. Other films at this time included "Come On, Marines!" (1934), "Murder at the Vanities" (1934) and "Search for Beauty" (1934). Toby enjoyed a far more successful sideline doing product endorsements and was featured in innumerable fan magazines from 1933-38. In 1936 and 1937, she worked opposite singer-songwriter Pinky Tomlin in two of his low-budget musical features, "With Love and Kisses" and "Sing While You're Able". Her last leading role was in "The Marines Come Thru", although filmed in Florida in 1938, it did not see general release until 1943 as "Fight On, Marines!". She retired from movies after marrying the pilot Dick Merrill in 1938. The couple later settled in Virginia, where they lived together until Merrill's death in 1982. Toby herself passed away peacefully in her home in Mathews, Virginia in March 2001, aged 85.

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