Here is the biography of Toby Wing:
Toby Wing was a unique individual, born Martha Virginia Wing in Amelia Court House, Virginia in 1915. She was a granddaughter of the Confederacy on her mother's side and a Maine Yankee on her father's side. Her father, Paul Wing, was an Army officer, and Toby spent her childhood divided between Virginia and the Panama Canal's American Zone. She moved to Hollywood in the 1920s with her father, who became an assistant director and Paramount Studios mid-level manager.
Toby grew up fantasizing about becoming a movie star and began her acting career as a juvenile in Paramount silents. She appeared in a few films, including "The Pony Express" (1925),before retreating from acting to finish her schooling. She struck up a friendship with Jack Oakie, who introduced her to Samuel Goldwyn, and she soon found herself working for both men.
Toby was the last graduate of Paramount's in-house high school in 1933 and began her career as a chorus girl, billed as the "girl with a face like the morning sun" in Eddie Cantor's hit film "Palmy Days" (1931). She also appeared in an early Bing Crosby short and was chosen by Busby Berkeley for a role in "42nd Street" (1933).
Toby's remarkable beauty and charm led to her being pursued by many celebrated suitors, including Maurice Chevalier, Alfred Vanderbilt, Franklin Roosevelt Jr., Jackie Coogan, and Pinky Tomlin. She was engaged to several men, including Coogan, but never married. Her numerous engagements became a joke around Hollywood, and she eventually swore off men, focusing on her career.
Toby's film career was marked by a mix of intense publicity and little substance. She appeared in over 30 films, mostly in unbilled or minor roles, and was seen in a dizzying array of movie magazines. She also scored numerous endorsement contracts and was one of the most photographed starlets in Hollywood.
After appearing in "Sweethearts" (1938),Toby ended her movie career and turned to the stage, co-starring in the troubled Cole Porter musical "You Never Know" on Broadway. She then retired to her home on Di Lido Island, where she lived with her husband, Dick Merrill, a world-record setting Eastern Airlines pilot. They married in 1938 and had two children, but suffered through the loss of their first child in 1940 and a long separation during World War II.
Toby was a devoutly religious person and taught Sunday school at Miami's All Saints Episcopal Church. She was also involved in civic affairs, church, and real estate in Florida and California. She and her husband continued to appear publicly at aviation events throughout the 1960s and 1970s and were featured in TCM's "Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof" (1998).
Toby died peacefully in her home in Mathews, Virginia in 2001, survived by her husband and two granddaughters. Her sister, Pat Wing, died the following year.
