Dorothy McGuire
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W223. Photo: R.K.O. Radio. Collection: Marlene Pilaete.
American actress Dorothy McGuire (1916-2001) was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress for Gentleman's Agreement (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress for Friendly Persuasion (1956).
Dorothy Hackett McGuire was born in Omaha, Nebraska. She was the only child of Thomas Johnson McGuire and Isabelle Flaherty McGuire. Dorothy made her stage debut at the age of 13 at the local community playhouse in Barrie's 'A Kiss for Cinderella'. Her co-star was Henry Fonda, who was also born in Nebraska and was making a return visit to his home town after becoming a success on Broadway. After her father's death, McGuire attended a convent school in Indianapolis, Indiana. She later attended Pine Manor Junior College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, serving as president of that school's drama club. She graduated from Pine Manor when she was 19. She appeared in summer stock at Deertrees, Maine, in 1937 before going to New York. She acted on radio, playing Sue in the serial 'Big Sister' (1937) and took part in an experimental television broadcast, The Mysterious Mummy Case (1938). She was hired by producer Jed Harris to understudy the ingenue in a Broadway play, 'Stop Over' (1938), which ran only 23 performances. Then, she was an understudy to Martha Scott in 'Our Town' in 1938. She eventually took over Scott's role. She toured in 'My Dear Children' opposite John Barrymore, and in 1939, was in a revue with Benny Goodman, 'Swingin' the Dream'. She had a role in the short-lived 'Medicine Show' (1940), and a part in the longer-running revival of 'Kind Lady' (1940). McGuire achieved Broadway fame when cast in the title role of the domestic comedy 'Claudia'. It ran for 722 performances from 1941 to 1943. Brooks Atkinson wrote, "She gives a splendid performance of a part that would be irritating if it were played by a dull actress. She is personally genuine; the charm she radiates across the play is not merely theatrical mannerism. "
Dorothy McGuire was brought to Hollywood by producer David O. Selznick who called her "a born actress". On the strength of her stage performance, McGuire starred in her first film Claudia (Edmund Goulding, 1943), a film adaptation of her Broadway success. She portrayed a child bride who almost destroys her marriage through her selfishness. Selznick developed the project, then sold it to 20th Century Fox; under this deal, Selznick would share McGuire's services with Fox. McGuire's co-star in Claudia was Robert Young, and RKO reunited them in The Enchanted Cottage (John Cromwell, 1945), which was a box-office success. At age 28, she played the mother of an impoverished but aspirational, second-generation Irish-American family living in Brooklyn in A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (Elia Kazan, 1946), replacing Gene Tierney, who had gotten pregnant. The film was a big success. So, too, was the psychological horror film The Spiral Staircase (Robert Siodmak, 1946) in which McGuire played the lead role, a mute servant who is terrorized by a serial killer. McGuire and Young made a third film together, Claudia and David (Walter Lang, 1946), a sequel to Claudia, which was less well-received but also quite a success at the box-office. Then followed Till the End of Time (Edward Dmytryk, 1946), a popular hit. She was offered the lead in Anna and the King of Siam (1946), but turned it down to go travelling with her family. McGuire was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Gentleman's Agreement (Elia Kazan, 1947) with Gregory Peck. The film was a surprise hit. Following this film, she, Peck, and Mel Ferrer helped form the La Jolla Playhouse. She appeared in productions of 'The Importance of Being Earnest',' I Am a Camera', 'The Winslow Boy', and 'Tonight at 8:30'. Then she went to live in Italy for a year.
Dorothy McGuire spent some time away from screens before returning in the comedy Mother Didn't Tell Me (Claude Binyon, 1950) and Mister 880 (Edmund Goulding, 1950) with Burt Lancaster. Neither was particularly popular. She made her TV debut in Robert Montgomery Presents, an adaptation of Dark Victory, with McGuire playing the Bette Davis role. Schary had become head of production at MGM, where McGuire appeared in Callaway Went Thataway (Melvin Frank, Norman Panama, 1951), which lost money. She did I Want You (Mark Robson, 1951), then returned to Broadway for 'Legend of Lovers' (1951–1952), but it only had a short run. McGuire made Invitation (Gottfried Reinhardt, 1952), which flopped, and the Film Noir Make Haste to Live (William A. Seiter, 1954) at Republic. She had a huge hit with the comedy Three Coins in the Fountain (Jean Negulesco, 1954) and appeared in episodes of The United States Steel Hour, Lux Video Theatre, The Best of Broadway (an adaptation of The Philadelphia Story, as Tracey Lord), and Climax!. She played Glenn Ford's love interest in Trial (Mark Robson, 1955), which was a hit. McGuire was cast as Quaker Gary Cooper's wife in Friendly Persuasion (William Wyler, 1956). The success of this performance led her to being cast in a series of "mother" roles, continuing with Disney's Old Yeller (Robert Stevenson, 1957) about a boy (Tommy Kirk) and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas. McGuire returned to Broadway in 'Winesburg, Ohio' (1958), which had a short run, then she played a wife and mother in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (Henry Levin, 1959) with Clifton Webb. She was the matriarchs in some melodramas: This Earth Is Mine (Henry King, 1959) with Jean Simmons; A Summer Place (Delmer Daves, 1959) with Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue, which was a big success; and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (Delbert Mann, 1960).
Dorothy McGuire returned to Disney with Swiss Family Robinson (John McKimson, Ken Annakin, 1960), one of the most popular films of the year. She made a second film with Daves and Donahue, Susan Slade (Delmer Daves, 1961), playing a mother who passed off her daughter's illegitimate child as her own. She was a mother in Disney's Summer Magic (James Neilson, 1963) with Hayley Mills. McGuire played the Virgin Mary in the biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told (George Stevens, 1965). She was off-screen for a number of years before returning as an Irish granny in a British family film, Flight of the Doves (Ralph Nelson, 1971). McGuire appeared in some TV movies, She Waits (1972) and Another Part of the Forest (1972). She provided voice work for Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Hall Bartlett, 1973), and made one final appearance on Broadway in a revival of 'The Night of the Iguana' (1976–1977) alongside Richard Chamberlain. Most of McGuire's later career work was for the small screen: The Runaways (Harry Harris, 1975), Rich Man, Poor Man (David Greene, Boris Sagal, 1976), the pilot for Little Women (David Lowell Rich, 1976), The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel (Guy Green, 1979), Ghost Dancing (1983), Amos (Michael Tuchner, 1985), Between the Darkness and the Dawn (1985), American Geisha (1986), and Caroline? (1990). She was also in episodes of Fantasy Island, Hotel, The Love Boat, Glitter, St Elsewhere, and Highway to Heaven. She provided the narration for Summer Heat (Michie Gleason, 1987), and toured in 1987 in 'I Never Sang for My Father'. Her final screen appearance was in the TV film The Last Best Year (John Erman, 1990) with Mary Tyler Moore. Dorothy McGuire was married to Life magazine photographer John Swope for more than 35 years, till his death in 1979. They had a son, photographer Mark Swope (1953), and a daughter, actress Topo Swope (1948). Dorothy's health declined severely after she fell and broke her leg in 2001. McGuire died of cardiac arrest not long after in a Santa Monica hospital, at the age of 85. For her contribution to the motion-picture industry, Dorothy McGuire has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard. Gaty Brumburgh at IMDb: "A genuine model of sincerity, practicality and dignity in most of the roles she inhabited, actress Dorothy McGuire offered Tinseltown more talent than it probably knew what to do with. A quiet, passive beauty, she had a soothing quality to her open-faced looks and voice."
Sources: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Dorothy McGuire
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W223. Photo: R.K.O. Radio. Collection: Marlene Pilaete.
American actress Dorothy McGuire (1916-2001) was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress for Gentleman's Agreement (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress for Friendly Persuasion (1956).
Dorothy Hackett McGuire was born in Omaha, Nebraska. She was the only child of Thomas Johnson McGuire and Isabelle Flaherty McGuire. Dorothy made her stage debut at the age of 13 at the local community playhouse in Barrie's 'A Kiss for Cinderella'. Her co-star was Henry Fonda, who was also born in Nebraska and was making a return visit to his home town after becoming a success on Broadway. After her father's death, McGuire attended a convent school in Indianapolis, Indiana. She later attended Pine Manor Junior College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, serving as president of that school's drama club. She graduated from Pine Manor when she was 19. She appeared in summer stock at Deertrees, Maine, in 1937 before going to New York. She acted on radio, playing Sue in the serial 'Big Sister' (1937) and took part in an experimental television broadcast, The Mysterious Mummy Case (1938). She was hired by producer Jed Harris to understudy the ingenue in a Broadway play, 'Stop Over' (1938), which ran only 23 performances. Then, she was an understudy to Martha Scott in 'Our Town' in 1938. She eventually took over Scott's role. She toured in 'My Dear Children' opposite John Barrymore, and in 1939, was in a revue with Benny Goodman, 'Swingin' the Dream'. She had a role in the short-lived 'Medicine Show' (1940), and a part in the longer-running revival of 'Kind Lady' (1940). McGuire achieved Broadway fame when cast in the title role of the domestic comedy 'Claudia'. It ran for 722 performances from 1941 to 1943. Brooks Atkinson wrote, "She gives a splendid performance of a part that would be irritating if it were played by a dull actress. She is personally genuine; the charm she radiates across the play is not merely theatrical mannerism. "
Dorothy McGuire was brought to Hollywood by producer David O. Selznick who called her "a born actress". On the strength of her stage performance, McGuire starred in her first film Claudia (Edmund Goulding, 1943), a film adaptation of her Broadway success. She portrayed a child bride who almost destroys her marriage through her selfishness. Selznick developed the project, then sold it to 20th Century Fox; under this deal, Selznick would share McGuire's services with Fox. McGuire's co-star in Claudia was Robert Young, and RKO reunited them in The Enchanted Cottage (John Cromwell, 1945), which was a box-office success. At age 28, she played the mother of an impoverished but aspirational, second-generation Irish-American family living in Brooklyn in A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (Elia Kazan, 1946), replacing Gene Tierney, who had gotten pregnant. The film was a big success. So, too, was the psychological horror film The Spiral Staircase (Robert Siodmak, 1946) in which McGuire played the lead role, a mute servant who is terrorized by a serial killer. McGuire and Young made a third film together, Claudia and David (Walter Lang, 1946), a sequel to Claudia, which was less well-received but also quite a success at the box-office. Then followed Till the End of Time (Edward Dmytryk, 1946), a popular hit. She was offered the lead in Anna and the King of Siam (1946), but turned it down to go travelling with her family. McGuire was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Gentleman's Agreement (Elia Kazan, 1947) with Gregory Peck. The film was a surprise hit. Following this film, she, Peck, and Mel Ferrer helped form the La Jolla Playhouse. She appeared in productions of 'The Importance of Being Earnest',' I Am a Camera', 'The Winslow Boy', and 'Tonight at 8:30'. Then she went to live in Italy for a year.
Dorothy McGuire spent some time away from screens before returning in the comedy Mother Didn't Tell Me (Claude Binyon, 1950) and Mister 880 (Edmund Goulding, 1950) with Burt Lancaster. Neither was particularly popular. She made her TV debut in Robert Montgomery Presents, an adaptation of Dark Victory, with McGuire playing the Bette Davis role. Schary had become head of production at MGM, where McGuire appeared in Callaway Went Thataway (Melvin Frank, Norman Panama, 1951), which lost money. She did I Want You (Mark Robson, 1951), then returned to Broadway for 'Legend of Lovers' (1951–1952), but it only had a short run. McGuire made Invitation (Gottfried Reinhardt, 1952), which flopped, and the Film Noir Make Haste to Live (William A. Seiter, 1954) at Republic. She had a huge hit with the comedy Three Coins in the Fountain (Jean Negulesco, 1954) and appeared in episodes of The United States Steel Hour, Lux Video Theatre, The Best of Broadway (an adaptation of The Philadelphia Story, as Tracey Lord), and Climax!. She played Glenn Ford's love interest in Trial (Mark Robson, 1955), which was a hit. McGuire was cast as Quaker Gary Cooper's wife in Friendly Persuasion (William Wyler, 1956). The success of this performance led her to being cast in a series of "mother" roles, continuing with Disney's Old Yeller (Robert Stevenson, 1957) about a boy (Tommy Kirk) and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas. McGuire returned to Broadway in 'Winesburg, Ohio' (1958), which had a short run, then she played a wife and mother in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (Henry Levin, 1959) with Clifton Webb. She was the matriarchs in some melodramas: This Earth Is Mine (Henry King, 1959) with Jean Simmons; A Summer Place (Delmer Daves, 1959) with Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue, which was a big success; and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (Delbert Mann, 1960).
Dorothy McGuire returned to Disney with Swiss Family Robinson (John McKimson, Ken Annakin, 1960), one of the most popular films of the year. She made a second film with Daves and Donahue, Susan Slade (Delmer Daves, 1961), playing a mother who passed off her daughter's illegitimate child as her own. She was a mother in Disney's Summer Magic (James Neilson, 1963) with Hayley Mills. McGuire played the Virgin Mary in the biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told (George Stevens, 1965). She was off-screen for a number of years before returning as an Irish granny in a British family film, Flight of the Doves (Ralph Nelson, 1971). McGuire appeared in some TV movies, She Waits (1972) and Another Part of the Forest (1972). She provided voice work for Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Hall Bartlett, 1973), and made one final appearance on Broadway in a revival of 'The Night of the Iguana' (1976–1977) alongside Richard Chamberlain. Most of McGuire's later career work was for the small screen: The Runaways (Harry Harris, 1975), Rich Man, Poor Man (David Greene, Boris Sagal, 1976), the pilot for Little Women (David Lowell Rich, 1976), The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel (Guy Green, 1979), Ghost Dancing (1983), Amos (Michael Tuchner, 1985), Between the Darkness and the Dawn (1985), American Geisha (1986), and Caroline? (1990). She was also in episodes of Fantasy Island, Hotel, The Love Boat, Glitter, St Elsewhere, and Highway to Heaven. She provided the narration for Summer Heat (Michie Gleason, 1987), and toured in 1987 in 'I Never Sang for My Father'. Her final screen appearance was in the TV film The Last Best Year (John Erman, 1990) with Mary Tyler Moore. Dorothy McGuire was married to Life magazine photographer John Swope for more than 35 years, till his death in 1979. They had a son, photographer Mark Swope (1953), and a daughter, actress Topo Swope (1948). Dorothy's health declined severely after she fell and broke her leg in 2001. McGuire died of cardiac arrest not long after in a Santa Monica hospital, at the age of 85. For her contribution to the motion-picture industry, Dorothy McGuire has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard. Gaty Brumburgh at IMDb: "A genuine model of sincerity, practicality and dignity in most of the roles she inhabited, actress Dorothy McGuire offered Tinseltown more talent than it probably knew what to do with. A quiet, passive beauty, she had a soothing quality to her open-faced looks and voice."
Sources: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.