Dorothy McGuire

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Dorothy McGuire
Publicity photo of McGuire, 1940s
Born
Dorothy Hackett McGuire

(1916-06-14)June 14, 1916
DiedSeptember 13, 2001(2001-09-13) (aged 85)
Other namesDorothy McGuire Swope
Years active1943–1990
Known forSwiss Family Robinson
Gentleman's Agreement
Friendly Persuasion
The Enchanted Cottage
Rich Man, Poor Man
Spouse
(m. 1943; died 1979)
Children2, including Topo Swope

Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Gentleman's Agreement (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress for Friendly Persuasion (1956).[1] She starred as the mother in the popular films Old Yeller (1957) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960).

Life and career[edit]

Dorothy McGuire and Spring Byington in the short film Reward Unlimited (1944)
Dorothy McGuire and John Garfield in Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

Early years[edit]

McGuire was born in Omaha, Nebraska,[2] the only child of Isabelle Flaherty McGuire and Thomas Johnson McGuire.[3] She made her stage debut at age 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.[1]

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.[3]

Theatre and Modeling[edit]

McGuire was one of the most sought after models under Walter Thornton's management.[4] 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. McGuire was an understudy to Martha Scott in Our Town in 1938, eventually taking 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 gained attention on Broadway 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."

Film[edit]

Brought to Hollywood by producer David O. Selznick (who called her "a born actress")[5] on the strength of her stage performance, McGuire starred in her first film, Claudia (1943), a movie adaptation of her Broadway success.[2] She portrayed a child bride who almost destroys her marriage through her selfishness. Selznick developed the project, which co-starred Robert Young, then sold it to 20th Century Fox; under this deal, Selznick would share McGuire's contract with Fox.[6]

RKO reunited McGuire with Young in The Enchanted Cottage (1945), which was a box-office success.[7]

At age 28, she played the mother in A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (1945), replacing Gene Tierney, who had become pregnant. Under the direction of Elia Kazan at 20th Century Fox, the film was a big success. So, too, was The Spiral Staircase (1946) in which McGuire played the lead role, a mute. It was originally prepared by Selznick, who envisioned Ingrid Bergman in the lead; Selznick sold the project to RKO along with the services for his producer Dore Schary.[8]

McGuire and Young made a third film together, Claudia and David (1946), a sequel to Claudia, which was less well received. Schary and RKO put her in Till the End of Time (also 1946), a hit with audiences.[7] She later said: "I fought the hardest for this role and it was my least successful. I went right back to playing nice girls and faithful wives. "[9]

She was offered the lead in Anna and the King of Siam (1946), but turned it down to go travelling with her family.[10]

McGuire was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Gentleman's Agreement (1947) directed by Kazan for Fox. The film was a surprise hit.[11]

Following this film, McGuire, co-star Gregory Peck, and some other actors 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 went to live in Italy for a year.[9]

Selznick announced a variety of films to star McGuire that were not made, including Dark Medallion,[12] A Doll's House[13] Wings of the Dove and Sands of Time.[14]

Radio[edit]

McGuire was a member of the cast of Big Sister (playing Sue Evans[15]), and Joyce Jordan, M.D.. She also appeared in This Is My Best (Miracle in the Rain),[16] Screen Directors Playhouse (The Spiral Staircase) and in Theatre Guild on the Air (Hamlet[17] A Doll's House, Our Town[18]).

Later films[edit]

McGuire spent some time away from screens before returning in two movies for Fox, Mother Didn't Tell Me (1950) and Mister 880 (1950). 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 (1951), which lost money. She did I Want You (1951) for Sam Goldwyn, then returned to Broadway for Legend of Lovers (1951–52), but it only had a short run.

McGuire made Invitation (1952) at MGM, which flopped, and Make Haste to Live (1954) at Republic. She had a huge hit with Three Coins in the Fountain (1954) at Fox, 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!.

At MGM, she was in Trial (1955), playing Glenn Ford's love interest. The movie was a hit.[1]

Mother roles[edit]

McGuire was cast as Gary Cooper's wife in Friendly Persuasion (1956), directed by William Wyler. The success of this performance led her to being cast in a series of "mother" roles, continuing with Old Yeller (1957) at Disney.[1]

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 (1959) at Fox.

She played the matriarch in some melodramas: This Earth Is Mine (1959) with Jean Simmons at Universal; A Summer Place (1959) for Delmer Daves with Richard Egan , Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue at Warner Bros., a big success; and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960).[19]

She returned to Disney with Swiss Family Robinson (1960), one of the most popular films of the year. She made a second film with Daves and Donahue, Susan Slade (1961), playing a mother who passed off her daughter's illegitimate child as her own. She was a mother in Disney's Summer Magic (1963).[1]

McGuire played the Virgin Mary in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). She was off screen for a number of years before returning in a British family film, Flight of the Doves (1971).

Television[edit]

McGuire appeared in some TV movies, She Waits (1972) and a PBS adaptation of Another Part of the Forest (1972). She provided voice work for Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973), and made one final appearance on Broadway in a revival of The Night of the Iguana (1976–77) alongside Richard Chamberlain.

Most of McGuire's later career work was for the small screen: The Runaways (1975), Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), the pilot for Little Women (1976), The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel (1979), Ghost Dancing (1983), Amos (1985), Between the Darkness and the Dawn (1985), American Geisha (1986), Caroline? (1990), and The Last Best Year (1990).[20]

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 (1987), and toured in 1987 in I Never Sang for My Father.[21] In 1984–85, McGuire played Cora Miller on the long-running CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Cora was the estranged mother of tycoon Victor Newman, played by Eric Braeden

In 1982, she said, "I love my career, but I never felt much about it – about how to nurture it...It's been very erratic, after all ... To this day, I don't know what shapes a Hollywood career ... I was never a classic beauty. I had no image, so I found myself in a lot of things accidentally."[22]

Personal life and death[edit]

McGuire was married to Life magazine photographer John Swope for more than 35 years, with whom she had a son, photographer Mark Swope (1953–2016), and a daughter, actress Topo Swope (b. 1949).[3][23]

McGuire died of cardiac arrest on September 13, 2001, following a brief illness, at the age of 85.[citation needed]

Recognition[edit]

For her contribution to the motion-picture industry, Dorothy McGuire has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard. It was dedicated February 8, 1960.[24]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1943 Claudia Claudia Naughton
1944 Reward Unlimited Peggy Adams Short film for the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps[25]
1945 The Enchanted Cottage Laura Pennington
1945 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Katie Nolan
1946 The Spiral Staircase Helen Capel
1946 Claudia and David Claudia Naughton
1946 Till the End of Time Pat Ruscomb
1947 Gentleman's Agreement Kathy Lacy Nominated–Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated–New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
1950 Mother Didn't Tell Me Jane Morgan
1950 Mister 880 Ann Winslow
1951 Callaway Went Thataway Deborah Patterson
1951 I Want You Nancy Greer
1952 Invitation Ellen Bowker Pierce
1954 Make Haste to Live Crystal Benson
1954 Three Coins in the Fountain Miss Frances
1955 Trial Abbe Nyle
1956 Friendly Persuasion Eliza Birdwell National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
1957 Old Yeller Katie Coates
1959 The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker Mrs. Emily 'Ma' Pennypacker
1959 This Earth Is Mine Martha Fairon
1959 A Summer Place Sylvia Hunter
1960 The Dark at the Top of the Stairs Cora Flood
1960 Swiss Family Robinson Mother Robinson
1961 Susan Slade Leah Slade
1963 Summer Magic Margaret Carey
1965 The Greatest Story Ever Told The Virgin Mary
1971 Flight of the Doves Granny O'Flaherty
1972 She Waits Sarah Wilson TV movie
1972 Another Part of the Forest Lavinia Hubbard TV movie
1973 Jonathan Livingston Seagull Mother Voice
1975 The Runaways Angela Lakey TV movie
1978 Little Women Marmee March 7 episodes
1979 The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel Effie Webb TV movie
1983 Ghost Dancing Sarah Bowman TV movie
1985 Amos Hester Farrell TV movie
Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special
1985 Between the Darkness and the Dawn Beryl Foster TV movie
1986 American Geisha Ann Suzuki TV movie
1987 Summer Heat Narrator Voice
1990 Caroline? Flora Atkins Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie
1990 The Last Best Year Anne TV movie (final film role)

Complete TV credits[edit]

Year Title Role Episode
1951 Robert Montgomery Presents Judith Traherne "Dark Victory"
1954 The United States Steel Hour Tina "A Garden in the Sea"
1954 Lux Video Theatre Jody Norris "To Each His Own"
1954 The Best of Broadway Tracy Lord "The Philadelphia Story"
1954 Climax! Janet Spence "The Gioconda Smile"
Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Single Performance
1954 What's My Line Herself (Celebrity Mystery Guest)
1956 Climax! Miranda "Pale Horse, Pale Rider"
1964 The Red Skelton Hour Guest Vocalist "A Man and His Money Are Soon Parted"
1976 Rich Man, Poor Man Mary Jordache 7 episodes
Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
1982 The Love Boat Hanna Hamilton "Thanksgiving Cruise: The Best of Friends/Too Many Dads/Love Will Find a Way" S6 E7
1983 Fantasy Island Joan Mallory "Three's a Crowd/Second Time Around"
1984 The Love Boat Sarah Webster "Aerobic April/The Wager/Story of the Century"
1984 The Young and the Restless Cora Miller
1985 Hotel Mrs. Christopher "Skeletons"
1985 Glitter The Matriarch "The Matriarch"
1986 St. Elsewhere Augusta Endicott 3 episodes
1986 Highway to Heaven Jane Thompson "Keep Smiling"
1988 Highway to Heaven Jane Thompson "We Have Forever: Part 1"
"We Have Forever: Part 2"
1988 American Playhouse Margaret Garrison "I Never Sang for My Father"

Radio appearances[edit]

Year Program Episode/source
1945 Lux Radio Theatre I'll Be Seeing You
1947 Radio Reader's Digest Sweet Rosie O'Grady
1953 Lux Summer Theatre The Fall of Maggie Phillips[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Dorothy McGuire Actress who was often cast as a mother and had the talent, but not the will, for stardom The Daily Telegraph 18 Sep 2001: 29.
  2. ^ a b Katz, Ephraim (1979). The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume. Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-50601-2. pp. 755–756.
  3. ^ a b c Severo, Richard (September 15, 2001). "Dorothy McGuire, Steadfast Heroine of Film, Dies at 83". New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  4. ^ "She's Striking". The Racine Journal Times. 1938. p. 2.
  5. ^ Johnson, Erskine (May 18, 1943). "Hollywood Column". The Escanaba Daily Press. p. 2. Retrieved May 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ SELZNICK ASSETS ACQUIRED BY FOX: Latter Buys Rights to 'Keys of the Kingdom,' 'Claudia' and Script of 'Jane Eyre' PLAYERS' SERVICES IN DEAL Joan Fontaine and Dorothy McGuire Included -- Many Contracts Involved New York Times 16 Nov 1942: 15.
  7. ^ a b Richard B. Jewell, Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures, Uni of California, 2016
  8. ^ "60 Top Grossers of 1946", Variety 8 January 1947 p. 8
  9. ^ a b "Obituary: Dorothy McGuire": Vallance, Tom. The Independent 17 Sep 2001: 6.
  10. ^ STAGE: FATE TAKES A HAND AGAIN FOR MCGUIRE Rosenfield, Paul. Los Angeles Times 7 Feb 1982: l52.
  11. ^ "Top Grossers of 1948", Variety 5 January 1949 p 46
  12. ^ 'DARK MEDALLION' SOLD TO SELZNICK: Ethel Barrymore and Dorothy McGuire Expected to Star in Film of Langley Novel Plans Arthurian Picture Of Local Origin Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES 11 Nov 1946: 50.
  13. ^ SELZNICK TO FILM A STORY BY IBSEN: Planning to Do 'Doll's House,' With Dorothy McGuire – Clears Foreign Rights By THOMAS F. BRADY Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES 22 Apr 1947: 34.
  14. ^ SELZNICK TO FILM VICKI BAUM STORY: ' Sands of Time' to Have Cary Grant and Dorothy McGuire in the Leading Roles By THOMAS F. BRADY Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES 28 Jan 1947: 27.
  15. ^ "Say Hello To ..." (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. December 1939. p. 43. Retrieved May 6, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "What's Playing?" (PDF). Radio Life. December 10, 1944. p. 25. Retrieved May 6, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. pp. 86, 376, 600, 662.
  18. ^ "KECA mike memos" (PDF). Radio Life. March 23, 1947. p. 10. Retrieved May 6, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ Obituary: Dorothy McGuire: Actor of intelligence, integrity and charm on and off the screen Bergan, Ronald. The Guardian 17 Sep 2001: 1.20.
  20. ^ Dorothy Mcguire..: A name from the past reappears for TV special Beck, Marilyn. Chicago Tribune 30 Mar 1975: i3.
  21. ^ Dorothy McGuire: [FINAL Edition] ALLAN HUNTER Obituary. The Scotsman 20 Sep 2001: 14.
  22. ^ "Obituaries; Dorothy McGuire, 85; Favorite Leading Lady": McLELLAN, DENNIS. Los Angeles Times 15 Sep 2001: B.10.
  23. ^ "Gets Distaff Lead". The Times Recorder. October 3, 1971. p. 8. Retrieved May 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  24. ^ "Dorothy McGuire". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  25. ^ Reward Unlimited. Series: Motion Picture Films, 1794 - 1990. National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  26. ^ Kirby, Walter (June 21, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 44. Retrieved July 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon

External links[edit]