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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). She starred as the mother in the popular films Old Yeller (1957) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960).
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.
McGuire 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.
McGuire 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."
RKO reunited McGuire with Young in The Enchanted Cottage (1945), which was a box-office success.Richard B. Jewell, Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures, Uni of California, 2016
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. "60 Top Grossers of 1946", Variety 8 January 1947 p. 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. 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. "
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 (1947) directed by Kazan for Fox. The film was a surprise hit. "Top Grossers of 1948", Variety 5 January 1949 p 46
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 , then went to live in Italy for a year.
Selznick announced a variety of films to star McGuire that were not made, including Dark Medallion, A Doll's House Wings of the Dove and Sands of Time.
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.
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).
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).
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).
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).
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.
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."
McGuire retired from acting after suffering a hip injury in the early 1990s. [3]
McGuire died in Santa Monica, California, on September 13, 2001, at the age of 85; she developed arrhythmia weeks after sustaining a broken leg.
Theatre and Modeling
McGuire was one of the most sought after models under Walter Thornton's management. She appeared in summer stock at Deertrees, Maine, in 1937 before going to New York.
Film
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 (1943), a movie adaptation of her Broadway success. 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.
Radio
McGuire was a member of the cast of Big Sister (playing Sue Evans), and Joyce Jordan, M.D.. She also appeared in This Is My Best ( Miracle in the Rain), Screen Directors Playhouse ( The Spiral Staircase) and in Theatre Guild on the Air ( HamletDunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. . pp. 86, 376, 600, 662. A Doll's House, Our Town).
Later films
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.
Mother roles
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 Walt Disney.
Television
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.
Personal life and death
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).
Recognition
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.
Filmography
1943 Claudia Claudia Naughton 1944 Reward Unlimited Peggy Adams Short film for the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps 1945 Laura Pennington 1945 Katie Nolan 1946 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 Actress1950 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 Mrs. Emily 'Ma' Pennypacker 1959 This Earth Is Mine Martha Fairon 1959 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 Special1985 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 Anne TV movie (final film role)
Complete TV credits
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 Tracy Lord "The Philadelphia Story" 1954 Climax! Janet Spence "The Gioconda Smile"
Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Single Performance1954 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 Series1982 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
I'll Be Seeing You Sweet Rosie O'Grady The Fall of Maggie Phillips
External links
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Dorothy McGuire appears on What's My Line July 25, 1954
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