Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an Academy Award-nominated American actress.
Career
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she began her acting career on the stage in numerous summer stock productions. Eventually, she succeeded on Broadway, first appearing as an understudy to Martha Scott in Our Town, and subsequently starring in the domestic comedy, Claudia.
Brought to Hollywood by producer David O. Selznick on the strength of her stage performance, McGuire starred in her first film, a movie adaptation of her Broadway success, Claudia, and portrayed the character of a child bride who almost destroys her marriage through her selfishness. Her inaugural screen performance was popular with both the public and critics alike and was the catalyst for not only a sequel, Claudia and David (both movies co-starring Robert Young), but also for numerous other film roles.
McGuire had a lengthy Hollywood career. Her versatility served her well in taut melodramas, such as The Spiral Staircase and Make Haste to Live, as well as in light, frothy comedies, such as Mother Didn't Tell Me and Mister 880. By 1943, at the age of 27, she was already playing mother roles, in such movies as A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1947 for Gentleman's Agreement. Other notable films include Three Coins in the Fountain, Friendly Persuasion, Old Yeller, Swiss Family Robinson, and The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Married to Life Magazine photographer John Swope for more than 35 years, she had a son, photographer Mark Swope, and a daughter Topo (born 1948), who also became an actress. McGuire died of cardiac arrest following a brief illness at the age of 85 in 2001.
McGuire has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6933 Hollywood Blvd.
Selected filmography
The Enchanted Cottage (1945)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
The Spiral Staircase (1945)
Till the End of Time (1946)
Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
Mister 880 (1950)
Callaway Went Thataway (1951)
Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)
Trial (1955)
Friendly Persuasion (1956)
Old Yeller (1957)
A Summer Place (1959)
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960)
Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
Summer Magic (1963)
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
Rich Man, Poor Man (1976 TV miniseries)
Little Women (1978)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Dorothy McGuire
Dorothy McGuire at the Internet Movie Database
Dorothy McGuire at the TCM Movie Database
Persondata
NAME
McGuire, Dorothy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
McGuire, Dorothy Hackett
SHORT DESCRIPTION
DATE OF BIRTH
June 14, 1916(1916-06-14)
PLACE OF BIRTH
Omaha, Nebraska
DATE OF DEATH
2001-9-13
PLACE OF DEATH
Santa Monica, California
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_McGuire"
Categories: American film actors | American stage actors | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Irish-Americans | People from Omaha, Nebraska | Nebraska actors | 1916 births | 2001 deaths
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