Monday, March 15, 2010

Dorothy McGuire


Dorothy McGuire02
Originally uploaded by Quiltin' WaYnE

Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an Academy Award-nominated American actress.

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.

McGuire is an alumna of private liberal arts college, Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. McGuire often contributed her time and talent to the acting program.

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)
* Invitation (1952)
* 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)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_McGuire

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