Christine
McGuire - (1926 - 2018)
Dorothy
McGuire - (1928 - 2012)
Phyllis
McGuire - (1931 - 2020)
Starting in their teenage years, the McGuire
Sisters made local appearances and eventually
landed a steady gig in a cabaret in the Van
Cleve Hotel in Dayton, Ohio.
This
led to their appearance in 1952 as contestants
on Arthur Godfrey’s “Talent Scouts” TV show:
Let us give you a quick history of Arthur
Godfrey and his importance at this time:
Arthur
Godfrey was a radio and TV
broadcaster/personality who had multiple and
very popular radio and TV shows on CBS
simultaneously throughout the 1950’s.
“Talent Scouts” was a combo of “American
Idol”, “Star Search,” and “The Voice.”
If you won, you’d likely be given frequent
bookings as a paid entertainer on one or more
of the other Arthur Godfrey shows.
Here’s
a very short list of entertainers who appeared
on “Talent Scouts”: Pat Boone, Tony
Bennett, Lenny Bruce, Roy Clark, Rosemary
Clooney, Vic Damone, Eddie Fisher, Connie
Francis, Steve Lawrence, Johnny Nash, Leslie
Uggams, Patsy Cline and Jonathan Winters.
As you saw in the clip, the McGuire Sisters
practically broke the applausemeter used to
measure audience enthusiasm and won “Talent
Scouts.”
National
TV and A-list nightclub appearances followed,
and just as important, record sales,
too.
In
1955, they had their biggest hit - “Sincerely”
- which was #1 on the Billboard Top 100 Chart
for 10 weeks (ten weeks!), a truly phenomenal
achievement.
Sincerely
Their
small-town demeanor and look evolved into
urbane sophistication with glamorous
matching gowns, jewelry and hair
styles.
Everybody
loved the McGuire Sisters, probably no one
more than Ed Sullivan who had them on his
show many times:
Pennies
From Heaven
And
here an Irving Berlin Medley:
Irving
Berlin Medley
In
the late 50’s, came two more mega-hits for
which they are remembered. This one,
with its simplistic lyrics and infectious
melody, was especially adored by kids:
Sugartime
And
this song with that faux-poetic quality so
popular in the Eisenhower era:
The
McGuire Sisters were perennial guest stars
on the many TV variety shows that
populated prime time on the three
networks, including Dean Martin, Dinah
Shore, and Red Skelton, where they did
this medley from “My Fair Lady”:
My
Fair Lady Medley
In
1960, Frank Sinatra introduced Phyllis
McGuire to Sam Giancana, who happened to
be the mob boss of Chicago.
Phyllis
and Sam began an affair that proved
destructive to the reputation of the
McGuire Sisters. Phyllis says she
didn’t know who Sam was (or what crimes he
was suspected of committing) until she was
already in love with him.
Years
of bad publicity ensued, with Phyllis
being called in front of grand juries to
be asked what she knew about Giancana’s
“business.” The McGuire Sisters were
blacklisted by many nightclubs and TV
shows, and, when Phyllis wouldn’t leave
Sam, Dorothy and Christine dissolved the
act in 1968.
Phyllis
tried a solo career for a short while, but
that wasn’t working, so all of the sisters
spent the next 18 years out of the
limelight.
Sam Giancana had been murdered in his
kitchen in 1975 so that scandal was long
over by the time the McGuire Sisters
decided it was time for a comeback in
1986.
The trio looked sensational with model
thin bodies and “refreshed” faces.
And their voices were intact.
The
comeback was a huge success and, in some
ways, they picked up where they had left
off before all the bad press. They
went on with continual success for 20
years.
The
Comeback
Here’s
some personal info on the three
sisters:
All three had early, short, failed
marriages.
Dorothy married again, to a wealthy oilman
with whom she had two sons. They
remained married for 53 years until her
death.
Christine
had a total of 6 marriages and two
sons. Her special contribution to
the act was she selected their matching
outfits.
(Dorothy
did the finances, and Phyllis did the
talking.)
Phyllis
McGuire never remarried, and if she had
any serious boyfriends after Sam Giancana,
it was done out of the limelight.
What
Phyllis did have was an amazing home in
Vegas on 8 acres with ponds full of
swans. The house was over 50,000
square feet, and featured a 45’ tall
Eiffel Tower replica in the middle of her
living room. Here’s a short tour on
TV
Phyllis'
House in Las Vegas
With
such a long career, there were lots and
lots of pictures taken of the McGuire
Sisters. To their recording of
“Something’s Gotta Give” (Joe’s fave
McGuire song), here are pics that span
their entire career:
Something's
Gotta Give
We
leave the McGuire Sisters -- and you --
with a 1993 medley of Christmas songs:
Christmas
Medley
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