Former press agent Don McGuire turned to acting in 1945. McGuire's pencil-thin mustache and patronizing persona made him a useful screen antagonist to such stars as Red Skelton (The Fuller Brush Man) and Frank Sinatra (Double Dynamite). His friendship with Sinatra lead to his first screenwriting assignment, Meet Danny Wilson (1951). He was also a pal of comedian Jerry Lewis, collaborating on Jerry's "all star" home movies in the 1950s. After scripting several topnotch 1950s films--including a handful of Martin and Lewis efforts--he landed his first directorial job, the 1956 Frank Sinatra western Johnny Concho. He then directed Jerry Lewis' first solo effort, The Delicate Delinquent (1957). His third and last theatrical-feature directorial gig was 1957's Hear Me Good, a Runyonesque comedy starring TV game show host Hal March. In partnership with comedian Jackie Cooper, McGuire wrote, produced and directed Cooper's TV sitcom Hennessey. After splitting with Cooper, McGuire turned to writing novels. In 1982, Don McGuire shared an Academy Award - posthumously - with the eminent Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal - for his first draft of the Dustin Hoffman comedy blockbuster Tootsie.
by Hal Erickson
biography
