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Tony-Nominated actor William “Biff” McGuire is dead at the age of 94. The star’s career lasted over seven decades and saw him work with countless other legends of the screen. The Tony’s nominated him for The Young Man From Atlanta in 1997 and Morning’s At Seven in 2002. In the world of movies, he worked with Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair and Al Pacino in Serpico. Doug Hughes, former Seattle Rep Associate Artistic Director, told Deadline that McGuire actually was shy in real life but “a nearly scary confidence once he stepped on a stage.” The actor gave an interview with talkinbroadway back in 2004 that explained how he fell into acting as a result of his service during World War II. Sometimes, people find inspiration in the strangest circumstances. For McGuire, this meant learning under people in Britain who had given their lives to the trade.
“…But my thought was that I wanted to design for the theater. I wanted to do sets and that sort of thing, but I just veered off into acting,” McGuire admitted. “My mother was what you would call an elocutionist when she was quite young. She always had me memorizing poems. We had all of these big gatherings of the whole family on Saturday nights, and everybody had to do something, so that was my theater. I shared it with a very large family.”
When asked if he had any inclination of slowing down, McGuire offered this nugget:
“I don’t know. I thought after Mornings at Seven that I would not do anything except go back to writing and painting again. We’ve got this place in California and I spend so little time in it because I’m back east so often. But this came up and I thought I would do it. I love Horton’s writing, so I wanted to see what would happen with this,” he observed. “Between the time of Mornings at Seven and Horton calling, I was writing a novel which I’ve finished. It’s called “Willie’s War,” but that’s all I can tell you about it for now. It’s about me, but I had to fictionalize it in order to survive.”
William “Biff” McGuire is survived by his wife, two children, and two grandchildren.
Did you see any of the projects he was in or catch him on Broadway? Let us know down in the comments!