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FILE – In this Tuesday, December 12, 1995. file photo, Phyllis McGuire, the youngest of The McGuire Sisters, smiles after receiving a cluster of balloons from old friends Debbie Reynolds and Rip Taylor at her Las Vegas home. Phyllis McGuire, the last remaining member of the three singing McGuire Sisters who topped the charts with several hits in the 1950s, passed away on Tuesday, December 31, 2020 (AP Photo / Lennox McLendon, File)
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FILE – In this Tuesday, December 12, 1995. file photo, Phyllis McGuire, the youngest of The McGuire Sisters, smiles after receiving a cluster of balloons from old friends Debbie Reynolds and Rip Taylor at her Las Vegas home. Phyllis McGuire, the last remaining member of the three singing McGuire Sisters who topped the charts with several hits in the 1950s, passed away on Tuesday, December 31, 2020 (AP Photo / Lennox McLendon, File)
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Phyllis McGuire, the last remaining member of the three singing McGuire Sisters who topped the charts in the 1950s with several hits, has passed away. She was 89.
The singer and younger sister of Dorothy and Christine McGuire died in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the Palm Eastern Mortuary and Cemetery confirmed on Thursday. No cause of death has been specified.
Known for their sweet harmonies and identical outfits and hairstyles, the McGuire Sisters earned six gold records for hits, including 1954’s ‘Sincerely’ and 1957’s ‘Sugartime’.
The group has performed for five presidents and for Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. They were inducted into the National Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.
The Las Vegas sun reported that Phyllis McGuire died at her mansion she called “the Beverly Hills of Las Vegas” in the Rancho Circle estates near downtown Las Vegas. The 26,000-square-foot (2,415-square-meter) house contains a 14-foot version of the Eiffel Tower.
The sisters began singing together as children in their mother’s church in Ohio, and then performed at weddings and revivals.
They became popular during World War II and got their show business break in 1952 with an appearance on the “ Kate Smith Show. ” They retired from performing as a trio, but returned to the stage as a trio in 1985.
The three last performed together in the mid-2000s, and were featured on a 2004 PBS show called “Magic Moments – Best of 50s Pop.”
“They were great. They brought the country together by singing beautiful songs,” Lovee Arum, one of McGuire’s old friends, told the Sun. “Phyllis McGuire was beautiful, talented and part of the allure of Las Vegas. “
Phyllis Jean McGuire was born in Middletown, Ohio, on February 14, 1931. Dorothy McGuire Williamson died in 2012. Christine McGuire died in 2018.
Phyllis McGuire married broadcaster Neal Van Ells in 1952. They were divorced in 1956.
She was also known for her relationship with 1960s mobster Sam Giancana. Mary Louise-Parker played the role of Phyllis McGuire in the 1995 HBO movie “Sugartime”, which portrayed Giancana’s love affair with her.