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FILE: This Tuesday, December 12, 1995. Photo from the archive, Phyllis McGuire, the youngest of the McGuire sisters, smiles after receiving a group of balloons from her lifelong friends Debbie Reynolds and Rip Taylor at her home in Las Vegas. Phyllis McGuire, the last surviving member of the three singing sisters who topped the charts with several hits in the 1950s, died on Tuesday, December 31, 2020 (AP Photo / Lennox McLendon, File)
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FILE: This Tuesday, December 12, 1995. Photo from the archive, Phyllis McGuire, the youngest of The McGuire Sisters, smiles after receiving a group of balloons from her lifelong friends Debbie Reynolds and Rip Taylor at her home in Las Vegas. Phyllis McGuire, the last surviving member of the three singing sisters who topped the charts with several hits in the 1950s, died on Tuesday, December 31, 2020 (AP Photo / Lennox McLendon, File)
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Phyllis McGuire, the last surviving member of the three singing sisters who topped the charts with several hits in the 1950s, has died. She was 89 years old.
Singer and younger sister Dorothy and Christine McGuire died Tuesday in Las Vegas, the Palm Eastern Cemetery and Cemetery confirmed Thursday. No cause of death was provided.
Known for their sweet harmonies and identical dresses and hairstyles, the McGuire sisters won six gold records for hits including “Sincerely” (1954) and “Sugartime” (1957).
The group performed for five presidents and 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” on the Rancho Circle estates near downtown Las Vegas. The 2,415-square-foot 26,000-square-foot house includes a 14-meter version of the Eiffel Tower.
The sisters began singing together as children in their mother’s Ohio church and then performed at weddings and church revivals.
They gained popularity during World War II and got their break from shows in 1952 with an appearance on the “Kate Smith Show.” They stopped performing as a trio but returned to the stage as a trio in 1985.
The three performed together in the mid-2000s and appeared on a 2004 PBS show called “Magic Moments: The Best of the 50’s in Pop.”
“They were amazing. They brought the country together by singing wonderful songs, “she told Sun Lovee Arum, one of McGuire’s longtime friends.” Phyllis McGuire was beautiful, talented, and part of the appeal 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 radio station Neal Van Ells in 1952. They divorced in 1956.
She was also known for her relationship with 1960s mobster Sam Giancana. Mary Louise-Parker played Phyllis McGuire in the 1995 HBO film “Sugartime,” which portrayed Giancana’s love affair with her.