[2] A Wisconsin native, McGuire attended Beloit College as an undergraduate and later the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in 1958.
[10] McGuire began his screen career in 1968, playing Dr. Bryan Angell in the television soap opera One Life to Live.
From the 1970s to the 2000s McGuire guest-starred in television programs including Hawaii Five-O, The Six Million Dollar Man, Columbo, Mannix, Kojak, Wonder Woman, The Streets of San Francisco, The Rockford Files, Taxi, The Long Days of Summer, Family Ties, All in the Family, M*A*S*H, The Golden Girls, Knots Landing, Dark Shadows, Newhart, Remington Steele, Highway to Heaven and The West Wing.
[16] McGuire's film credits include Coming Apart, They Might Be Giants, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, Blade,[12] Larry,[17] Report to the Commissioner,[11] Hard Times,[12] The Hunted Lady,[12] The Great Wallendas,[12] Home to Stay,[18] Like Normal People,[11] Sanctuary of Fear,[11] The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd,[11] Blinded by the Light,[11] Jekyll and Hyde...
[12] McGuire retired in 2008, last appearing in the Broadway play August: Osage County,[3] as the patriarch Beverly Weston.