Betty McGuire, ‘Growing Pains’ Actress, Dies at 100

Betty McGuire, the actress best known for her role as grandmother Kate Malone on the ABC sitcom “Growing Pains, died Oct. 8 at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills, Calif., of natural causes. She was 100.

Keith Gerchak, McGuire’s POA, confirmed her death.

McGuire had a seven-year run on “Growing Pains” as Kate Malone, mother to Joanna Kerns’ Maggie. She was a recurring character in Seasons 1-2 and again in Seasons 4-7.

Aside from “Growing Pains,” McGuire’s career in television includes appearances in shows including “Falcon Crest,” “The Doris Day Show,” “Columbo,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Hill Street Blues,” “ER,” “CSI: Miami,” “MacGyver,” Moonlighting” and “Charlie’s Angels.”

On the silver screen, McGuire appeared in feature films such as “Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke” and Michael Crichton’s “Coma.”

The actress also performed with notable Broadway names including Ethel Merman, Barbara Cook, Bea Arthur and Tony Randall in original productions of “Plain and Fancy,” “Happy Hunting” and “Oh, Captain!” She headlined as “Mame” at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and toured in productions of “Gypsy,” “Auntie Mame,” “Mame,” “Oliver!” “How to Succeed in Business…” and “The Ziegfeld Follies of 1956.”

Later in life, McGuire volunteered as a receptionist and advocate at the Coalition for Economic Survival legal clinic in Los Angeles to offer support for low-income tenants facing eviction. She was an active resident of The Motion Picture & Television Fund Home. On Channel 22, the on-campus TV station at the retirement community, she hosted her own talk show, “GabFest.”