Texas Guinan (1884–1933,) born Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan, was an American actress, producer, and entrepreneur who revolutionized New York’s nightlife and gained fame as a speakeasy hostess during Prohibition.
Born in Waco, Texas, to Irish immigrant parents, she developed horseback riding and marksmanship skills that later influenced her Western film career. Guinan initially pursued theater, performing in musicals such as Miss Bob White, The Hoyden, and The Gay Musician.
She transitioned to silent films in 1917, starring as strong, independent women in The Gun Woman (1918,) The Hellcat (1918,) and Little Miss Deputy (1919.) Briefly running Texas Guinan Productions in 1921, she produced several films before leaving Hollywood.
In 1924, she gained notoriety managing clubs like the El Fay Club, 300 Club, and Texas Guinan’s Salon Royale. Her signature greeting, “Hello, sucker!,” became legendary. Despite multiple arrests for violating Prohibition laws, she was never convicted.
Guinan returned to Broadway with Padlocks of 1927 and later starred in talking films such as Queen of the Night Clubs (1929) and Broadway Thru a Keyhole (1933.) She toured with Too Hot for Paris before passing away in Vancouver, Canada.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Texas Guinan
I go up and down the scale so often that if they ever perform an autopsy on me they’ll find me like a strip of bacon – a streak of lean and a streak of fat.
—Texas Guinan
Topics: Diet, Weight
Success has killed more men than bullets.
—Texas Guinan
Topics: Success is not everything
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