TEXAS GUINAN—NOT JUST ANOTHER INDICTED B.S. ARTIST    PART 1 

MY RECENT REFERENCE TO Texas Guinnan recalls a favorite subhead of mine in R&T: “Let’s Belly Up to the Bar, Folks, And See What We Can Learn.” It was a tech piece, August 1981, on the theory and practice of suspension anti-roll bars. 

The connection, I admit, is a tenuous one: As noted by Wikipedia, Texas Guinan is “most remembered for the speakeasy clubs she managed during Prohibition. Her clubs catered to the rich and famous, as well as to aspiring talent. After being arrested and indicted during a law enforcement sweep of speakeasy clubs, she was acquitted during her trial.” 

Yet there’s so much more to the life of this wonderful character. Here in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow are tidbits gleaned from one place and another.

A Varied Waco Upbringing. Little “Mamie” attended parochial school at the Loretta Convent in Waco, Texas. “Growing up on a ranch,” Wikipedia notes, “provided her with basic cowboy skills, and she honed her marksmanship at a local shooting gallery. In 1898, her parents successfully secured her a two-year scholarship to the American Conservatory of Music offered by Chicago businessman Marshall Field. After developing her soprano vocal talents and finishing her studies, she joined a touring actors’ troupe that featured American ‘Wild West’ entertainment.”

Talk about varied. 

Marital Bliss (and Bluffs). Wikipedia continues, “By 1904 using the name Marie Guinan, she married newspaper cartoonist John Moynahan on December 2.… The couple eventually divorced, and Guinan moved to New York to pursue a career as a singer in the entertainment business. For years, she claimed she had been born with the name Texas, and never let facts stand in the way of her narrative.”

With regard to other marital matters, Wikipedia notes, “Theatre critic and Photoplay editor Julian Johnson, her companion for a decade, was influential in the creation of her public persona. Many erroneously believed them to be married. Her 1933 obituaries mention Johnson as her second husband, and millionaire George E. Townley as a third husband. Lacking any verification that the latter two marriages took place, Moynahan is now believed to have been her only husband.”

Other Related B.S. She once had a poem carrying her byline printed in Photoplay. And, perhaps with less veracity, another Photoplay article said that Guinan “bore a distinct resemblance to her uncle, Senator Joe Bailey of Texas.” Wikipedia observes, “The niece relationship seems implausible, since her parents were born and raised in a different country [Ireland] than either Senator Bailey or his wife.”

National Stardom, Sorta. Initially a chorus girl, Guinan adopted the name Texas to give herself an edge. “Within a year,” Wikipedia notes, “she had a female lead in a stage production of Simple Simon Simple, during which she accidentally shot herself on stage with a loaded gun.” 

Texas got caught up in a weight-loss scam perpetrated by W.C. Cunningham, in which she licensed her name and image along with a claim she had lost 70 lbs. on the plan. Cunningham’s activity was later found to be a swindle. And, for awhile there, the U.S. Postmaster General prohibited Guinan from receiving mail.

The Movie Plot. Wikipedia notes, “As described in a film magazine, the Tigress (Guinan), who is famous for her quick draw and straight shooting, finds herself softened by love when she meets the Gent (McDonald) and his whisperings of a home for two, which make the Tigress believe in him. She entrusts her savings to his care so that he can prepare a home for them. When she learns that she has been betrayed, she kills the Gent.”

Well, that takes care of that. And, come to examine the film clip, it’s not that Texas isn’t a bit zaftig. You’d wonder what she’d do to W.C. Cunningham. 

Tomorrow in Part 2, Guinan meets Kaiser Wilhelm II, is awarded a bronze cross by a French field marshal, establishes her own film production company, and writes “How to Keep Your Husband Out of My Night Club.” Some of this may not be true. ds 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2023