Point Loma High honors oldest living alumna, radio and ballet queen Eileen McCarthy
SAN DIEGO Point Loma High celebrated its centennial with a gala on Sept marking a major milestone for the school s long and decorated history More than a thousand alumni and guests gathered at the Port Pavilion on the Broadway Pier for the festive event Several older alumni were given special recognition including Eileen Finley McCarthy who was presented as the school s oldest living alumna She will turn on Oct McCarthy was born in and raised in Point Loma Her parents and older brother immigrated from Canada and settled in Ocean Beach in McCarthy s early life was dedicated to dance and the performing arts Attending residents school was usually not an option at that time The opportunity to be at Point Loma High for two wonderful years - was one of the best times of my life she commented As a young girl and then a teenager McCarthy was well-known in San Diego as an actress on the radio During the Depression this type of work was well-received and well-paid The money was used to pay for her expenses as a ballerina her first and real love McCarthy was also the principal dancer for the San Diego Starlight Ballet Eileen Finley as a th-grader at Point Loma High School in at years old Photo courtesy of Mike McCarthy In the late s and early s McCarthy worked with KGB Radio which had a popular show titled The Children s Hour Television shows were yet to come After dinner the bulk families would sit around the radio for entertainment McCarthy acted and sang on the radio with plenty of who would later go on into the world of television One of these standouts was the late legendary Art Linkletter Linkletter had just completed his teaching credential at San Diego State Working with McCarthy at KGB he discovered his love and talent for radio It also paid better than teaching While she was a sophomore at Point Loma in a well-known Russian choreographer Theodore Kosloff discovered McCarthy s dancing talent Kosloff was impressed by her ability to perform formidable ballet moves like efforts and jumps on-toe McCarthy joined Kosloff in Hollywood where she was introduced to Cecil B DeMille the father of Hollywood cinema DeMille was also amazed at her talent and beauty McCarthy would soon join the movie world of dance But this new life would be short-lived McCarthy met and fell in love with Jim McCarthy back in San Diego Her dance career would be put on hold for a long time After raising six children with her husband he died just before his th birthday Eileen McCarthy was devastated but located a way to keep on going She married her late husband s brother John McCarthy who had lost his wife in Iowa They moved to Welks Village near Escondido and enjoyed countless years of golf and tennis Her life of dance was renewed once again by becoming Lawrence Welk s dance partner at The Village She also became a model for Welk s fashion shows Eventually Eileen McCarthy s second husband and all of her close friends died But with the love and encouragement of her children she identified a way to keep going She became a physical fitness instructor with Hour Fitness McCarthy worked with seniors in several assisted living facilities She used line dancing as an incentive to motivate her classes McCarthy at almost still keeps on dancing She frequently can be heard yelling out her favorite Point Loma High cheer One-two-three-four who are we all rooting for Point Loma Point Loma The show keeps on going Love you Mom The writer Mike McCarthy is Eileen McCarthy s son who lives in Point Loma
