JOHN BARRYMORE
Name: John Sidney Blyth
Born: 15 February 1882 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died: 29 May 1942 Los Angeles, California
John Sidney Blyth Barrymore (February 15, 1882 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania –
May 29, 1942 in Los Angeles, California), was an American actor.
He gained fame as a stage actor, lauded for his portrayals of Hamlet and Richard
III, and is frequently called the greatest actor of his generation. He was the
brother of Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore, and the grandfather of Drew
Barrymore.
Barrymore was born into an illustrious theatrical family. His parents were
Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew. His maternal grandmother was Louisa Lane
Drew (aka Mrs Drew), a prominent and well respected 19th century actress and
theater manager, who instilled in John, his sister Ethel & brother Lionel the
ways of acting & theatre life. John's classic nose and distinguished features
won him the nickname "The Great Profile." John fondly remembered the summer of
1896 in his youth spent on Maurice's rambling farm on Long Island. He , Lionel
and a black cook named Edward lived a Robinson Crusoe existence in which John
said that Edward never made him or Lionel make their beds or wash the dishes and
Edward was always able to cook up a hearty meal from nothing. He was expelled
from Georgetown Preparatory School in 1898 after being caught attending a
bordello. He was a hard-drinking adventurer with a jaunty personality.
A notorious ladies' man, he courted showgirl Evelyn Nesbit in 1901 and 1902.
When Nesbit became pregnant -- she aged 17 and he 19 -- Barrymore proposed
marriage. But her "sponsor" Stanford White intervened, and arranged for the
still-teenaged Evelyn to undergo an operation for "appendicitis". White was
later murdered by Nesbit's vengeful husband, Pittsburgh millionaire Harry K.
Thaw.
He was staying at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco when the 1906
earthquake struck. He had starred in a production of The Dictator and was booked
to sail to Australia to tour with it. Since he loathed this prospect, he decided
to disappear, spending the next few days drinking at the home of a friend on Van
Ness Avenue. "During his drinking jag, he had worked out a plan to exploit the
earthquake for his own ends. He decided to present himself as an on-the-scene "reporter"
of what had really happened in San Francisco. The one discrepancy between John
Barrymore's "report" and those written by others involved in the disaster was
that the actor made up virtually all he claimed to have seen. Twenty years later
Barrymore finally confessed to his deception. But by then he was so famous that
the world merely smiled indulgently at his admission." His account was
written as a "letter to my sister Ethel. He was sure the letter would be "worth
at least a hundred dollars." In terms of publicity it earned Barrymore a
thousand times that amount.
Name: John Sidney Blyth
Born: 15 February 1882 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died: 29 May 1942 Los Angeles, California
John Sidney Blyth Barrymore (February 15, 1882 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania –
May 29, 1942 in Los Angeles, California), was an American actor.
He gained fame as a stage actor, lauded for his portrayals of Hamlet and Richard
III, and is frequently called the greatest actor of his generation. He was the
brother of Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore, and the grandfather of Drew
Barrymore.
Barrymore was born into an illustrious theatrical family. His parents were
Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew. His maternal grandmother was Louisa Lane
Drew (aka Mrs Drew), a prominent and well respected 19th century actress and
theater manager, who instilled in John, his sister Ethel & brother Lionel the
ways of acting & theatre life. John's classic nose and distinguished features
won him the nickname "The Great Profile." John fondly remembered the summer of
1896 in his youth spent on Maurice's rambling farm on Long Island. He , Lionel
and a black cook named Edward lived a Robinson Crusoe existence in which John
said that Edward never made him or Lionel make their beds or wash the dishes and
Edward was always able to cook up a hearty meal from nothing. He was expelled
from Georgetown Preparatory School in 1898 after being caught attending a
bordello. He was a hard-drinking adventurer with a jaunty personality.
A notorious ladies' man, he courted showgirl Evelyn Nesbit in 1901 and 1902.
When Nesbit became pregnant -- she aged 17 and he 19 -- Barrymore proposed
marriage. But her "sponsor" Stanford White intervened, and arranged for the
still-teenaged Evelyn to undergo an operation for "appendicitis". White was
later murdered by Nesbit's vengeful husband, Pittsburgh millionaire Harry K.
Thaw.
He was staying at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco when the 1906
earthquake struck. He had starred in a production of The Dictator and was booked
to sail to Australia to tour with it. Since he loathed this prospect, he decided
to disappear, spending the next few days drinking at the home of a friend on Van
Ness Avenue. "During his drinking jag, he had worked out a plan to exploit the
earthquake for his own ends. He decided to present himself as an on-the-scene "reporter"
of what had really happened in San Francisco. The one discrepancy between John
Barrymore's "report" and those written by others involved in the disaster was
that the actor made up virtually all he claimed to have seen. Twenty years later
Barrymore finally confessed to his deception. But by then he was so famous that
the world merely smiled indulgently at his admission." His account was
written as a "letter to my sister Ethel. He was sure the letter would be "worth
at least a hundred dollars." In terms of publicity it earned Barrymore a
thousand times that amount.