American stage and screen actor whose rise to superstardom and subsequent decline is one of the legendary tragedies of Hollywood. A member of the most famous generation of the most famous theatrical family in America, he was also its most acclaimed star. His father was Maurice Blyth (or Blythe; family spellings vary), a stage success under the name 'Maurice Barrymore'. His mother, Georgie Drew, was the daughter of actor John Drew. Although well known in the theatre, Maurice and Georgie were eclipsed by their three children, John, Lionel Barrymore, and Ethel Barrymore, each of whom became legendary stars. John was handsome and roguish. He made his stage debut at 18 in one of his father's productions, but was much more interested in becoming an artist. Briefly educated at King's College, Wimbledon, and at New York's Art Students League, Barrymore worked as a freelance artist and for a while sketched for the New York Evening Journal. Gradually, though, the draw of his family's profession ensnared him and by 1905 he had given up professional drawing and was touring the country in plays. He survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and in 1909 became a major Broadway star in "The Fortune Hunter." In 1922, Barrymore became his generation's most acclaimed Hamlet, in New York and London. But by this time he had become a frequent player in motion pictures. His screen debut supposedly came in An American Citizen, though records of several lost films indicate he may have made appearances as far back as 1912. He became every bit the star of films that he was on stage, eclipsing his siblings in both arenas. Though his striking matinee-idol looks had garnered him the nickname "The Great Profile", he often buried them under makeup or distortion in order to create memorable characters of degradation or horror. He was a romantic leading man into the early days of sound films, but his heavy drinking (since boyhood) began to take a toll, and he degenerated quickly into a man old before his time. He made a number of memorable appearances in character roles, but these became over time more memorable for the humiliation of a once-great star than for his gifts. His last few films were broad and distasteful caricatures of himself, though in even the worst, such as Playmates, he could rouse himself to a moving soliloquy from Hamlet. He died in 1942, mourned as much for the loss of his life as for the loss of grace, wit, and brilliance which had characterized his career at its height.


Playmates (1941): $5,000/week
Rasputin and the Empress (1932): $150,000
Grand Hotel (1932): $150,000
Arsène Lupin (1932): $150,000
Svengali (1931): $30,000/week
Moby Dick (1930): $30,000/week
General Crack (1930): $30,000/week
Eternal Love (1929): $150,000
Tempest (1928): $100,000
When a Man Loves (1927): $75,000
Don Juan (1926): $75,000
The Sea Beast (1926): $75,000

Father of John Drew Barrymore and actress Diana Barrymore. Son of Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Barrymore; grandson of Louisa Drew and actor John Drew (1827-62); nephew of Sidney Drew; cousin of S. Rankin Drew; uncle of Samuel Colt, Ethel Colt, and John Drew Colt. His birth certificate lists 14 February as birth date, which conflicts with the family Bible which says 15 February. His World War I draft record and Social Security records state February 15. George Bernard Shaw considered his very highly regarded "Hamlet" one of the worst performances of the role he had ever seen, and in a blistering letter accused him of indulging his own ego at the expense of William Shakespeare. Was a good friend of Errol Flynn, who subsequently played Barrymore in Too Much, Too Soon (1958), a film about Barrymore's daughter Diana Barrymore. The only one of the three Barrymore siblings (John, Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore) to never win or even be nominated for an Academy Award; he is now considered the finest actor of the three. His 1922 "Hamlet" was the longest-running Broadway production of the play with 101 performances until John Gielgud played the part for 132 performances in 1936. He was the greatest Hamlet and Richard III of his time, and he is still considered the greatest American actor to play those roles. Barrymore left specific instructions that he be cremated and his ashes be buried next to his parents in the family cemetery in Philadelphia. However, as his brother Lionel Barrymore and sister Ethel Barrymore were Catholic and cremation had not was not sanctioned by the Church, the executors (Lionel and Mervyn LeRoy) had Barrymore's remains entombed at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles. In 1980, John Drew Barrymore decided to have his dad cremated, and recruited his son John Blyth Barrymore to help. They removed the casket from its crypt, drove it to the Odd Fellows Cemetery, and made the preparations. John Jr. insisted on having a look inside before they left. After viewing the body, he came out white as a sheet, got in the car and said to his son, "Thank God I'm drunk, I'll never remember it.". In 1920 lived at 134 W. 4th Street in Manhattan. Was originally supposed to play Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), but because of the effects of his alcoholism he couldn't remember his lines and was fired.