Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore | |
---|---|
Born | Lionel Herbert Blyth April 28, 1878 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | November 15, 1954 (aged 76) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1893–1954 |
Political party | Republican |
Spouses | |
Children | 2 |
Parent(s) | Maurice Barrymore Georgiana Drew |
Family | Barrymore |
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blyth; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director.[1] He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul (1931), and is known to modern audiences for the role of villainous Mr. Potter in Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.
He is also particularly remembered as Ebenezer Scrooge in annual broadcasts of A Christmas Carol during his last two decades. He is also known for playing Dr. Leonard Gillespie in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's nine Dr. Kildare films, a role he reprised in a further six films focusing solely on Gillespie and in a radio series titled The Story of Dr. Kildare. He was a member of the theatrical Barrymore family.
Early life
Lionel Barrymore was born Lionel Herbert Blyth in
Barrymore was married twice, to actresses
Stage career
Reluctant to follow his parents' career,[10] Barrymore appeared together with his grandmother Louisa Lane Drew on tour and in a stage production of The Rivals at the age of 15.[2][11] He later recounted that "I didn't want to act. I wanted to paint or draw. The theater was not in my blood, I was related to the theater by marriage only; it was merely a kind of in-law of mine I had to live with."[10] Nevertheless, he soon found success on stage in character roles and continued to act, although he still wanted to become a painter and also to compose music.[12] He appeared on Broadway in his early twenties with his uncle John Drew Jr. in such plays as The Second in Command (1901) and The Mummy and the Hummingbird (1902), the latter of which won him critical acclaim.[2] The Other Girl in 1903–04 was a long-running success for Barrymore.[2] In 1905, he appeared with John and Ethel in a pantomime, starring as the title character in Pantaloon and playing another character in the other half of the bill, Alice Sit-by-the-Fire.[13]
In 1906, after a series of disappointing appearances in plays, Barrymore and his first wife, the actress
From 1912 to 1917, Barrymore was away from the stage again while he established his film career, but after the First World War, he had several successes on Broadway, where he established his reputation as a dramatic and character actor, often performing together with his wife. He returned to the stage in
Film career
Barrymore joined Biograph Studios in 1909 and began to appear in leading roles by 1911 in films directed by D. W. Griffith. Barrymore made The Battle (1911), The New York Hat (1912), Friends, and Three Friends (1913). In 1915, he co-starred with Lillian Russell in a movie called Wildfire, one of the legendary Russell's few film appearances. He also was involved in writing and directing at Biograph. The last silent film he directed, Life's Whirlpool (Metro Pictures, 1917), starred his sister, Ethel. He acted in more than 60 silent films with Griffith.[2]
In 1920, Barrymore reprised his stage role in the film adaptation of co-starring.
Before the formation of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1924, Barrymore forged a good relationship with Louis B. Mayer early on at Metro Pictures. He made several silent features for Metro, some of which are now lost. In 1923, Barrymore and Fenwick went to Italy to film The Eternal City for Metro Pictures in Rome, combining work with their honeymoon. He occasionally freelanced, returning to Griffith in 1924 to film America. In 1925, he left New York for Hollywood.[2]
Prior to his marriage to Irene, Barrymore and his brother John engaged in a dispute over the issue of Irene's chastity in the wake of her having been one of John's lovers. The brothers didn't speak again for two years and weren't seen together until the premiere of John's film Don Juan in 1926, by which time they had patched up their differences. Barrymore signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1926 and his first picture there was The Barrier.[1] His first talking picture was The Lion and the Mouse; his stage experience allowed him to excel in delivering the dialogue in sound films.[2]
On the occasional loan-out, Barrymore had a big success with
On April 27, 1939, Louis B. Mayer threw Barrymore a 61st birthday party (the day before his actual birthday), broadcast live on Good News of 1939, and required all MGM employees to attend.[17] This was likely intended to distract from, and prevent MGM attendance of, the Confessions of a Nazi Spy premiere that occurred simultaneously.[17] The film was highly controversial due to its anti-Nazi message.[17]
During the
In a series of
He is well-known for his role as Mr. Potter, the miserly and mean-spirited banker in It's a Wonderful Life (1946) opposite James Stewart.
He had a role with Clark Gable in Lone Star in 1952. His final film appearance was a cameo in Main Street to Broadway, an MGM musical comedy released in 1953. His sister Ethel also appeared in the film.
Politics
Barrymore was a
Barrymore registered for the draft during World War II, despite his age and disability, to encourage others to enlist in the military.[21]
He loathed the income tax, and by the time he was appearing on Mayor of the Town, MGM withheld a sizable portion of his paychecks, paying back the IRS the amount he owed.[22][23][24]
Medical issues
Several sources argue that arthritis alone confined Barrymore to a wheelchair.[25][26] Film historian Jeanine Basinger says that his arthritis was serious by at least 1928, when Barrymore made Sadie Thompson.[27] Film historian David Wallace says it was well known that Barrymore was addicted to morphine due to arthritis by 1929.[28] A history of Oscar-winning actors, however, says Barrymore was only suffering from arthritis, not crippled or incapacitated by it.[29] Marie Dressler biographer Matthew Kennedy notes that when Barrymore won his Best Actor Oscar award in 1931, the arthritis was still so minor that it only made him limp a little as he went on stage to accept the honor.[30] Barrymore can be seen being quite physical in late silent films like The Thirteenth Hour and West of Zanzibar, where he can be seen climbing out of a window.
Paul Donnelly says Barrymore's inability to walk was caused by a drawing table falling on him in 1936, breaking Barrymore's hip.[31] Barrymore tripped over a cable while filming Saratoga in 1937 and broke his hip again.[32] (Film historian Robert Osborne says Barrymore also suffered a broken kneecap.)[33] The injury was so painful that Donnelly, quoting Barrymore, says that Louis B. Mayer bought $400 worth of cocaine for Barrymore every day to help him cope with the pain and allow him to sleep.[31] Author David Schwartz says the hip fracture never healed, which was why Barrymore could not walk,[34] and MGM historian John Douglas Eames describes the injury as "crippling".[35] Barrymore himself said in 1951, that it was breaking his hip twice that kept him in the wheelchair. He said he had no other problems, and that the hip healed well, but it made walking exceptionally difficult.[36] Film historian Allen Eyles reached the same conclusion.[37]
Lew Ayres biographer Lesley Coffin and Louis B. Mayer biographer Scott Eyman argue that it was the combination of the broken hip and Barrymore's worsening arthritis that put him in a wheelchair.[38][39] Barrymore family biographer Margot Peters says Gene Fowler and James Doane said Barrymore's arthritis was caused by syphilis, which they say he contracted in 1925.[40] Eyman, however, explicitly rejects this hypothesis.[39]
Whatever the cause, Barrymore's performance in Captains Courageous in 1937 was one of the last times he would be seen standing and walking unassisted.[41] Afterward, Barrymore was able to get about for a short period of time on crutches even though he was in great pain.[33] During the filming of 1938's You Can't Take It With You, the pain of standing with crutches was so severe that Barrymore required hourly shots of painkillers.[26] By 1938, Barrymore's disability forced him to relinquish the role of Ebenezer Scrooge (a role he made famous on the radio) to British actor Reginald Owen in the MGM film version of A Christmas Carol. From then on, Barrymore used a wheelchair exclusively and never walked again.[42] He could, however, stand for short periods of time such as at his brother's funeral in 1942.[39]
Composer; graphic artist; novelist
Barrymore also composed music.[12] His works ranged from solo piano pieces to large-scale orchestral works, such as "Tableau Russe,"[43] which was performed twice in Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day (1941) as Cornelia's Symphony, first on piano by Nils Asther's character and later by a full symphony orchestra.[44] His piano compositions, "Scherzo Grotesque" and "Song Without Words", were published by G. Schirmer in 1945. Upon the death of his brother John in 1942, he composed a work "In Memoriam", which was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. His orchestral Partita was given multiple performances.[45] He also composed the theme song of the radio program Mayor of the Town.[2]
Barrymore had attended art school in New York and Paris and was a skillful graphic artist, creating etchings and drawings and was a member of the Society of American Etchers, now known as the Society of American Graphic Artists.[1] For years, he maintained an artist's shop and studio attached to his home in Los Angeles.[46] Some of his etchings were included in the Hundred Prints of the Year.[2]
He wrote a historical novel, Mr. Cantonwine: A Moral Tale (1953).[2]
He was also a horticulturalist, growing roses on his Chatsworth Ranch.[1]
Death
Barrymore died on November 15, 1954, from a heart attack in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles.[47] He was entombed in the Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles.[48]
Tributes
Barrymore received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960—a motion pictures star and a radio star. The stars are located at 1724 Vine Street for motion pictures, and 1651 Vine Street for radio.[49] He was also inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame, along with his siblings, Ethel and John.[50]
Works
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "A Man in His Life Plays Many Parts". Variety. November 17, 1954. p. 2. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Foster, Cherika and Lindley Homol. "Barrymore, Lionel Herbert" Archived 2015-10-25 at the Wayback Machine, Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Penn State University Libraries, 2009, accessed November 15, 2015
- ^ "Notables Attend Barrymore Rites; Hollywood Stars Join Throng at Burial of Member of Famed Acting Family". The New York Times. November 19, 1954. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
- ^ "A Quiz about Main Line Schools". The Main Line Times. 2008-09-03. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ "Seton Hall Preparatory School Alumni Notables".
- ^ "A New Ethel Barrymore", The New York Times, August 30, 1908
- ^ The Barrymores in Hollywood by James Kotsilibas Davis, c. 1981.
- ^ The Greenbook Album, Magazine of the Passing Show ,Volume 8, p. 340, July 1912
- ^ "NINTH GENERATION". Myweb.tiscali.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- ^ a b Barrymore (1951), p. 40
- ^ Byers (1998), p. 29
- ^ a b c d e Stephenson, William. "Lionel Barrymore". American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved April 7, 2014. (subscription required)
- ^ Lionel Barrymore, Internet Broadway Database, accessed November 15, 2015
- ^ Peters (1990), pp. 117–18
- ^ Kotsilibas-Davis (1981), p. 4
- ISBN 0-415-93853-8
- ^ ISBN 978-0-593-44451-1.
- ^ Landazuri, Margaret. Archives Spotlight: Young Dr. Kildare. Turner Classic Movies.com. Accessed: 7 December 2007.
- ^ "Clapboard Conservatives". Commentarymagazine.com. December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- ^ David M. Jordan, FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944 (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2011), p. 231
- ^ Stewart, Patrick (host). "The Lion Reigns Supreme". MGM: When the Lion Roared. Season 1.
- ^ The Barrymores by Hollis Alpert c.1964
- ^ "When Eleanor Roosevelt Got MGM to Fire Lionel Barrymore from a Pro-Bomb Epic | the Nation". Archived from the original on 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-3035-9.
- ^ Marzano, p. 49; Willian, p. 37; Silvers, p. 234; "Movie of the Week: 'On Borrowed Time'." Life. July 10, 1939, p. 56, accessed 2013-05-10.
- ^ a b Norden, p. 145.
- ^ Basinger, p. 230.
- ^ Wallace, p. 78.
- ^ Bergan, Fuller, and Malcolm, p. 32.
- ^ Kennedy, p. 177.
- ^ a b Donnelly, p. 68.
- ^ Culbertson and Randall, p. 141.
- ^ a b Osborne, p. 31.
- ^ Schwartz, p. 241.
- ^ Eames, p. 139.
- ^ Barrymore and Shipp, p. 287
- ^ Eyles, p. 118
- ^ Coffin, p. 72.
- ^ a b c Eyman, p. 219
- ^ Peters, pp. 438 and 597
- ^ Block and Wilson, p. 203.
- ^ Reid, p. 193.
- ^ Administration, United States Work Projects (1941). List of American Orchestral Works Recommended by WPA Music Project Conductors. Work projects administration, Federal works agency.
- ISBN 978-0-520-21521-4.
- ^ "MUSIC NOTES". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ^ "artnet: Lionel Barrymore (American, 1878–1954)".
- ^ "Hollywood Star Walk - Lionel Barrymore". Los Angeles Times. 1954-11-16. Archived from the original on 2017-07-17. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
- ^ "Lionel Barrymore Is Dead at 76". The New York Times. November 16, 1954.
- ^ "Lionel Barrymore". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-4234-7369-5.
Bibliography
- Barrymore, Lionel (1951). We Barrymores. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. OCLC 594282.
- Basinger, Jeanine. Silent Stars. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 2000.
- Bergan, Ronald; Fuller, Graham; and Malcolm, David. Academy Award Winners. New York: Smithmark Publishers, 1994.
- Block, Alex Ben and Wilson, Lucy Autrey. George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies, Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success. New York: itBooks, 2010.
- Byers, Paula K., ed. (1998). "The Barrymores". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit, MI: Gale Research. ISBN 978-0-7876-2541-2.
- Coffin, Lesley L. Lew Ayres: Hollywood's Conscientious Objector. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2012.
- Culbertson, Judi and Randall, Tom. Permanent Californians: An Illustrated Guide to the Cemeteries of California. Chelsea, VT: Chelsea Green Pub. Co., 1989.
- Donnelly, Paul. Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. London: Omnibus, 2003.
- Eames, John Douglas. The MGM Story: The Complete History of Fifty Roaring Years. New York: Crown Publishers, 1975.
- Eyles, Allen. That Was Hollywood: The 1930s. London: Batsford, 1987.
- Eyman, Scott. Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005.
- Kennedy, Matthew. Marie Dressler: A Biography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2006.
- Kotsilibas-Davis, James (1981). The Barrymores: the Royal Family in Hollywood. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-517-52896-9.
- Marzano, Rudy. The Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s: How Robinson, MacPhail, Reiser, and Rickey Changed Baseball. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2005.
- Norden, Martin F. The Cinema of Isolation: A History of Physical Disability in the Movies. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994.
- Osborne, Robert A. Academy Awards Illustrated: A Complete History of Hollywood's Academy Awards in Words and Pictures. La Habra, CA: E.E. Schworck, 1969.
- ISBN 978-0-671-74799-2.
- Reid, John Howard. Hollywood Movie Musicals: Great, Good and Glamorous. Morrisville, NC: Lulu Press, 2006.
- Schwartz, David. Magic of Thinking Big. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987.
- Silvers, Anita. "The Crooked Timber of Humanity: Disability, Ideology and the Aesthetic." In Disability/Postmodernity: Embodying Disability Theory. Mairian Corker and Tom Shakespeare, eds. New York: Continuum, 2002.
- Wallace, David. Lost Hollywood. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2001.
- Wayne, Jane Ellen. The Leading Men of MGM. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005.
- Willian, Michael. The Essential It's a Wonderful Life: A Scene-by-Scene Guide to the Classic Film. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2006.
External links
- Lionel Barrymore - allmovie
- Lionel Barrymore at IMDb
- Photographs of Lionel Barrymore
- Lionel Barrymore at the Internet Broadway Database
- Lionel Barrymore photo gallery NYP Library
- Lionel Barrymore and several other actors on Orson Welles Radio Almanac 1944
- Lionel Barrymore in 1902 in "The Mummy and the Hummingbird", portrait by Burr McIntosh for Munseys Magazine
- The Other Girl(1903) with Elsie De Wolfe, Frank Worthing and Lionel Barrymore (NY Public Library Billy Rose collection)
- Lionel with brother John Barrymore, 1917
- Lionel Barrymore as a child