BARRYMORE, LIONEL

(1878-1954)

The oldest son ofMauriceandGeorgiana Drew Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore was born in Philadelphia. He apprenticed at the Arch Street Theatre, under the management of his grandmother,Mrs. John Drew, and appeared with her inThe RivalsandThe Road to Ruin. In roles of varying size, Barrymore acted inThe Bachelor's Baby(1895),Mary Pennington, Spinster(1896),Squire Kate(1896),Cumberland '61(1897),Uncle Dick(1898), andHonorable John Grigsby(1898). After a small role inJames A. Herne'sSag Harbor(1900), Barrymore played an Italian organ grinder opposite his uncle,John Drew.InThe Mummy and the Humming Bird(1902), he established himself as a master of richly drawncharacterroles.Augustus Thomaswrote a substantial part for Barrymore inThe Other Girl(1903), followed by the title role inJ. M. Barrie's one-actPantaloon(1905). In 1906, he left the stage to live in France with his first wife, Doris Rankin.

Like his brotherJohn, Lionel Barrymore preferred to pursue an interest in painting, but within a few years he returned to the United States and again took up his acting career in films, beginning in 1912, and on the Broadway stage, scoring notable successes inThe Copperhead(1917), and costarring with his brother inPeter Ibbetson(1917) andThe Jest(1919). These were followed by solo successes inThe Claw(1921) andLaugh, Clown, Laugh! (1923), but when he attemptedMacbethin 1921, produced by Arthur Hopkins with scene designs by Robert Edmond Jones, he was not well-received. Barrymore's few remaining stage appearances—inThe Piker(1925),Taps(1925), andMan or Devil(1925)—could not save those plays, so he turned exclusively to films, acting in almost 200 and winning an Academy Award forA Free Soul(1931). Much of his later career was spent in a wheelchair as the result of arthritis and a fall on a movie set, although this did not prevent him from giving strong performances as crusty Dr. Gillespie in the 1940sDr. Kildarefilm series and in such screen classics asGrand Hotel(1932),Dinner at Eight* (1933),Treasure Island(1934),Camille(1936),Captains Courageous(1937),On Borrowed Time* (1939),It's a Wonderful Life(1946),A Duel in the Sun(1946), andKey Largo* (1948), among others.