JOHN BARRYMORE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
John Barrymore was born on February 15th, 1882 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the birth name John Sidney Blyth, born to Maurice Blyth and Georgie Drew. His whole family was involved in the industry and along with his siblings, Lionel and Ethel Barrymore, each became successful in the industry.
Barrymore began his career as a stage actor at the age of eighteen when he debuted in one of his father's stage productions. Although, he showed talent in acting he actually wanted to pursue a career as an artist and after high school, Barrymore went on to study at King's College and later transferred to New York's Art Students League.
He began with finding work as an artist for the New York Evening Journal, however in time he switched his goals over to a career as an actor. Soon he began working as a Broadway actor and over the course of his career he appeared in such stage productions as, "The Fortune Hunter", "Redemption", "A Thief for the Night", "A Stubborn Cinderella", "The Yellow Ticket" and "King Richard III" among many others.
His most well known theatrical performance was in, "Hamlet" in 1922. He worked on this production for a total of 101 performances on Broadway and later in 1925, performed in the same production in London.
Along with his success as a stage actor, his film career began in the early 1910's with roles on such shorts as, "The Dream of a Moving Picture Director" (1912) an American film comedy first released in 1912, directed by Edwin Middleton and starring Jerold T. Hevener, Eleanor Caines and Will Hartzell, "A Prize Package" (1912) with Jerold T. Hevener, Eleanor Caines and Marie Rainford, "One on Romance" (1913) starring Eleanor Caines, Frank DeVernon and Charles Bartlett and "The Man from Mexico" (1914) with Harold Lockwood, Pauline Neff and Wellington Playter.
More well known film roles included, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1920) starring with Brandon Hurst, Martha Mansfield, Charles Willis Lane, Nita Naldi and Louis Wolheim, "Svengali" (1931) starring with Donald Crisp, Marian Marsh, Carmel Myers, Bramwell Fletcher and Lumsden Hare, "Grand Hotel" (1932) starring alongside Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt, Tully Marshall and Robert McWade, "Rasputin and the Empress" (1932) starring the Barrymore siblings: John (as Prince Chegodieff), Ethel Barrymore (as Czarina Alexandra), and Lionel Barrymore (as Grigori Rasputin) along with Ralph Morgan, C. Henry Gordon, Diana Wynyard, Edward Arnold and Henry Kolker, "Night Flight" (1933) co-starring Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery, William Gargan, Irving Pichel, Helen Jerome Eddy and Helen Hayes, "Dinner at Eight" (1933) starring Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Lee Tracy, Edmund Lowe and Billie Burke, "Twentieth Century" (1934) also starring Carole Lombard, and features Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Edgar Kennedy and Fred 'Snowflake' Toones, "Bulldog Drummond Comes Back" (1937) starring with John Howard, Reginald Denny, J. Carrol Naish, Helen Freeman and E.E. Clive and "Playmates" (1941) co=starring Kay Kyser, Lupe Velez, Ginny Simms and May Robson.
Barrymore married a total of four times throughout his lifetime. His first wife was Katherine Corri Harris in 1910 however by 1917 this marriage came to an end. he then married Blanche Oelrichs in 1920 and they had one child before divorcing in 1928. His third time to wed was in 1928 to Dolores Costello and they had two children together before another failed marriage ended in 1934. His fourth and final wife was Elaine Barrie whom he wed in 1936 and again by 1940 this marriage also ended.
Due to his excessive alcohol addiction he aged quickly and on May 29th, 1942 he passed away from cirrhosis of the liver in Los Angeles, California. His remains were buried in East Los Angeles at the Calvary Cemetery. Later his body was relocated by his son to Philadelphia's Mount Vernon Cemetery.
John Barrymore was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the Motion Picture Industry.
Filmography
1941 Playmates
1941 World Premiere
1940 The Invisible Woman
1940 The Great Profile
1939 Midnight
1939 The Great Man Votes
1938 Hold That Co-ed
1938 Spawn of the North
1938 Marie Antoinette
1938 Romance in the Dark
1938 Bulldog Drummond's Peril
1937 True Confession
1937 Bulldog Drummond's Revenge
1937 Night Club Scandal
1937 Bulldog Drummond Comes Back
1937 Maytime
1936 Romeo and Juliet
1934 Twentieth Century
1934 Long Lost Father
1933 Counsellor at Law
1933 Night Flight
1933 Dinner at Eight
1933 Reunion in Vienna
1933 Topaze
1933 Hamlet, Act I: Scenes IV and V
1932 Rasputin and the Empress
1932 A Bill of Divorcement
1932 State's Attorney
1932 Grand Hotel
1932 Arsène Lupin
1931 The Mad Genius
1931 Svengali
1930 Moby Dick
1930 The Man from Blankley's
1930 General Crack
1929 The Show of Shows
1929 Eternal Love
1928 Tempest
1927 The Beloved Rogue
1927 When a Man Loves
1926 Don Juan
1926 The Sea Beast
1925 Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
1924 Beau Brummel
1922 Sherlock Holmes
1921 The Lotus Eater
1920 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1919 The Test of Honor
1919 Here Comes the Bride
1918 On the Quiet
1917 National Red Cross Pageant
1917 Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman
1916 The Red Widow
1916 The Lost Bridegroom
1916 Nearly a King
1915 The Incorrigible Dukane
1915 The Dictator
1915 Are You a Mason
1914 The Man from Mexico
1914 An American Citizen
1913 One on Romance
1912 A Prize Package
1912 The Widow Casey's Return
1912 The Dream of a Moving Picture Director
