John Drew Barrymore
Encyclopedia
John Drew Barrymore was a member of the Barrymore family
of actors, which included his father, John Barrymore
, and his father's siblings, Lionel
and Ethel
. He was the father of four children, including John Blyth Barrymore
and Drew Barrymore
.
, California
to John Barrymore
and Dolores Costello
. His parents divorced when he was around three years old in 1935, and Barrymore claimed to have met his father only once. He also stated that he and his cousin, Dirk Drew Davenport, enlisted in the United States Navy
during World War II
. As both were tall for their age, the military did not discover until several weeks later that the boys were below the minimum enlistment age. Barrymore ran away when he was 17 years old and signed a film contract, but repeatedly abandoned leading roles and had no major film career.
However, Barrymore's social behavior obstructed any professional progress. In the 1960s, he was occasionally incarcerated for drug use
, public drunkenness, and spousal abuse.
In 1966, Barrymore accepted a major guest role as Lazarus in the Star Trek
episode "The Alternative Factor". However, he failed to show up (and was ultimately replaced at the last minute by actor Robert Brown
), resulting in a SAG
suspension of six months. He did appear as Stacey Daggart in the 1966-1967 NBC series The Road West
, starring Barry Sullivan
.
In 2003, daughter Drew Barrymore moved him near her home despite their estrangement, paying his medical bills until his death from cancer
. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
for his contributions to television
.
Barrymore family
The Barrymore family is an American acting family.The Barrymores are also the inspiration of a Broadway and West End play called The Royal Family....
of actors, which included his father, John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
, and his father's siblings, Lionel
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
and Ethel
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
. He was the father of four children, including John Blyth Barrymore
John Blyth Barrymore
John Blyth Barrymore III is a former American film and television actor.Known for his role as Zeke in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, he is a member of the Barrymore family, notable for success in acting. His parents are John Drew Barrymore and Cara Williams. Actress Drew Barrymore is his...
and Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
.
Early life
Barrymore was born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
and Dolores Costello
Dolores Costello
Dolores Costello was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen"...
. His parents divorced when he was around three years old in 1935, and Barrymore claimed to have met his father only once. He also stated that he and his cousin, Dirk Drew Davenport, enlisted in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As both were tall for their age, the military did not discover until several weeks later that the boys were below the minimum enlistment age. Barrymore ran away when he was 17 years old and signed a film contract, but repeatedly abandoned leading roles and had no major film career.
Career
In 1958, he changed his middle name to Drew, although he had previously been credited in past works as Blyth. This was followed by a brief resurgence in Italian movies, as he appeared in several leading roles. He also appeared several times in the TV series GunsmokeGunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
However, Barrymore's social behavior obstructed any professional progress. In the 1960s, he was occasionally incarcerated for drug use
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, public drunkenness, and spousal abuse.
In 1966, Barrymore accepted a major guest role as Lazarus in the Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode "The Alternative Factor". However, he failed to show up (and was ultimately replaced at the last minute by actor Robert Brown
Robert Brown (US actor)
Robert Brown , is a television actor from the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:Brown was born in Trenton, New Jersey...
), resulting in a SAG
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
suspension of six months. He did appear as Stacey Daggart in the 1966-1967 NBC series The Road West
The Road West
The Road West is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 12, 1966 to May 1, 1967 for twenty-nine episodes with rebroadcasts continuing until August 28. The hour-long series, sponsored by Kraft Foods, aired in the 9 p.m...
, starring Barry Sullivan
Barry Sullivan (actor)
Barry Sullivan was an American movie actor who appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s.Born in New York City, Sullivan fell into acting when in college playing semi-pro football...
.
Death
Although he continued to appear occasionally on screen, he became more and more reclusive. Suffering from the same problems that had destroyed his father, John Drew became a derelict. Estranged from his family, including his children, his lifestyle continued to worsen and his physical and mental health deteriorated.In 2003, daughter Drew Barrymore moved him near her home despite their estrangement, paying his medical bills until his death from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
for his contributions to television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Marriage and children
He married four times, each marriage producing one child, and all four marriages ending in divorce:- Cara WilliamsCara WilliamsCara Williams is an American film and television actress.-Biography:Born as Bernice Kamiat to an Austrian emigrant father and a mother of Romanian descent, she began her screen acting career in 1941, and was initially billed as Bernice Kay...
: married 1952, divorced 1959; son John Blyth BarrymoreJohn Blyth BarrymoreJohn Blyth Barrymore III is a former American film and television actor.Known for his role as Zeke in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, he is a member of the Barrymore family, notable for success in acting. His parents are John Drew Barrymore and Cara Williams. Actress Drew Barrymore is his...
, born May 15, 1954 - Gabriella Palazzoli: married October 11, 1960, divorced 1970; daughter Blyth Dolores Barrymore
- Ildiko Jaid MakoJaid BarrymoreJaid Barrymore is a German-born Hungarian-American actress, best known as Drew Barrymore's mother.-Early life:She was born Ildikó Jaid Makó to a concert violinist mother and an artist father...
: married 1971, divorced 1984; daughter Drew BarrymoreDrew BarrymoreDrew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
, born February 22, 1975 - Nina WayneNina WayneNina Rae Wayne is an American actress.She married John Drew Barrymore in 1985; they have a daughter.-Career:Wayne, the younger sister of fellow actress Carol Wayne, started working in television in 1965, first appearing in 12 episodes of the series Camp Runamuck and in an episode of Bewitched.The...
: married 1985, divorced 1994; daughter Brahma (Jessica) Blyth Barrymore
Filmography
- The Sundowners (1950)
- High Lonesome (1950)
- QuebecQuebec (1951 film)Quebec is a 1951 American historical drama film directed by George Templeton and written by Alan Le May set in 1837. It stars John Drew Barrymore and centers on a fictional account of the Patriotes Rebellion...
(1951) - The Big NightThe Big NightThe Big Night is a 1951 black-and-white film drama starring John Drew Barrymore . The film, directed by Joseph Losey, is considered to be film noir.- Reception :...
(1951) - Thunderbirds (1952)
- While the City Sleeps (1956)
- The Shadow on the Window (1957)
- High School ConfidentialHigh School Confidential (film)High School Confidential is a 1958 crime drama film directed by Jack Arnold. It stars Mamie Van Doren, Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore, Jackie Coogan. The film also features a cameo by Jerry Lee Lewis who opens the movie singing a song of the same name, which Lewis co-wrote with Ron...
(1958) - Never Love a Stranger (1958)
- 'Desilu Playhouse' episode - "Silent Thunder" (1958)
- Wagon Train episode - "The Ruttledge Munroe Story " (1958)
- Night of the Quarter Moon (1959)
- Ti aspetterò all'inferno (1960)
- The Night They Killed Rasputin (1960)
- The Cossacks (1960)
- The Pharaoh's Woman (1960)
- The Trojan HorseGuerra di TroiaGuerra di Troia is a 1961 historical drama film set in the tenth and final year of the Trojan War. The film focuses primarily on the exploits of the Trojan hero Aeneas during this time...
(1961) - Pontius Pilate (1962)
- The CenturionThe Centurion (1961 film)Il conquistatore di Corinto is a 1961 historical drama film set in 146 BC in Greece. Against the back-drop of the Battle of Corinth, this movie is centered on a love story between a Roman centurion named Caius Vinicius and Hebe, the daughter of a local governor with anti-Roman sentiments.This...
(1962) - Invasion 1700 (1963)
- Weapons of War (1963)
- The Keeler Affair (1963)
- Death on the Four Poster (1964)
- War of the Zombies (1964) aka Rome Against Rome
- 'Rawhide' episode - "The Haunted Hills" (1959)
- The Wild Wild WestThe Wild Wild WestThe Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969....
episode - "The Night of the Double-Edged Knife" (1965) - Crimine a due (1965)
- GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
TV episodes - "One Killer on Ice" (aired 1/23/1965) - "Seven Hours to Dawn" (9/18/1965) - The Clones (1973)
- Kung FuKung Fu (TV series)Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
TV episode - "A Dream Within a Dream" (1974) - Baby Blue Marine (1976)
External links
- John Drew Barrymore at Find-A-Grave
- Desilu Playhouse "Silent Thunder" John Drew Barrymore plays lead role. Complete 52min episode from 16mm film - aired Nov. 24, 1958.