# Ethel Barrymore on stage, screen and radio

Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; 1879–1959) was an American actress of stage, screen and radio. She came from a family of actors; she was the middle child of Maurice Barrymore and Georgie Drew Barrymore, and had two brothers, Lionel and John. Reluctant to pursue her parents' career, the loss of financial support following the death of Louisa Lane Drew, caused Barrymore to give up her dream of becoming a concert pianist and instead earn a living on the stage. Barrymore's first Broadway role, alongside her uncle John Drew, Jr., was in The Imprudent Young Couple (1895). She soon found success, particularly after an invitation from William Gillette to appear on stage in his 1897 London production of Secret Service. Barrymore was soon popular with English society, and she had a number of romantic suitors, including Laurence Irving, the dramatist. His father, Henry Irving, cast her in The Bells (1897) and Peter the Great (1898).
On her return to America in 1898, Barrymore was lauded by the press and public and, under Charles Frohman's management, she appeared in Catherine (1898) and Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (1901) on Broadway. The latter play was a success, and Barrymore received particular praise. She went on to have a series of similarly popular roles in Cousin Kate (1903), Alice-Sit-by-the-Fire (1905), Lady Frederick (1908) and Déclassée (1920), among others. After a series of less well-received roles in the early 1920s, she returned to popularity with her role as the sophisticated spouse of a philandering husband in The Constant Wife (1927). In 1928 the Ethel Barrymore Theatre was opened in her honor, and she appeared in its inaugural production, The Kingdom of God.
Barrymore began her film career in The Nightingale in 1914, followed by a series of other silent films, but she never dedicated herself to the medium fully. When opportunities for the right stage roles declined in the 1930s and she encountered financial difficulties, she appeared in her first talking film, Rasputin and the Empress (1932)—in which both her brothers also starred—and began radio broadcasts on the Blue Network with The Ethel Barrymore Theater. In the 1940s she had a last stage triumph in the long-running The Corn Is Green (1942), in which she had "perhaps her most acclaimed role", according to her biographer, Benjamin McArthur. Her film work became increasingly prominent in the 1940s and 1950s, and she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for None but the Lonely Heart (1944). She received subsequent Academy Award nominations—again for Best Supporting Actress—for The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Paradine Case (1947) and Pinky (1949). She was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960 and is, along with her two brothers, included in the American Theater Hall of Fame.

## Stage appearances

Barrymore's stage appearances :
| Production | Date | Theatre (New York, unless stated) | Role | Number of performances |
| The Rivals | 1893 – ? | Montreal | – | |
| Oliver Twist | 1893 – ? | Montreal | – | |
| The Rivals | 1894 – ? | New York | – | |
| The Bauble Shop | 1894 – ? | New York | – | |
| The Imprudent Young Couple | September 23, 1895 – ? | Empire Theatre | Katherine | |
| Rosemary | August 31, 1896 – ? | Empire Theatre | Priscilla | |
| Secret Service | 1897 | Adelphi Theatre, London | – | |
| The Bells | 1897 | England, tour | – | |
| Peter the Great | 1898 | Lyceum Theatre, London | – | |
| Catherine | October 24, 1898 – ? | Garrick Theatre | – | |
| His Excellency, the Governor | 1900 | – | – | |
| Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines | February 4 – July 1901 | Garrick Theatre | Madame Trentoni | 168 |
| A Country Mouse and Carrots | October 6 – December 1902 | Savoy Theatre | Unknown and Carrots | 89 |
| Cousin Kate | October 19 – November 1903 | Hudson Theatre | Kate Curtis | 44 |
| Cousin Kate | April 4 – April 1904 | Hudson Theatre | Kate Curtis | 16 |
| Cynthia | 1904 | Wyndham's Theatre, London | – | |
| Sunday | November 15, 1904 – January 1905 | Hudson Theatre | Sunday | 79 |
| A Doll's House | May 2 – May 1905 | Lyceum Theatre | Nora Helmer | 15 |
| Alice Sit-by-the-Fire | December 25, 1905 – March 1906 | Olympia Theatre and touring | Mrs. Grey | 81 |
| Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines | February 18 – March 1907 | Empire Theatre | Madame Trentoni | 33 |
| The Silver Box | March 18 – April 1907 | Empire Theatre | – | 20 |
| His Excellency the Governor | April 4 – May 1907 | Empire Theatre | – | 36 |
| Cousin Kate | May 6 – May 1907 | Empire Theatre | Kate Curtis | 16 |
| Her Sister | December 25, 1907 – February 1908 | Hudson Theatre | Eleanor Alderson | 61 |
| Lady Frederick | November 9, 1908 – February 1909 | Hudson Theatre | Lady Frederick | 96 |
| Mid-Channel | January 31 – April 1910 | Empire Theatre | Zoe Blundell | 96 |
| Trelawny of the 'Wells' | January 1 – February 1911 | Empire Theatre | Miss Rose Trelawny | 48 |
| Alice Sit-by-the-Fire | February 13 – March 1911 | Empire Theatre | – | 32 |
| The Twelve Pound Look | February 13 – March 1911 | Empire Theatre | – | 32 |
| The Witness for the Defense | December 4, 1911 – January 1912 | Empire Theatre | – | 64 |
| A Slice of Life | January 29 – ? | Empire Theatre | – | |
| A Slice of Life | February 2 – March 1912 | Criterion Theatre | – | 48 |
| Miss Civilization | May 1913 – ? | Palace Theatre | – | |
| Tante | October 28, 1913 – January 1914 | Empire Theatre | Madame Okraska | 79 |
| The Shadow | January 25 – March 1915 | Empire Theatre | – | 72 |
| Our Mrs. McChesney | October 19, 1915 – February 1916 | Lyceum Theatre | – | 151 |
| The Lady of the Camellias | December 24, 1917 – February 1918 | Empire Theatre | Marguerite Gautier | 56 |
| The Off Chance | February 14 – May 1918 | Empire Theatre | Lady Cardonnell | 92 |
| Belinda | May 6 – June 1918 | Empire Theatre | – | 32 |
| Declassee | October 6, 1919 – May 1920 | Empire Theatre | Lady Helen Haden | 257 |
| Clair de Lune | April 18 – June 1921 | Empire Theatre | The Queen | 64 |
| Rose Bernd | September 26 – December 1922 | Longacre Theatre | Rose Bernd | 87 |
| Romeo and Juliet | December 27, 1922 – January 1923 | Longacre Theatre | Juliet | 23 |
| The Laughing Lady | February 12 – May 1923 | Longacre Theatre | Lady Marjorie Colladine | 96 |
| The School for Scandal | June 4 – June 1923 | Lyceum Theatre | Lady Teazle | 8 |
| A Royal Fandango | November 12 – December 1923 | Plymouth Theatre | H.R.H. Princess Amelia | 24 |
| The Second Mrs Tanqueray | October 27 – December 1924 | Cort Theatre | Paula | 72 |
| Hamlet | October 10 – December 1925 | Hampden's Theatre | Ophelia | |
| Hamlet | November – December 1925 | National Theatre | Ophelia | 68 |
| The Merchant of Venice | December 26, 1925 – February 1926 | Hampden's Theatre | Portia | 54 |
| The Constant Wife | November 29, 1926 – August 13, 1927 | Maxine Elliott Theatre | Constance Middleton | 296 |
| The Kingdom of God | December 20, 1928 – March 1929 | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | Sister Gracia | 92 |
| The Love Duel | April 15 – July 1929 | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | She | 88 |
| Scarlet Sister Mary | November 25 – December 1930 | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | Sister Mary | 24 |
| The School for Scandal | November 10 – November 1931 | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | Lady Teazle | 23 |
| L'Aiglon | November 3 – December 1934 | Broadhurst Theatre | Marie-Louise | 58 |
| The Ghost of Yankee Doodle | November 22, 1937 – January 1938 | Guild Theatre | Sara Garrison | 48 |
| Whiteoaks | March 23 – June 1938 | Hudson Theatre | Adeline | 112 |
| Farm of Three Echoes | November 28, 1939 – January 6, 1940 | Cort Theatre | Ouma Gerart | 48 |
| An International Incident | April 2 – April 13, 1940 | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | Mrs. Charles Rochester | 15 |
| The Corn Is Green | November 26, 1940 – September 9, 1941 | National Theatre | Miss Moffat | |
| The Corn Is Green | September 9, 1941 – January 1, 1942 | Royale Theatre | Miss Moffat | 477 |
| The Corn Is Green | May 3 – June 19, 1943 | Martin Beck Theatre | Miss Moffat | 56 |
| Embezzled Heaven | October 31, 1944 – January 13, 1945 | National Theatre | Teta | 52 |

## Filmography

Barrymore's filmography :
| Film | Year | Role | Notes |
| The Nightingale | 1914 | Isola Franti, "The Nightingale" | Lost |
| The Final Judgment | 1915 | Jane Carleson, Mrs. Murray Campbell | Survives |
| The Kiss of Hate | 1916 | Nadia Turgeneff | Lost |
| The Awakening of Helena Richie | 1916 | Helena Richie | Survives |
| The White Raven | 1917 | Nan Baldwin | Survives |
| The Call of Her People | 1917 | Egypt | Survives |
| The Greatest Power | 1917 | Miriam Monroe | Lost |
| The Lifted Veil | 1917 | Clorinda Gildersleeve | Lost |
| Life's Whirlpool | 1917 | Esther Carey | Lost |
| The Eternal Mother | 1917 | Maris | Survives |
| An American Widow | 1917 | Elizabeth Carter | Lost |
| National Red Cross Pageant | 1917 | Herself | Lost |
| Our Mrs. McChesney | 1918 | Emma McChesney | Lost |
| The Divorcee | 1919 | Lady Frederick Berolles | Lost |
| Camille | 1926 | – | Short |
| Rasputin and the Empress | 1932 | Czarina Alexandra | |
| All at Sea | 1933 | – | Short |
| None but the Lonely Heart | 1944 | Ma Mott | Winner, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| The Spiral Staircase | 1946 | Mrs. Warren | Nominee, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| The Farmer's Daughter | 1947 | Mrs. Agatha Morley | |
| Moss Rose | 1947 | Lady Margaret Drego | |
| The Paradine Case | 1947 | Lady Sophy Horfield | Nominee, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| Night Song | 1948 | Mrs. Willey | |
| Moonrise | 1948 | Grandma | |
| Portrait of Jennie | 1948 | Miss Spinney | |
| The Great Sinner | 1949 | Grandmother Ostrovsky | |
| That Midnight Kiss | 1949 | Abigail Trent Budell | |
| The Red Danube | 1949 | Mother Auxilia, The Mother Superior | |
| Pinky | 1949 | Miss Em | Nominee, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| Kind Lady | 1951 | Mary Herries | |
| The Secret of Convict Lake | 1951 | Granny | |
| It's a Big Country | 1951 | Mrs. Brian Patrick Riordan | |
| Deadline – U.S.A. | 1952 | Margaret Garrison | |
| Just for You | 1952 | Allida de Bronkhart | |
| The Story of Three Loves | 1953 | Mrs. Hazel Pennicott | |
| Main Street to Broadway | 1953 | Herself | |
| Young at Heart | 1954 | Aunt Jessie | |
| Johnny Trouble | 1957 | Katherine "Nana" Chandler | |

## Radio broadcasts

Barrymore's radio broadcasts :
| Broadcast | Date | Network | Role | Notes |
| The Ethel Barrymore Theater | September 30, 1936 – April 7, 1937 | Blue Network | Various | Weekly plays, including Trelawny of the 'Wells' and Alice Sit-by-the-Fire |
| The Pursuit of Happiness | December 31, 1939 | CBS | – | |
| Lincoln Highway | April 13, 1940 | NBC | Irene Mills | |
| Miss Hattie | September 17, 1944 – June 17, 1945 | Blue Network | Miss Hattie Thompson | |
| Screen Guild Players: "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals" | October 7, 1946 | CBS | – | |
| Family Theater: "The Passion and Death" | March 25, 1948 | Mutual Broadcasting System | Narrator | A pre-Easter broadcast telling the story of the Passion |