The sun., 1919-04-10
SIDNEY DREW DEAD;
FAMOUS AS ACTOR
Fatal Seizure Comes While on
q Theatrical Tour With
Wife.
CAME OF NOTED FAMILY
Won Distinction on Stage and
Later Popularity in the
Movies.

Sidney Drew. popular both on the
legitimate stage and In the motion pic
ture field. died at his home, SIS Park
avenue, early yesterday morning. While
on tour with his wife in Keep Her
Smiling he had suffered a serious re-
currence of uremia, a maiary that had
been affliotine him Of late years He
was brought back 20 this city from De-
troit on Monday in state Of semi
coma
On Tuesday night DR.. Louis Fischer.
his physician. had conference with DR..
Walter B. James and Or. Charles Peck.
but they held out little hope Of his re-
covery. He sank into q state Of un-
consciousness, and at the end breathed
his last without recognising his wife,
Lucille Drew, or the doctors In attend
ance at his bedside. He was born in
this city In 1854.
He was the son OF the elder John
Drew and tho brother OF the pres
ent John Drew. He was the uncle
Of Ethel. John and Lionel Barrymore
His first wife, Gladys. daughter Of
Mckee Rankin. bore him q son. s. Ran
kin Drew. who grew up to act in the
Same motion picture company with his
father. In 1917 he Joined the Lafayette
Escadrtlle and became n corporal. being
killed on May 25, 1918. in an air duel
over the German lines.
Sidney Drew. after receiving his edu.
cation at the University of Pennsyl.
vnIia, went upon the stage soon after
graduating, in Our Boarding House"
supporting Leonard Grover at the old
Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia
His work attracted the notice of the
late Charles Frohman, who enlisted Mr..
Drew's comic gifts in plays with Rose
EytinGe and Ada Deaves.
Successes on the stage.
Later, having organized his own COM
pany. he staged several productions.
notably Sheridan's The Rivals'' and
Roads to Ruin" He was among the
first Of the front rank actors to go into
vaudeville. entering the varieties in 1895
with a sketch called when Two Hearts
Are One" After returning to the legiti-
| mate in she Stops to Conquer" he
went back to the two a day. eventually
This sketch by his wife was later
elaborated into a play which he pro-
duced on Broadway.
Though Mr.. Drew had gained some
fame on the stage, there had been no
| overburdenlng amount OF fortune at
tached to II, and he was three times
In the bankruptcy courtA 1t was when
he went into the movies with the orig
inal Fitagraph company about Ave
years ago that both his public and his
finances began to expand
On January 0, 1914. his first wife died.
They were married in 1889, and had
appeared together in several plays.
among them "The Girl from Mexico
in 1914. Tho latter was the work OF
Mrs. Drew. who wrote plays and maya
| zine articles under the name of George
Cameron.
Mr.. Drew married July IS. 1914.
Lucille McVey. young concert singer
who had recently Joined the stock
company Immediately they commenced
building up reputation with a
series of domestic comedies which en-
phasized the home problems OF the aver
age couple in a way that marked a new
departure in motion picture humor and
delighted millions.
Work I'm the Films.
As Henry and Polly they turned
, out avery week for two years with Vita
graph new movie, in which, besides
performing. they were generally respon-
sible for the directing and even the
writing. Two years later they put on n
similar series OF over 100 cinema come
dies for the Metro company. and last
summer signed new contract with the
V. b. X. Film Corporation, under which
they had produced six pictures.
In addition to his Aim activities Mr..
Drew had returned to the spoken stage
in Keep Her Smiling" bringing his
wife as co-star before the footlights
for the first time. her only previous
stage experience having been In What
the Moon Saw" which was played for
month while the Vitagraph company
had the Criterion Theatre. After n
prosperous Broadway run the piece was
taken on tour. While in ST. Louis MIR
Drew was weakened by uremia. but in
sisted on going on TO Detroit.
There his condition. complicated by a
cold caught on the road. became aari-
Gus. Feeling that he had only a short
time to live, he asked TO be brought
back TO New York. The tour OF the
company was cancelled by the mana
gers and his wife accompanied him to
this city.