page_title: John Barrymore
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: John Barrymore / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: John Barrymore, Actor, at White House, Jan. 9 (Coolidge administration)
context_page_description: John Barrymore was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly attempted a career as an artist, but appeared on stage together with his father Maurice in 1900, and then his sister Ethel the following year. He began his career in 1903 and first gained attention as a stage actor in light comedy, then high drama, culminating in productions of Justice, Richard III and Hamlet; his portrayal of Hamlet led to him being called the "greatest living American tragedian".
  After a success as Hamlet in London in 1925, Barrymore left the stage for 14 years and instead focused entirely on films. In the silent film era, he was well received in such pictures as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Sherlock Holmes and The Sea Beast. During this period, he gained his nickname, the Great Profile. His stage-trained voice proved an asset when sound films were introduced, and three of his works, Grand Hotel, Twentieth Century and Midnight have been inducted into the National Film Registry.
  Barrymore's personal life has been the subject of much attention before and since his death.
context_section_description: The New York Times obituary stated that during the period when Barrymore's performed in Justice, Richard III and Hamlet, the actor "was accepted by most critics as the foremost English-speaking actor of his time ... equipped both by nature and by art." The Washington Post agreed, noting that during his stage triumphs and early years in film, "he was the great profile, the darling of the 'royal family' of the stage." Many of the obituaries made the point that Barrymore fell short of his potential. The Manchester Guardian thought that he "might with some self-discipline have added his name to the list of truly great actors ... yet he dissipated his energies". The New York Times noted that he could twist his abilities "to parody, burlesque himself and play the clown", and they considered that it was "unfortunate that the public in recent years saw him in ... [that] mood. It was a mood of careless abdication". The Washington Post observed that "with the passing of the years – and as his private life became more public – he became, despite his genius in the theater, a tabloid character."
  According to Morrison, Barrymore's stage portrayals of Richard III and Hamlet were a model for modern performances of these roles. His interpretation along psychological lines was innovative, and his "dynamic portrayals ... changed the direction of subsequent revivals." Barrymore's natural acting style reversed the stage conventions of the time; his " 'colloquial' verse speaking introduced to the stage the vocal manner of a postwar gentleman."
  Barrymore was honored on few occasions by the entertainment industry and its members. Although both his brother and sister won Academy Awards, the only award Barrymore ever received for his screen work was from Rudolph Valentino in 1925 for Beau Brummel. Valentino created an award in his own name and felt that his fellow actors should receive accolades for their screen work. When Barrymore attended his ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in 1940, he left more than the customary hand and footprints in the theater's forecourt: aided by the owner, Sid Grauman, Barrymore left a cement imprint of his facial profile. In February 1960, for his contribution to the motion picture industry, Barrymore was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a star at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard; Barrymore, along with his two siblings, is included in the American Theater Hall of Fame. The Barrymore "Royal Family" of actors continued through two of his children – his son with Costello, John Drew Barrymore and his daughter with Oelrichs, Diana – both of whom became actors, as did John Jr.'s daughter Drew. Barrymore's brother Lionel died on November 15, 1954, and their sister Ethel died on June 18, 1959.
  Barrymore's achievements and his colorful life have ensured that several biographical studies followed his 1926 autobiography, Confessions of an Actor. Alma Power-Waters produced a 1941 study, authorized by the subject, John Barrymore: The Legend and the Man; Fowler, wrote Good Night, Sweet Prince: The Life and Times of John Barrymore (1943); Alpert published The Barrymores (1964); and John Kobler wrote Damned in Paradise: The Life of John Barrymore (1977), although Norden noted in 2000 that many of these earlier works are less than reliable. Those he identified as being more thoroughly researched are Peters' 1990 history, The House of Barrymore, and his own study of the actor's work in John Barrymore: A Bio-Bibliography (1995). Subsequent to Norden's comments on the available literature, Morrison published the positively reviewed John Barrymore, Shakespearean Actor in 1997, which focuses on Barrymore's stage work.
  There were several celebratory events in 1982, on the centenary of Barrymore's birth. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Museum of Modern Art jointly hosted a commemorative program of his work, which included numerous excerpts from his films and interviews with some who knew him, including Barrie and his one-time co-star Myrna Loy. The same year, in celebration of the centenary of the Actors Fu
caption: Barrymore at the White House in January 1924, after meeting President Calvin Coolidge
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