The Fabulous Barrymores

Part III

 

The Georgiana Drew – Maurice Barrymore marriage began this theatrical dynasty and their children (Lionel, Ethel and John) continued the legacy. But it was John’s children who carried it to the “Now Generation”!

Diana Blanche Barrymore Blyth  was born in New York City on March 3, 1921 to John and his second wife, poet Blanche Oelrichs (also known as Michael Strange). Her parents divorced when she was only 4 and, at 6, she was shuttled off to a boarding school in Paris where she had little contact with either parent. In 1928 Diana returned to the US and another boarding school where family contact was still absent.

 

...a publicity shot

By her 18 th birthday, Diana had enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, made the cover of Life magazine and did a screen test for David O. Selznick (Selznick was not impressed). A year later, she made her Broadway debut in “The Romantic Mr. Dickens” and had a bit part in the movie “Manpower” for Warner Bros. But it was her name, not her acting experience that was opening doors and much too soon. In 1942, the year her father died (still a stranger to his oldest daughter), Diana had done 2 more plays, 3 films and married actor Bramwell Fletcher, 17 years her senior. The marriage lasted until 1946, a year longer than Diana’s film career. The family curse, alcohol, had also reared its ugly head.

"Between Us Girls" 1942

In 1947 Diana married tennis pro John Robert Howard and they moved to Louisville, Kentucky where he was working at a country club. The actual marriage lasted less than six months during which time the two were arrested on a charge of drunk driving and assault on a police officer. In October, 1950 just a month before her mother died, Diana married actor Robert Wilcox. His alcohol problem matched her growing addiction to both alcohol and barbiturates. They celebrated his release from a rehab clinic with martinis.

"Too Much, Too Soon" 1958

By 1951 Diana and Wilcox had gone through all her money and she even hocked her jewelry. Wilcox never worked, drank heavily and at least once beat Diana severely. He died of a heart attack in June, 1955 and a frightened Diana checked herself into a hospital for 8 weeks to sober up. In 1957 she wrote her autobiography with Gerold Frank called “Too Much, Too Soon” and it was made into a film the next year with Dorothy Malone and Errol Flynn as John Barrymore. But it was also too late…..Diana died on January 25, 1960 from an overdose of alcohol and sleeping pills. She was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx section of New York City.

John Drew Barrymore was born John Blyth Barrymore on June 4, 1949 in Beverly Hills, California but changed his name in 1958. His mother was John Sidney Barrymore’s third wife, Dolores Costello but his parents divorced when he was barely out of the cradle and, like Diana, rarely saw his father. To keep her son from the perils of acting, Dolores sent John, Jr. to St. John’s Military Academy as a preparatory to college. But, at 13, John and his cousin Dirk Drew Davenport enlisted in the US Navy. It took several weeks before the military authorities discovered the ruse.

 

...as Mark Douglas in "Quebec" 1951

 

At 17, he ran away and signed a film contract. But, unlike Diana, he had no stage experience and it showed. He made 4 films in 2 years (“The Sundowners”1950, “High and Lonesome” , “Quebec” 1951 and “The Big Night” 1951 all as John Barrymore, Jr.) but after two more the movie offers dried up due partly to his inexperience and partly to his behavior. But it was widely accepted that John Drew Barrymore was even more handsome than his famous father.

 

In 1952 John married actress Cara Williams and they had one son, John Blyth Barrymore. But the marriage was stormy and by the mid-1950s John had been arrested and in jail multiple times for speeding, drunk driving and spousal abuse. The marriage ended in 1959. Undaunted, John married again three times, each marriage producing one child. It was to his third wife that daughter Drew Blyth Barrymore was born in 1975. The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree…John was also an alcoholic and an absentee father.

as Frankie Kane in "Never Love a Stranger" (1958)

John returned to the screen in 1958 first in Hollywood for 3 films and then in Italy where he played leads in low budget films. But his erratic behavior finally put an end to that. He came back to Los Angeles in 1964 but was arrested for possession of marijuana. In the late 1960s he accepted a major guest role as Lazarus in an episode of “Star Trek” but failed to show up and Robert Brown got the role. Barrymore was suspended for 6 months by SAG.

 

 

 

 

John worked sporadically into the mid-1970s in films and television but he became more reclusive as time passed, finally disappearing into the wilderness. His physical and emotional health worsened and daughter Drew moved him near her home and paid his medical bills. John Drew Barrymore died of cancer on November 29, 2004 at the age of 72.

Father and daughter hiking in the Santa Monica mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Blyth Barrymore was born in Los Angeles on May 15, 1954 to John Drew and Cara Williams Barrymore. His parents divorced when he was 5 and he was raised by his mother and her second husband. John Blyth became an actor when he was 22 years old with a role in “Baby Blue Marine” and went on to fill hie resume with 27 films, mostly all bit parts. He also tried television and played Zeke Caine in 4 episodes of the “Kung Fu’ series, but hasn’t had a film role since 1997 when he played Dr. Paul Hamilton in “Hybrid”.

 

 

 

John Blyth with half-sister Drew

He was married twice and has three children. In 2002, John Blyth was attacked in his home by six teenagers armed with a metal trailer hook. John sustained head injuries severe enough to require brain surgery. Police claimed the young assailants were hoping to steal the actor’s marijuana plants. John Blyth, 52, now works developing software.

Drew Blyth Barrymore is the daughter of John Drew Barrymore and his third wife Ildiko Jaid Mako, born on February 22, 1975 in Culver City, California. Her first acting job was in a dog commercial at 11 months but her break-out role was Gertie in Stephen Spielberg’s “ET the Extra Terrestrial”. She was also the youngest person ever to guest-host “Saturday Night Live”….she was 7!

 

 

 

 

 

...as Gertie in "E.T...."

The family curse reared its ugly head when she was still an adolescent and it is hopefully behind her. She married twice with both marriages ending in divorce. Drew has already made 42 films with at least 2 more due for release and she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1997, she was one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People. That is a lot for an actress just 31 years old.

 

 

 

 

Drew Barrymore is a very gifted and versatile actress. She now holds the reins to the Barrymore legacy. Hang on tightly, Drew! Let’s hope it won’t be a bumpy ride.