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Article: Barrymore.(Music Box Theater, new York, NY)
- Article from:
- The New Leader
- Article date:
- March 24, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 American Labor Conference on International Affairs. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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John Barrymore was fond of saying that an actor's life is writ on water. Perhaps that was why he decided to write his on alcohol. A boozer from adolescence, he first opted for the careers of barfly, womanizer and newspaper illustrator. Only when the money ran out did he join his brother Lionel and sister Ethel in what they called "the family business." That it was: the trio's parents and grandparents were actors, and tradition had it that performers could be found on the family tree clear back to the Elizabethan minstrels.
The youngest Barrymore was too handsome for the comic parts he was assigned. He quickly became a matinee idol in trivial romances and ...