Mini-Bio

John Barrymore, original name John Sidney Blyth, (born February 15, 1882, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died May 29, 1942, Hollywood, California), American actor, called “The Great Profile,” who is remembered both for his film and stage roles as a debonair leading man and for his interpretations of William Shakespeare’s Richard III and Hamlet.

John was born into a theatrical family; his parents, Maurice and Georgiana Barrymore, were stage actors, and his siblings, Ethel and Lionel, also became noted actors. John studied painting in Paris but returned to the United States to make his stage debut in 1903. He became a popular light comedian, but it was in serious roles that he scored his greatest stage triumphs. The most important of these were Justice (1916), Peter Ibbetson (1917), The Jest (1919), Richard III (1920), and Hamlet (New York, 1922; London, 1925). These roles led to his being acclaimed as one of the greatest tragedian of his generation.