John Barrymore
Acting1882Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Biography
John Sidney Blyth Barrymore (February 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III. His success continued with motion pictures in various genres in both the silent and sound eras. Barrymore's personal life has been the subject of much writing before and since his passing in 1942. Today John Barrymore is mostly known for his roles in movies like Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920), Grand Hotel (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), Twentieth Century (1934), and Don Juan (1926), the first ever movie to use a Vitaphone soundtrack.
A member of a multi-generation theatrical dynasty, he was the brother of Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore, and was the paternal grandfather of Drew Barrymore.
Known For
Acting History
2021
Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker
as Archival Footage
2004
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
as Self / Various roles (archive footage)
2003
Complicated Women
as Self (archive footage)
1991
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio
as Hamlet (archive sound)
1984
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
1983
The Horror of It All
as Svengali (archive footage)
1979
The Horror Show
as (archive footage)
1976
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)
It's Showtime
as Self (archive footage)
1974
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
as Self (archive footage)
1972
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
as Self (archive footage)
1970
Brasileiros em Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
1961
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
as Self (archive footage)
1955
MGM Parade
TVas Self
1953
Yesterday and Today
as (archive footage)
1950
The Golden Twenties
as Self (archive footage)
1946
Okay for Sound
as Don Juan (archive footage)
1945
Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary
as Self (archive footage)
1943
The Voice That Thrilled the World
as Self (segments 'Don Juan' & 'Richard III') (archive footage)
1942
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
as Self (archive footage)
1941
World Premiere
as Duncan DeGrasse
Playmates
as John Barrymore
1940
The Invisible Woman
as Professor Gibbs
The Great Profile
as Evans Garrick
1939
1938
Marie Antoinette
as King Louis XV
Bulldog Drummond's Peril
as Colonel Neilson
Spawn of the North
as Windy Turlon
Hold That Co-ed
as Gabby Harrigan
Hollywood Goes to Town
as Self
Romance in the Dark
as Zoltan Jason
1937
Maytime
as Nicolai Nazaroff
True Confession
as Charles Jasper
Bulldog Drummond Comes Back
as Colonel Neilson
Bulldog Drummond's Revenge
as Col. J.A. Nielson
Night Club Scandal
as Dr. Ernest Tindal
1936
Movie Maniacs
as Photograph of John Barrymore (uncredited)
Romeo and Juliet
as Mercutio
1934
Twentieth Century
as Oscar Jaffe
Long Lost Father
as Carl Bellairs
1933
Night Flight
as Riviere
Counsellor at Law
as George Simon
Topaze
as Auguste A. Topaze
Reunion in Vienna
as Archduke Rudolf von Hapsburg
Hamlet, Act I: Scenes IV and V
as Hamlet
Dinner at Eight
as Larry Renault
1932
Arsène Lupin
as Duke of Charmerace
A Bill of Divorcement
as Hilary Fairfield
Rasputin and the Empress
as Prince Paul Chegodieff
State's Attorney
as Tom Cardigan
Grand Hotel
as Baron Felix von Gaigern
1931
The Mad Genius
as Vladimar Ivan Tsarakov
Svengali
as Svengali
1930
Moby Dick
as Ahab
The Man from Blankley's
as Lord Strathpeffer
1929
The Show of Shows
as Richard III in 'Henry VI Part III' (uncredited)
Eternal Love
as Marcus Paltran
General Crack
as Duke of Kurland / Prince Christian
1928
Tempest
as Sergeant Ivan Markov
The Circus: Premiere
as Self
1927
The Beloved Rogue
as François Villon
When a Man Loves
as Chevalier Fabien des Grieux
1926
Don Juan
as Don Jose de Marana / Don Juan de Marana
The Sea Beast
as Captain Ahab Ceeley
Vagabonding On The Pacific
as Himself
1925
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
as Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
1924
Beau Brummel
as Gordon Bryon 'Beau' Brummel
1922
Sherlock Holmes
as Sherlock Holmes
1921
The Lotus Eater
as Jacques Leroi
1920
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde
1919
The Test of Honor
as Martin Wingrave
Here Comes the Bride
as Frederick Tile
1918
On the Quiet
as Robert Ridgeway
1917
National Red Cross Pageant
as The Tyrant - Russian episode
Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman
as A.J. Raffles
1916
The Lost Bridegroom
as Bertie Joyce
Nearly a King
as Jack Merriwell, Prince of Bulwana
The Red Widow
as Cicero Hannibal Butts
1915
1914
An American Citizen
as Berresford Cruger
The Man from Mexico
as Fitzhugh
1913
One on Romance
as Jack Wilson (as Jack Barrymore)
1912
The Dream of a Moving Picture Director
as The Movie Villain (as Jack Barrymore)
The Widow Casey's Return
as The Rejected Suitor (as Jack Barrymore)
Just Pretending
as The Policeman (as Jack Barrymore)
A Prize Package
as Si Hawkins (as Jack Barrymore)