|
Ethel Barrymore (1879 - 1959)
Considered “the Queen of Broadway” for many years,
Ethel Barrymore was born Edith Mae Blythe on August
15, 1879 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sister of
soon-to-be-famous Lionel and John Barrymore, and
the daughter of Maurice Barrymore, her siblings
and she were the ninth generation of a distinguished
theatrical family. She was married to a Mr. Russell
Griswold Colt in 1909 after rejecting a proposal
from Mr. Winston Churchill himself. Ethel and Russell
Colt had three children until their divorce in 1923.
With both of her male siblings also establishing
a career in acting, the three only appeared onscreen
together once: in 1932’s “Rasputin and the Empress”.
After brother John’s career began receding, Ethel
and Lionel appeared together again, a decade thereafter,
in 1953’s “Main Street to Broadway”.
Although Ethel’s true dream was to be a concert
pianist. But acting was in the family genes, and
it provided a stable income. With Ethel working
her way from the ground-up, it was only a matter
of time before she made the transition from support
to leading roles. Her first major break however,
was in the 1901 Broadway production “Captain Jinks
of the Horse Marines” where Ethel played a memorable
aristocrat. From there on Ethel trademarked her
style as that of the classically regal roles, which,
often comedic, were written particularly with Ethel
in mind.
In 1944 Ethel won an Oscar for Best Actress as
Cary Grant’s mother in the film “None But the Lonely
Heart”. In time, Ethel made the final transition
from stage actress to box-office star, appearing
in films like “The Spiral Staircase” (1946), “The
Farmer’s Daughter” (1947), “and 1949’s “Pinky”.
She is the aunt of the “John Barrymore”, the great-aunt
of Drew Barrymore, and the mother of Samuel and
John Drew Colt.
Ethel Barrymore also received nominations
for:
The Spiral Staircase (1946)
The Paradine Case (1947)
Pinky (1949)
Barrymore made many silents, including:
The Nightengale (1914)
The White Raven (1917)
Life's Whirlpool (1917)
Ethel's other films include:
The Farmer's Daughter (1947)
Night Song (1948)
Portrait of Jennie (1948)
Kind Lady (1951)
It's a Big Country (1951)
Deadline (1952)
Young at Heart (1954)
Johnny Trouble (1957)
Ethel Barrymore in PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1948) |
