BIO

Lionel Barrymore was born Lionel Herbert Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1878.   His parents were the stage actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew.   His two younger siblings, Ethel and John Barrymore, would also go on to become famous actors.

Barrymore made his Broadway debut in 1900, at the age of 22, and appeared in 19 productions through 1925, including several with family members.   After his younger brother John Barrymore’s 1920 stage triumph as King Richard III, he was approached by the play’s director, Arthur Hopkins, and asked to star in his production of MacBeth (1921).   Hopkins hoped another Barrymore in tights might attract a sizable audience.   Unfortunately, the play closed after only a few weeks.   Even so, Hopkins produced and staged his next starring role in The Claw (1921-1922) opposite his future wife Irene Fenwick.   Barrymore’s last starring role was in the hit Laugh, Clown, Laugh! (1923-1924) also opposite Irene Fenwick. Lon Chaney later starred in the 1928 movie version opposite the teenage Loretta Young.

One of the early film actors, Barrymore made his film debut in 1908 for Biograph.   After spending several years studying art in Paris and seeing the impact of film in Europe, Barrymore returned to the U.S. and began his film career in earnest in 1911.   He appeared in more than 75 silent short-reels through 1916.

He also directed several short-reels for Biograph in 1913-1914. Barrymore returned to the director’s chair for Metro Pictures in 1917 to direct a feature film starring his sister Ethel Barrymore during her brief foray from the stage into silent film in the late 1910s.   Eager to take advantage of the new sound medium, Barrymore directed several features for MGM between 1929 and 1931, including Madame X (1929) for which he received an unofficial Academy Award nomination (only award winners were announced for 1929).

As an actor, Barrymore’s stage experience led to a seamless transition to sound in the 1930s.   By this time, he was mostly used as a character actor.   He appeared in well over 130 feature films in a career spanning six decades, including more than 40 motion pictures at the end of his career confined to a wheelchair due to severe arthritis.   He received the Academy Award for Actor for A Free Soul (1931).   His last film appearance was in 1952.

Barrymore married the actress Doris Rankin in 1904.   They had two children who died in infancy.   After 19 years of marriage, they divorced in 1923.   He married his then Broadway stage partner, the actress Irene Fenwick, that same year.   She passed away from complications due to anorexia at the age of 49 in 1936.

Barrymore died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, in 1954.   He was 76 years old.

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

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