Lionel Barrymore

Character and Endurance in Hollywood's Golden Age

Kathleen Spaltro (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

288 Seiten

2024
The University Press of Kentucky (Verlag)
978-1-9859-0050-9 (ISBN)

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Once called "the most gifted character actor of our time" by Broadway theater producer Arthur Hopkins, Lionel Barrymore (1878–1954) was part of the illustrious Barrymore acting dynasty. Although he garnered success on stage and screen and was a talented actor, writer, director, visual artist, and composer, he never quite escaped the shadow of his family members—including his brother, John, famous for his leading roles. Barrymore won the Academy Award for Best Actor in A Free Soul (1931) and was nominated for Best Director for Madame X (1930). However, he is best known for his role as Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and as the voice of Ebenezer Scrooge in radio broadcasts of A Christmas Carol from 1934 to 1953/. He spent the last two decades of his career playing versions of his signature character—the curmudgeonly but lovable gentleman—in a variety of films from You Can't Take It With You (1938) to Key Largo (1948). Barrymore worked alongside some of Hollywood's most recognizable names, including Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Frank Capra, Lauren Bacall, Clark Gable, and Ava Gardner, and his legacy is enshrined at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where he has two stars—one for radio and one for film.

In Lionel Barrymore: Character and Endurance in Hollywood's Golden Age, Kathleen Spaltro examines Barrymore as an individual rather than just a supporting cast member of the famous dynasty. This comprehensive study divides Barrymore's life into three compelling acts. Act One follows Barrymore's early days—his failed endeavor as a visual artist, his performances in the family vaudeville acts, his first silent motion pictures, and his greatest successes and failures on the stage. Act Two details Barrymore's establishment as a fixture at MGM, his foray into directing, his success as the first actor to thrive in the talkies, and his estimable Oscar-winning performance. Finally, Act Three expounds on Barrymore's curation of his trademark character—the endearing grouch—his exploits in radio, and his fateful final years. Spaltro also unearths Barrymore's personal challenges, recounts his difficulties with—and sometimes estrangement from—members of his family, and delves into the devastating losses Barrymore suffered: his divorce, the deaths of his two daughters, and later, the death of his second wife and the accidents that eventually consigned him to a wheelchair. Lionel Barrymore is a detailed, multifaceted portrait of a brilliant character actor.

Introduction

Act One, 1878–1925

Disorder and Early Sorrow, 1878–1893

Twenty Years, Two Apprenticeships, 1893–1912

Escape into Films, 1911–1917

The Valley of Indecision, 1917–1925

Act Two, 1925–1935

Silenced, Again, 1925–1928

Talkies Stardom and Detour into Direction, 1928 –1931

Scene Stealer, 1933–1935

Act Three, 1936–1954

Year of Disaster, 1936

Mike and Jake: Exit Jack, 1942

Radio Days and the Taxman Cometh, 1934 –1954

Brilliant Grouch

The Best Wine for Last, 1945–1953

Compensations, 1937–1954

Down the Valley of the Shadow, 1954

Acknowledgments

Appendix One

Appendix Two

Bibliography

Erscheinungsdatum	15.08.2024
Zusatzinfo	20 b&w illustrations
Verlagsort	Lexington
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
	Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Film / TV
	Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Theater / Ballett
ISBN-10	1-9859-0050-5 / 1985900505
ISBN-13	978-1-9859-0050-9 / 9781985900509
Zustand	Neuware