LIONEL BARRYMORE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Lionel Barrymore was born on April 28th, 1878 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the birth name Lionel Herbert Blythe to parents Maurice and Georgiana Barrymore.  He began to show an interest in acting when he would act with his grandmother, Louisa Lane Drew.  Then in his early twenties he chose to pursue a career as an actor appearing on Broadway in, "The Second in Command" (1901) and "The Mummy and the Hummingbird" (1902).
 
In 1904, he married another Doris who was also an actress and they relocated to Paris for a while. They then returned back to Broadway and often were cast to work together on various stage productions, some of which included, "Peter Ibbetson" (1917) and "The Copperhead" (1918).

Alongside his stage career, he had also begun working on developing a film career.  In 1911 he started working with D.W. Griffith.  Some of his early films were, "The Battle" (1911), "The New York Hat" (1912), "Three Friends" (1913) and "Wildfire" (1915).   
 
Not only was Barrymore a working stage and film actor, he also directed a number of films, beginning with some silent's such as, "Life's Whirlpool" (1917), which actually starred his sister, Ethel.    
 
His career progressed into the early 20's with more film work with MGM and  he did occasional freelance work as well such as, "The Bells" (1926).  Lionel then for the most part returned to working with MGM almost 100%.  On occasion he would be loaned out, such was the case when he worked with Gloria Swanson on the film, "Sadie Thompson" (1928). 
 
In 1929, he returned back to working as a director now directing sound films such as, "His Glorious Night" (1929).  Barrymore would hop back and forth between working as a film actor and still directing various projects.  The typical character who would portray on film was that of a grouchy but sweet older gentleman.  Some of his later work included, "The Mysterious Island" (1929), "Grand Hotel" (1932) and "You Can't Take it With You" (1938).  It is said his best known role was in, "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) starring James Stewart and Donna Reed in which he played, Mr. Potter, a miserable and mean banker.   
 
In the 1940's, Barrymore also worked on radio and was known for a series playing the character, Doctor Gillespie for which he later repeated in a series of Doctor Kildare films.  He was also known for playing the character, Scrooge in, "A Christmas Carol" on the radio every year. 
 
In 1953, his final film appearance was a cameo in, "Main Street to Broadway" in which again, his sister Ethel Barrymore made an appearance in this film too.  Barrymore and his sister Ethel were also the first Oscar-winning brother and sister in acting categories.    
 
Barrymore married twice, first to Doris Rankin from 1904 through 1922 and they she had two children, although they lost one at birth and their other daughter, Mary only survived a couple months.  This put a lot of strain on their marriage and therefore divorce was inevitable.  He then married Irene Fenwick from June 14th, 1923 through December 24th, 1936 when she passed away.  He had no other children or marriages after this.  On November 15th, 1954 Barrymore passed away in Van Nuys, California from a heart attack.  He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles, California and was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the Motion Picture industry.   

 
Filmography

1956 Our Mr. Sun 
1952 Lone Star 
1951 Bannerline
1950 Right Cross 
1949 Malaya
1949 Down to the Sea in Ships 
1948 Key Largo 
1947 Dark Delusion 
1946 Duel in the Sun 
1946 The Secret Heart 
1946 It's a Wonderful Life 
1946 Three Wise Fools 
1945 The Valley of Decision 
1945 Between Two Women 
1944 Dragon Seed
1944 Since You Went Away
1944 3 Men in White 
1943 A Guy Named Joe 
1943 The Last Will and Testament of Tom Smith 
1943 Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case 
1942 Tennessee Johnson 
1942 Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant 
1942 Calling Dr. Gillespie 
1942 Dr. Kildare's Victory  
1941 Lady Be Good 
1941 Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day 
1941 The People vs. Dr. Kildare 
1941 The Bad Man 
1941 The Penalty 
1940 Dr. Kildare's Crisis 
1940 Dr. Kildare Goes Home 
1940 Dr. Kildare's Strange Case
1940 The Stars Look Down 
1939 The Secret of Dr. Kildare 
1939 On Borrowed Time 
1939 Calling Dr. Kildare 
1939 Let Freedom Ring 
1938 Young Dr. Kildare 
1938 You Can't Take It with You 
1938 Test Pilot 
1938 A Yank at Oxford 
1937 Navy Blue and Gold 
1937 Saratoga 
1937 Captains Courageous 
1937 A Family Affair
1936 Camille 
1936 The Gorgeous Hussy 
1936 The Devil-Doll
1936 The Road to Glory 
1936 The Voice of Bugle Ann 
1935 Ah, Wilderness! 
1935 The Return of Peter Grimm 
1935 Public Hero #1 
1935 Mark of the Vampire 
1935 The Little Colonel 
1935 The Personal History, Adventures, Experience & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger 
1934 Treasure Island 
1934 The Girl from Missouri 
1934 Carolina 
1934 This Side of Heaven 
1933 Should Ladies Behave 
1933 Christopher Bean 
1933 Night Flight 
1933 One Man's Journey 
1933 Dinner at Eight 
1933 The Stranger's Return
1933 Looking Forward
1933 Sweepings 
1932 Rasputin and the Empress 
1932 The Washington Masquerade 
1932 Grand Hotel 
1932 Arsène Lupin 
1932 Broken Lullaby 
1931 Mata Hari 
1931 The Yellow Ticket 
1931 Guilty Hands 
1931 A Free Soul 
1930 Free and Easy 
1929 The Mysterious Island
1928 The River Woman
1928 West of Zanzibar 
1928 Alias Jimmy Valentine 
1928 Road House 
1928 The Lion and the Mouse 
1928 Drums of Love 
1928 Sadie Thompson 
1927 The Thirteenth Hour 
1927 Body and Soul 
1927 Women Love Diamonds
1927 The Show
1926 The Temptress 
1926 The Bells 
1926 The Lucky Lady 
1926 Paris at Midnight 
1926 Wife Tamers 
1926 The Barrier 
1926 Brooding Eyes 
1925 Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ 
1925 Die Frau mit dem schlechten Ruf 
1925 The Splendid Road 
1925 Fifty-Fifty 
1925 The Wrongdoers
1925 Children of the Whirlwind 
1925 The Girl Who Wouldn't Work 
1925 A Man of Iron 
1924 I Am the Man 
1924 Meddling Women 
1924 Decameron Nights 
1924 America 
1924 Wedding Women 
1923 The Eternal City 
1923 Unseeing Eyes 
1923 Enemies of Women 
1922 The Face in the Fog 
1922 Boomerang Bill 
1921 Jim the Penman 
1921 The Great Adventure  
1920 The Devil's Garden 
1920 The Master Mind 
1920 The Copperhead 
1917 National Red Cross Pageant 
1917 The Millionaire's Double 
1917 His Father's Son 
1917 The End of the Tour 
1916 The Brand of Cowardice 
1916 The Upheaval 
1916 IThe Quitter 
1916 Dorian's Divorce 
1915 A Yellow Streak 
1915 Dora Thorne 
1915 The Flaming Sword 
1915 The Romance of Elaine 
1915 The Curious Conduct of Judge Legarde 
1915 A Modern Magdalen 
1915 Wildfire 
1914 Under the Gaslight 
1914 The Exploits of Elaine
1914 The Seats of the Mighty 
1914 The Span of Life 
1914 IThe Woman in Black
1914 The Power of the Press 
1914 Men and Women 
1914 Woman Against Woman 
1914 The Primitive Man
1914 Strongheart 
1914 Judith of Bethulia 
1914 The Massacre 
1914 Her Father's Silent Partner 
1914 Classmates 
1913 The House of Discord 
1913 The Battle at Elderbush Gulch 
1913 All for Science 
1913 So Runs the Way 
1913 The Stolen Treaty 
1913 The Strong Man's Burden 
1913 The Crook and the Girl 
1913 The Work Habit
1913 The Suffragette Minstrels 
1913 An Indian's Loyalty 
1913 I Was Meant for You 
1913 Under the Shadow of the Law 
1913 The Vengeance of Galora
1913 The Mirror 
1913 The Enemy's Baby
1913 A Gamble with Death 
1913 In Diplomatic Circles 
1913 Almost a Wild Man 
1913 The Switch Tower
1913 The Well 
1913 Red Hicks Defies the World 
1913 A Timely Interception 
1913 The Ranchero's Revenge 
1913 Just Gold 
1913 The Yaqui Cur 
1913 The House of Darkness 
1913 The Wanderer
1913 The Lady and the Mouse 
1913 A Misunderstood Boy 
1913 The Little Tease 
1913 The Perfidy of Mary
1913 The Sheriff's Baby 
1913 IFate 
1913 Near to Earth 
1913 The Unwelcome Guest 
1913 A Girl's Stratagem 
1913 The Wrong Bottle 
1913 Love in an Apartment Hotel 
1913 A Chance Deception 
1913 Oil and Water 
1913 The Tender Hearted Boy
1913 An Adventure in the Autumn Woods 
1913 The Telephone Girl and the Lady 
1913 Three Friends 
1912 The God Within
1912 A Cry for Help 
1912 The Burglar's Dilemma 
1912 My Hero 
1912 The New York Hat
1912 Brutality
1912 The Informer 
1912 My Baby
1912 Gold and Glitter
1912 Heredity
1912 The Musketeers of Pig Alley
1912 The Painted Lady
1912 The One She Loved 
1912 The Chief's Blanket 
1912 So Near, Yet So Far
1912 Friends
1912 Home Folks
1911 The Miser's Heart
1911 The Battle 
1911 Fighting Blood
1908 The Paris Hat