Lionel Barrymore

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Lionel Barrymore

American actor

Also known as: Lionel Herbert Blythe

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 11, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Original name:: Lionel Herbert Blythe

Born:: April 28, 1878, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Died:: November 15, 1954, Van Nuys, California (aged 76)

Also Known As:: Lionel Herbert Blythe

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1931); Academy Award (1932): Actor in a Leading Role

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Main Street to Broadway" (1953); "Lone Star" (1952); "Bannerline" (1951); "Right Cross" (1950); "Malaya" (1949); "Down to the Sea in Ships" (1949); "Key Largo" (1948); "Dark Delusion" (1947); "Duel in the Sun" (1946); "The Secret Heart" (1946); "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946); "Three Wise Fools" (1946); "The Valley of Decision" (1945); "Between Two Women" (1945); "Since You Went Away" (1944); "3 Men in White" (1944); "A Guy Named Joe" (1943); "Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case" (1943); "Tennessee Johnson" (1942); "Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant" (1942); "Calling Dr. Gillespie" (1942); "Dr. Kildare's Victory" (1942); "Lady Be Good" (1941); "Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day" (1941); "The People vs. Dr. Kildare" (1941); "The Bad Man" (1941); "The Penalty" (1941); "Dr. Kildare's Crisis" (1940); "Dr. Kildare Goes Home" (1940); "Dr. Kildare's Strange Case" (1940); "The Secret of Dr. Kildare" (1939); "On Borrowed Time" (1939); "Calling Dr. Kildare" (1939); "Let Freedom Ring" (1939); "Young Dr. Kildare" (1938); "You Can't Take It with You" (1938); "Test Pilot" (1938); "A Yank at Oxford" (1938); "Navy Blue and Gold" (1937); "Saratoga" (1937); "Captains Courageous" (1937); "A Family Affair" (1937); "Camille" (1936); "The Gorgeous Hussy" (1936); "The Devil-Doll" (1936); "The Road to Glory" (1936); "The Voice of Bugle Ann" (1936); "Ah Wilderness!" (1935); "The Return of Peter Grimm" (1935); "Public Hero Number 1" (1935); "Mark of the Vampire" (1935); "The Little Colonel" (1935); "The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger" (1935); "Treasure Island" (1934); "The Girl from Missouri" (1934); "Carolina" (1934); "This Side of Heaven" (1934); "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" (1933); "Rasputin and the Empress" (1932); "The Washington Masquerade" (1932); "Grand Hotel" (1932); "Arsène Lupin" (1932); "Broken Lullaby" (1932); "Mata Hari" (1931); "The Yellow Ticket" (1931); "Guilty Hands" (1931); "A Free Soul" (1931); "Free and Easy" (1930); "The Mysterious Island" (1929); "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" (1928); "The Thirteenth Hour" (1927); "Body and Soul" (1927); "Women Love Diamonds" (1927); "The Show" (1927); "The Temptress" (1926); "The Bells" (1926); "The Lucky Lady" (1926); "Paris at Midnight" (1926); "The Barrier" (1926); "Brooding Eyes" (1926); "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" (1925); "Wedding Women" (1924); "I Am the Man" (1924); "Meddling Women" (1924); "Decameron Nights" (1924); "America" (1924); "The Eternal City" (1923); "Unseeing Eyes" (1923); "Enemies of Women" (1923); "The Face in the Fog" (1922); "Boomerang Bill" (1922); "Jim the Penman" (1921); "The Great Adventure" (1921); "The Devil's Garden" (1920); "The Master Mind" (1920); "The Copperhead" (1920); "National Red Cross Pageant" (1917); "The Millionaire's Double" (1917); "His Father's Son" (1917); "The End of the Tour" (1917); "The Brand of Cowardice" (1916); "The Upheaval" (1916); "Dorian's Divorce" (1916); "A Yellow Streak" (1915); "The Flaming Sword" (1915); "The Romance of Elaine" (1915); "The Curious Conduct of Judge Legarde" (1915); "A Modern Magdalen" (1915); "Wildfire" (1915); "Under the Gaslight" (1914); "The Exploits of Elaine" (1914); "The Seats of the Mighty" (1914); "The Span of Life" (1914)

Lionel Barrymore (born April 28, 1878, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died November 15, 1954, Van Nuys, California) was an American stage, film, and radio actor who forged a career as one of the most important character actors of the early 20th century. Perhaps the least flamboyant member of the Barrymore acting family, he was best known to modern audiences for his performance as Mr. Potter in the classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).

Barrymore was the son of the stage actors Maurice and Georgiana Barrymore, founders of the celebrated family of actors. Although he appeared in a few plays in his teens, he did not intend to enter the family profession and instead studied painting in Paris for three years. He found that he was unable to earn a living as a painter, however, and he returned to the United States and to acting. He soon established his reputation as an actor in New York City in such plays as Peter Ibbetson (1917), The Copperhead (1918), and The Jest (1919).

In 1926 Barrymore left Broadway permanently for Hollywood and began a long line of outstanding screen characterizations. His early notable films included Sadie Thompson (1928) and The Mysterious Island (1929). His performance as an alcoholic defense attorney in A Free Soul (1931) won him an Academy Award as best actor. He appeared with his brother, John, in Grand Hotel (1932) and with both John and their sister, Ethel, in Rasputin and the Empress (1932). Other memorable movies were Captains Courageous (1937), The Valley of Decision (1945), Duel in the Sun (1947), and Key Largo (1948). In the popular and long-running Dr. Kildare film series, which began with Young Dr. Kildare in 1938, he played Dr. Gillespie.

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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In his later years Barrymore projected an image of an irascible (but usually lovable) curmudgeon, a role in which he exploited to the fullest his distinctive traits—a tall stooped posture (though, because of arthritis and other injuries, he usually performed in a wheelchair from 1938 on), shaggy eyebrows, and a hoarse, rasping voice. His portrayal of the avaricious Mr. Potter in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life belongs to this period. He was also a radio actor and was noted for his annual radio performance as Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.

In addition to acting, Barrymore made etchings and drawings and also composed music. We Barrymores (1951), by Lionel Barrymore as told to Cameron Shipp, is basically an autobiography but contains much information on his famous siblings, John and Ethel.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.