Biography
Born into a long-established American theatrical family, Ethel Barrymore dreamed of being a concert pianist, but found that acting was virtually the only profession for which she was truly qualified -- and which ensured a livable income. Like all her forebears, she worked her way up the theatrical ladder from bits to full leads. Though she was quite popular on the road and in Europe, her first full-fledged Broadway hit was Clyde Fitch's 1901 play Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, in the virtuoso role of a supercilious woman of wealth. Her later attempts to excel in the Classics were to no avail; from
Captain Jinks on, she was confined to glamorous roles, usually comic in nature, specially written for her. Disdaining movies for the most part (several silent films notwithstanding) Ethel was intrigued at the notion of working with her celebrated brothers John and
Lionel Barrymore, but the film vehicle chosen by MGM,
Rasputin and the Empress (1932), showed only Lionel to advantage. After ten years of unsuccessful plays -- excepting a "comeback" in the 1940 hit The Corn is Green -- and a brief retirement, she was more open to films, accepting
Cary Grant's personal invitation to play Grant's mother in
None But the Lonely Heart (1944), for which she won an Oscar. A few encore stage appearances later, Ethel "went Hollywood" full force with strong character roles in such films as
The Spiral Staircase (1946),
The Farmer's Daughter (1947) and
Pinky (1949), her trademarked aristocratic features and crisp enunciation becoming even more pronounced with the advancing years. One of her last efforts was a syndicated anthology, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, in which she hosted and occasionally acted. Even so, Ethel Barrymore was as uncompromising in her assessment of TV as she was of other persons and things that displeased her: Her two-word assessment of The Tube was "It's hell." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide