John Barrymore
The Life and Legacy of Early 20th Century America's Most Famous Actor
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Narrated by:
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Bill Hare
About this listen
"A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” (John Barrymore)
Movie stars are revered for their ability to captivate audiences, and Hollywood began to flourish before the onset of television, allowing movies to enjoy relatively uncontested supremacy over American entertainment. The popularity of various actors would, thus, extend well beyond the success of any of their individual films, reflecting their much broader cultural significance as monuments of Hollywood during its Golden Age.
In the 1920s, the burgeoning movie industry was starting to come into its own, and virtually no actor was as famous - or infamous - as John Barrymore. Like many other film stars his age, Barrymore’s career had started in other forms of entertainment, in his case theater. By the time movies were becoming popular, Barrymore was one of the world’s foremost Shakespearean actors.
After standout performances in productions of Richard III and Hamlet, Barrymore transitioned for a time to working on films, including Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), Sherlock Holmes (1922), and The Sea Beast (1926). His career would not be hampered by the end of the silent film era either, and he would continue to star in movies throughout the 1930s, including in critically acclaimed films like Grand Hotel (1932), Twentieth Century (1934), and Midnight (1939).
For a time, Barrymore was one of the most popular actors of the day, but more than 75 years after his death, he is likely better remembered more for his family lineage and his contributions to pop culture, voluntarily and involuntarily.
Barrymore hailed from an acting family, and he would become the patriarch whose descendants continued to be acclaimed actors, most recently his granddaughter Drew Barrymore. But while that might be his most tangential legacy in the 21st century, Barrymore’s personal life continues to draw interest, from his many marriages and paramours to the substance abuse that was common knowledge by the end of his life.
Barrymore even tried to play to his reputation and get in on the joke, often taking on roles that served as parodies of his own outlandish behavior. In a self-deprecating reference to his love life, he once joked, “I am thinking of taking a fifth wife. Why not? Solomon had a thousand wives, and he is a synonym for wisdom.”
And when he appeared in My Dear Children in 1939, a critic for The New York Times noted, “Although he has recklessly played the fool for a number of years, he is nobody's fool in My Dear Children, but a superbly gifted actor on a tired holiday.”
As it turned out, he didn’t have much time left after that performance, as all of his excesses took a fatal toll on him in 1942, at the age of 60.
John Barrymore: The Life and Legacy of Early 20th Century America’s Most Famous Actor chronicles the dramatic life and career of Barrymore on and off the screen.
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Story
From the New York Times best-selling author Marc Eliot comes the definitive biography of one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful actors, producers, and directors in the history of American motion pictures. Marc Eliot examines the ever-exciting, often tumultuous arc of Eastwood's life and career, from his days as a disaffected college dropout, to his rise to fame as the archetypal loner, to his acceptance into the pantheon of the Academy as a multiple Oscar Award winner.
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I learned the hard way.
- By Ty Pritchard on 07-23-10
By: Marc Eliot
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When Women Invented Television
- The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today
- By: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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It was the Golden Age of Radio and powerful men were making millions in advertising dollars reaching thousands of listeners every day. When television arrived, few radio moguls were interested in the upstart industry and its tiny production budgets, and expensive television sets were out of reach for most families. But four women - each an independent visionary - saw an opportunity and carved their own paths, and in so doing invented the way we watch TV today.
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Must Read T.V.
- By cindy on 05-18-21
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Get Happy
- The Life of Judy Garland
- By: Gerald Clarke
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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She lived at full throttle on stage, screen, and in real life, with highs that made history and lows that finally brought down the curtain at age 47. Judy Garland died over 30 years ago, but no biography has so completely captured her spirit - and demons - until now. From her tumultuous early years as a child performer to her tragic last days, Gerald Clarke reveals the authentic Judy in a biography rich in new detail and unprecedented revelations.
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A good book, but...
- By Donna Deal on 08-27-21
By: Gerald Clarke
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Age of Cage
- Four Decades of Hollywood Through One Singular Career
- By: Keith Phipps
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Nicolas Cage is many things, but love him, or laugh at him, there's no denying two things: You've seen one of his many films, and you certainly know his name. But who is he, really, and why has his career endured for over 40 years, with more than a hundred films, and birthed a million memes? Age of Cage is a smart, beguiling book about the films of Nicolas Cage and the actor himself, as well as a sharp-eyed examination of the changes that have taken place in Hollywood over the course of his career.
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Excellent filmography of a successful career
- By Pamela Plimpton on 04-04-22
By: Keith Phipps
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Something Wonderful
- Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution
- By: Todd S. Purdum
- Narrated by: Todd S. Purdum
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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They stand at the apex of the great age of songwriting, the creators of the classic Broadway musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, whose songs have never lost their popularity or emotional power. Even before they joined forces, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written dozens of Broadway shows, but together they pioneered a new art form: the serious musical play.
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Fabulous book about Rodgers & Hammerstein!!!
- By BigWally on 06-27-18
By: Todd S. Purdum
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Afterlives of the Rich and Famous
- By: Sylvia Browne
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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For decades—on television, in consultations,and in packed auditoriums across the country—renowned psychic Sylvia Browne has beenasked one question again and again: “What ismy favorite celebrity doing on the Other Side?” Now, for the first time, you can follow the redcarpet into the heart of the spirit world. Browne reveals intimate details of how some of our most cherished actors, musicians, and public figures have fared since their deaths, giving us one more glimpse into the personalities we loved and lost.
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Very entertaining book!
- By Crusader on 11-06-11
By: Sylvia Browne
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Without Lying Down
- By: Cari Beauchamp
- Narrated by: Holly Palance
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Cari Beauchamp masterfully combines biography with social and cultural history to examine the lives of Frances Marion and her many female colleagues who shaped filmmaking from the early teens through the 1940s. Frances Marion was Hollywood's highest paid screenwriter - male or female - for almost three decades, wrote almost 200 produced films and remains the only woman to win two Academy Awards for original screenwriting (The Big House and The Champ).
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A Must Read
- By Robert Wallace on 03-19-19
By: Cari Beauchamp
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Backwards and in Heels
- By: Alicia Malone
- Narrated by: Katherine Littrell
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Women have been instrumental in the success of American cinema since its very beginning. One of the first people to ever pick up a motion picture camera was a woman, as was the first screenwriter to win two Academy Awards, the inventor of the boom microphone, and the first person to be credited with the title film editor. Throughout the entire history of Hollywood women have been revolutionizing, innovating, and shaping how we make movies. Yet their stories are rarely shared. This is what film reporter Alicia Malone wants to change. Backwards and in Heels tells the history of women in film in a different way.
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Great Book
- By Alfie on 09-27-21
By: Alicia Malone
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Robin Williams
- By: Emily Herbert
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Through roles in cherished films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Aladdin and Hook, he became the genial face of family comedy. His childlike enthusiasm was infectious, sweeping viewers away. Allied to his lightning-quick improvisation and ability to riff lewdly off any cue thrown at him, Robin was that rare thing - a true comic genius who appealed to adults and children equally. He could also play it straight, and empathetic depth came to him naturally.
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Good... but too many quotes
- By DDub on 11-09-18
By: Emily Herbert
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Furious Love
- Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century
- By: Sam Kashner, Nancy Schoenberger
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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He was a tough-guy Welshman softened by the affections of a breathtakingly beautiful woman; she was a modern-day Cleopatra madly in love with her own Mark Antony. For nearly a quarter of a century, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were Hollywood royalty, and their fiery romance - often called "the marriage of the century" - was the most notorious, publicized, and celebrated love affair of its day.
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Paul Boehmer needs more practice
- By Brenda Miller on 06-16-10
By: Sam Kashner, and others
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Can I Go Now?
- The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood's First Superagent
- By: Brian Kellow
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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A lively and colorful biography of Hollywood's first superagent - one of the most outrageous showbiz characters of the 1960s and 1970s, whose clients included Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Faye Dunaway, Michael Caine, and Candice Bergen. Before Sue Mengers hit the scene in the mid-1960s, talent agents remained quietly in the background. But staying in the background was not possible for Mengers.
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A little long.
- By Doris on 11-29-15
By: Brian Kellow
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Steve McQueen
- A Biography
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and '70s with now-classics such as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Bullit, Steve McQueen is renowned as one of the most exciting actors ever to come out of Hollywood. Now, in Steve McQueen: A Biography, best-selling author Marc Eliot gives unique insight into McQueen's life, from his films to his three marriages, many affairs, and struggles with addictions.
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Snooze
- By Cill on 10-27-11
By: Marc Eliot
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The Queens of Animation
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History
- By: Nathalia Holt
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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From Snow White to Moana, from Pinocchio to Frozen, the animated films of Walt Disney Studios have moved and entertained millions. But few fans know that behind these groundbreaking features was an incredibly influential group of women who fought for respect in an often ruthless male-dominated industry and who have slipped under the radar for decades.
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Buy this book!! Truly Inspiring and fascinating!
- By Ellen on 02-05-20
By: Nathalia Holt