158-493: John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth ; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families , he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly attempted a career as an artist, but appeared on stage together with his father Maurice in 1900, and then his sister Ethel the following year. He began his career in 1903 and first gained attention as
316-698: A Broadway debut. Barrymore joined the company of McKee Rankin , Sidney Drew's father-in-law, on the Chicago leg of their tour, at the W. S. Cleveland Theatre in October 1903. He first played the minor role of Lt. Max von Wendlowski in Magda , and in November when the troupe produced Leah the Forsaken , he took the small part of Max, a village idiot with one spoken line. A year later Barrymore appeared in his first Broadway production, in
474-540: A cast member is listed as "Jack Barrymore"; this is probably John Barrymore, although Norden notes that "we may never know for certain if [these] are in fact Barrymore movies." The four films were Dream of a Motion Picture Director , The Widow Casey's Return , A Prize Package (all 1912) and One on Romance (1913). The films were produced by the Philadelphia-based Lubin Manufacturing Company and were lost in an explosion and fire at
632-514: A clown in Pantaloon opposite his brother, and Stephen Rollo in Alice Sit-by-the-Fire opposite his sister. Both plays ran for 81 performances from December 1905, and then went on tour. Barrymore continued drinking and lacked discipline, which affected his performances. Ethel was angry with her brother and had the producers fire him from the show, but re-hire him the following day, to teach him
790-478: A contact for three further films at a salary of $ 76,250 per picture. He later claimed that his motivation for moving from stage to films was the "lack of repetition—the continual playing of a part, which is so ruinous to an actor, is entirely eliminated". Barrymore's first film under the contract was The Sea Beast (1926), loosely based on the 1851 novel Moby-Dick , in which he played Captain Ahab Ceeley . This
948-426: A conventional romance 'joyous'," writes Peters. A reviewer for The Oregon Daily Journal thought that Barrymore gave a "portrayal of unusual quality". The success of the picture led to further film work, including The Man from Mexico (1914), Are You a Mason? , The Dictator and The Incorrigible Dukane (all 1915). Except for The Incorrigible Dukane , all of these early films are presumed lost . Despite
1106-588: A daughter, Diana Barrymore , followed in March 1921. Soon after the birth, he began rehearsals for Clair de Lune , which his wife had adapted from Victor Hugo 's 1869 novel The Man Who Laughs . Barrymore persuaded Ethel to play the role of the Queen ;– it was the first time the two had appeared on stage together in over a decade. The play was a critical flop, although the presence of the siblings ensured that it ran for over 60 performances. In 1921, Barrymore portrayed
1264-502: A deal of charm". Barrymore spent the second half of 1915 making three films, including The Red Widow , which he called "the worst film I ever made" in his 1926 autobiography. In April 1916, he starred in John Galsworthy 's prison drama Justice , again at the instigation of Sheldon. The play was a critical success, and The New York Times thought the audience saw "Barrymore play as he had never played before, and so, by his work as
1422-613: A discussion with Ethel and gaining a court petition, took him to Bellevue Hospital . Maurice was later transferred to a private institution in Amityville , Long Island, where he suffered a "rapid descent into madness". The Encyclopedia of World Biography states that Barrymore was constantly "haunted by the bright and dark spell of his father", and his close friend Gene Fowler reported that "the bleak overtone of this breaking of his parent's reason never quite died away in Barrymore's mind, and he
1580-458: A divorce from Barrymore on May 25, 1935, citing mental cruelty, habitual intemperance, and desertion. The new relationship was widely reported in the tabloid press , who labeled the couple Caliban and Ariel . After a series of arguments with Barrie, Barrymore considered the relationship with Barrie to be at an end, and he left for Los Angeles. A newspaper editor chartered a plane and flew Barrie to Chicago, to meet Barrymore's train; she broadcast
1738-630: A fair degree of prosperity. Cangrande was admitted to Dante's Paradise ( Paradiso , XVII, 76). During the period of his exile, Dante corresponded with Dominican theologian Fr. Nicholas Brunacci (1240–1322), who had been a student of Thomas Aquinas at the Santa Sabina studium in Rome, later at Paris, and of Albert the Great at the Cologne studium . Brunacci became lector at the Santa Sabina studium , forerunner of
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#17328511143661896-469: A happy or amusing ending but one influenced by a Providential will that orders all things to an ultimate good. By this meaning of the word, as Dante himself allegedly wrote in a letter to Cangrande , the progression of the pilgrimage from Hell to Paradise is the paradigmatic expression of comedy, since the work begins with the pilgrim's moral confusion and ends with the vision of God. A number of other works are credited to Dante. Convivio ("The Banquet")
2054-457: A large number of actors. Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri ( Italian: [ˈdante aliˈɡjɛːri] ; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri ; c. May 1265 – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante , was an Italian poet , writer, and philosopher. His Divine Comedy , originally called Comedìa (modern Italian: Commedia ) and later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio ,
2212-646: A lesson. After a tour of the US and Australia with Collier in On the Quiet and The Dictator , Barrymore joined his sister in the 1907 comedy His Excellency the Governor at the Empire Theatre . He received mixed reviews for his performances, and The Wichita Daily Eagle commented that "Barrymore seems to imitate John Drew too much ever to be a good actor. Why doesn't young Barrymore imitate
2370-478: A measurable advance in the gradual process of bringing [Barrymore's] technical fluency abreast with his winged imagination and his real genius for the theatre". Although a commercial and critical success, the play closed after 31 performances when Barrymore collapsed, suffering a nervous breakdown. Since appearing in Redemption he had worked ceaselessly, appearing on stage in the evenings, while planning or rehearsing
2528-789: A party of one. He went to Verona as a guest of Bartolomeo I della Scala , then moved to Sarzana in Liguria. Later he is supposed to have lived in Lucca with a woman named Gentucca. She apparently made his stay comfortable (and he later gratefully mentioned her in Purgatorio , XXIV, 37). Some speculative sources claim he visited Paris between 1308 and 1310, and other sources even less trustworthy say he went to Oxford ; these claims, first made in Giovanni Boccaccio 's book on Dante several decades after his death, seem inspired by readers who were impressed with
2686-653: A phenomenon developed in French and Provençal poetry of prior centuries. Dante's experience of such love was typical, but his expression of it was unique. It was in the name of this love that Dante left his imprint on the dolce stil nuovo ("sweet new style", a term that Dante himself coined), and he would join other contemporary poets and writers in exploring never-before-emphasized aspects of love. Love for Beatrice (as Petrarch would express for Laura somewhat differently) would be his reason for writing poetry and for living, together with political passions. In many of his poems, she
2844-410: A plea for him to return, and her pursuit became national news. Costello's divorce from Barrymore became final in October 1935. Morrison thinks that the headlines established a new reputation for Barrymore of "the aging satyr, the has-been alcoholic, the much-married ham". This was a blow to his self-respect, but he faced his troubles "with aplomb and a sense of humor", according to Morrison. To escape from
3002-663: A poem of epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the Italian language was suitable for the highest sort of expression. In French, Italian is sometimes nicknamed la langue de Dante . Publishing in the vernacular language marked Dante as one of the first in Roman Catholic Western Europe (among others such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio) to break free from standards of publishing in only Latin (the language of liturgy , history and scholarship in general, but often also of lyric poetry). This break set
3160-584: A precedent and allowed more literature to be published for a wider audience, setting the stage for greater levels of literacy in the future. However, unlike Boccaccio, Milton or Ariosto , Dante did not really become an author read across Europe until the Romantic era. To the Romantics, Dante, like Homer and Shakespeare , was a prime example of the "original genius" who set his own rules, created persons of overpowering stature and depth, and went beyond any imitation of
3318-631: A quiet divorce from Oelrichs; she eagerly agreed to the separation, as she was in a relationship with a lawyer, Harrison Tweed , whom she later married. Barrymore and Costello married in November that year; their daughter, Dolores, was born in April 1930 and a son, John Drew Barrymore , followed in June 1932. Barrymore purchased and converted an estate in the Hollywood Hills into 16 different buildings with 55 rooms, gardens, skeet ranges , swimming pools, fountains and
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#17328511143663476-464: A real actor if he must copy someone." Barrymore gained his first leading role in early 1907, in the comedy The Boys of Company B at the Lyceum Theatre . Although he was well received by the critics – The Washington Post noted that "his work has been pronounced astonishingly clever by the critics wherever he played" – at times he continued his unprofessional stage behavior, which led to
3634-686: A rebuke from John Drew, who attended a performance. After a short run in Toddles at the Garrick Theatre , Barrymore was given the lead role of Mac in A Stubborn Cinderella , both on tour and at the Broadway Theatre in Boston. He had previously been earning $ 50 a week during his sporadic employment but now enjoyed a wage increase to $ 175. He briefly appeared in The Candy Shop in mid-1909, before he played
3792-449: A result. The film was well received by critics, and Mordaunt Hall , the film critic of The New York Times , praised the "energy, earnestness and virility" Barrymore displayed in the role of Ceeley. As filming finished on The Sea Beast , work began on Don Juan , the first feature-length film with synchronized Vitaphone sound effects and a musical soundtrack . Although Barrymore wanted to play opposite Costello again, Jack L. Warner ,
3950-470: A sanatorium for alcoholics, but he continued to drink covertly and was disruptive on set. Basil Rathbone , who was playing Tybalt , later recounted that "he was drinking and unreliable on the set ... It was sad to see him in such a state." Opinions on his portrayal were divided. Some critics, such as Welford Beaton of the Hollywood Spectator , thought "Barrymore is an acting gem", although Gielgud
4108-685: A short run of A Thief for a Night in McVicker's Theatre, Chicago, before returning to New York, and the Thirty-Ninth St. Theatre, for a two-month run in Believe Me Xantippe . In late 1913, Barrymore made his first confirmed feature film, the romantic comedy An American Citizen , with Adolph Zukor 's Famous Players Film Company . When the film was released in January 1914, Barrymore "delighted movie audiences with an inimitable light touch that made
4266-572: A silly and unwholesome exhibitionism, and odious with a kind of stale and degenerate studio adolescence. Their appeal is cheap, cynical and specious". In 1927, Barrymore planned to revive Hamlet at the Hollywood Bowl , but in August he canceled the production, without explanation, and began filming the third of the UA pictures, Eternal Love , for which he was paid $ 150,000. In February 1928, Barrymore obtained
4424-708: A small role in the comedy Glad of It , which only had a short run. Afterwards he played the role of Charles Hyne in the farce The Dictator at the Criterion Theatre, which starred William Collier . During the play's run and subsequent tour across the US, Collier became a mentor to the young actor, although his patience was continually tested by Barrymore's drinking, which led to occasional missed performances, drunken stage appearances, and general misbehavior. Collier taught Barrymore much about acting, including coaching him in comic timing, but "at times regretted his sponsorship" of his apprentice. In March 1905, while The Dictator
4582-613: A stage actor in light comedy, then high drama, culminating in productions of Justice (1916), Richard III (1920), and Hamlet (1922); his portrayal of Hamlet led to him being called the "greatest living American tragedian". After a success as Hamlet in London in 1925, Barrymore left the stage for 14 years and instead focused entirely on films. In the silent film era, he was well received in such pictures as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), Sherlock Holmes (1922) and The Sea Beast (1926). During this period, he gained his nickname,
4740-591: A struggling artist, Barrymore was a good match for her daughter. To break off their relationship her mother sent Nesbit away to school in New Jersey. In 1906, White was shot in public by Nesbit's then-husband, Pittsburgh millionaire Harry K. Thaw . Barrymore expected to testify at Thaw's murder trial on the issue of Nesbit's morality; he worried that he might be asked whether he had arranged for Nesbit to have an abortion , disguised as an appendectomy , even though Nesbit had undergone two previous "appendectomies". Barrymore
4898-572: A three-week run of the play was staged at the Manhattan Opera House , followed by a brief tour that closed at the end of January 1924. News of Barrymore's success in Hamlet piqued the interest of Warner Bros. , which signed him as the lead in the 1924 film Beau Brummel . Unhappy in his marriage, Barrymore – aged 40 at the time – sought solace elsewhere and had an affair with his 17-year-old co-star Mary Astor during filming. Although
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5056-441: A tomb for him in 1483. On the grave, a verse of Bernardo Canaccio , a friend of Dante, is dedicated to Florence: parvi Florentia mater amoris Florence, mother of little love In 1329, Bertrand du Pouget , Cardinal and nephew of Pope John XXII , classified Dante's Monarchia as heretical and sought to have his bones burned at the stake. Ostasio I da Polenta and Pino della Tosa, allies of Pouget, interceded to prevent
5214-734: A totem pole. By the late 1920s, sound films had become common, following the 1927 sensation, The Jazz Singer . Actors with trained voices were in demand by the studios, and Barrymore was offered a five-film deal with Warner Bros. at $ 150,000 per picture, and a share of the profits. Before he began this contract, he played his first speaking role on film: a one-off section in The Show of Shows (1929), playing Richard, Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 3 . His first two films under contract were General Crack and The Man from Blankley's , each of which were modestly successful. As he had been frustrated at
5372-531: A wealthy Frenchman in New York in the film The Lotus Eater , with Colleen Moore . In September, Barrymore and Oelrichs went to Europe on holiday; cracks were appearing in their relationship, and she fell in love with a poet during their extended stay in Venice. In October, Oelrichs returned to New York and Barrymore traveled to London to film the exterior scenes for his latest movie, Sherlock Holmes , in which he played
5530-503: A well-known 19th-century American actress and the manager of the Arch Street Theatre , and John Drew , also an actor whose specialty was comedy. Barrymore's maternal uncles were two more thespians, John Drew Jr. and Sidney . Much of Barrymore's early life was unsettled. In October 1882, the family toured in the US for a season with Polish actress Helena Modjeska . The following year his parents toured again with Modjeska but left
5688-524: Is 70 years; and since his imaginary travel to the netherworld took place in 1300, he was most probably born around 1265. Some verses of the Paradiso section of the Divine Comedy also provide a possible clue that he was born under the sign of Gemini : "As I revolved with the eternal twins, I saw revealed, from hills to river outlets, the threshing-floor that makes us so ferocious" (XXII 151–154). In 1265,
5846-518: Is a collection of his longest poems with an (unfinished) allegorical commentary. Monarchia ("Monarchy") is a summary treatise of political philosophy in Latin which was condemned and burned after Dante's death by the Papal Legate Bertrando del Poggetto ; it argues for the necessity of a universal or global monarchy to establish universal peace in this life, and this monarchy's relationship to
6004-482: Is a pleasure to see [him] again in something in a lighter vein." The same year, Barrymore starred as jewel thief Baron Felix von Geigern together with Greta Garbo in the 1932 film Grand Hotel , in which Lionel also appeared. Critical opinion of Barrymore's acting was divided; John Gilbert 's biographer Eve Golden refers to Barrymore as seeming "more like ... [Garbo's] affectionate father than her lover", while George Blaisdell of International Photographer praised
6162-560: Is depicted as semi-divine, watching over him constantly and providing spiritual instruction, sometimes harshly. When Beatrice died in 1290, Dante sought refuge in Latin literature. The Convivio chronicles his having read Boethius 's De consolatione philosophiae and Cicero's De Amicitia . He next dedicated himself to philosophical studies at religious schools like the Dominican one in Santa Maria Novella . He took part in
6320-505: Is likely he would have undertaken such a work only after he realized his political ambitions, which had been central to him up to his banishment, had been halted for some time, possibly forever. It is also noticeable that Beatrice has returned to his imagination with renewed force and with a wider meaning than in the Vita Nuova ; in Convivio (written c. 1304 –07) he had declared that
6478-582: Is not known; the only certain information is that, before his exile in 1301, he had fathered three children with Gemma (Pietro, Jacopo and Antonia). Dante fought with the Guelph cavalry at the Battle of Campaldino (June 11, 1289). This victory brought about a reformation of the Florentine constitution. To take part in public life, one had to enroll in one of the city's many commercial or artisan guilds, so Dante entered
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6636-579: Is now Italy. The exact date of his birth is unknown, although it is believed to be around May 1265. This can be deduced from autobiographic allusions in the Divine Comedy . Its first section, the Inferno , begins, " Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita " ("Midway upon the journey of our life"), implying that Dante was around 35 years old, since the average lifespan according to the Bible (Psalm 89:10, Vulgate)
6794-930: Is probably not another actor on our stage who has a temperament so fine and spiritual, an art so flexible and sure." In 1918, Barrymore starred in the romantic comedy film On the Quiet ; the Iowa City Press-Citizen considered the film superior to the original Broadway performance. In 1919, Barrymore portrayed a struggling lawyer in the film adaptation of the Broadway show Here Comes the Bride , which he followed with The Test of Honor . The latter film marked his first straight dramatic role on screen after years of performing in comedy dramas. Later that year, when Barrymore again appeared on stage with Lionel in Sem Benelli 's historical drama The Jest , audience members "agree[d] that
6952-446: Is the film's transcendent quality". Barrymore decided next to star in Hamlet on stage, with Arthur Hopkins directing. They spent six months preparing, cutting over 1,250 lines from the text as they did so, and Barrymore opted to play Hamlet as "a man's man", according to Norden. Barrymore later described his Hamlet as a "normal, healthy, lusty young fellow who simply got into a mess that
7110-566: Is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. Dante is known for establishing the use of the vernacular in literature at a time when most poetry was written in Latin , which was accessible only to educated readers. His De vulgari eloquentia ( On Eloquence in the Vernacular ) was one of the first scholarly defenses of
7268-597: The Comedy soon became a cornerstone in the evolution of Italian as an established literary language. Dante was more aware than most early Italian writers of the variety of Italian dialects and of the need to create a literature and a unified literary language beyond the limits of Latin writing at the time; in that sense, he is a forerunner of the Renaissance , with its effort to create vernacular literature in competition with earlier classical writers. Dante's in-depth knowledge (within
7426-686: The Comedy , regarding painting and music. Dante, like most Florentines of his day, was embroiled in the Guelph–Ghibelline conflict . He fought in the Battle of Campaldino (June 11, 1289), with the Florentine Guelphs against Arezzo Ghibellines; he fought as a feditore [ it ] , responsible for the first attack. To further his political career, he obtained admission to the Guild of Physicians and Apothecaries around 1295. He likely joined
7584-570: The Gherardini family , was condemned to exile for two years and ordered to pay a large fine. Dante was accused of corruption and financial wrongdoing by the Black Guelphs for the time that Dante was serving as city prior (Florence's highest position) for two months in 1300. The poet was still in Rome in 1302, as the Pope, who had backed the Black Guelphs, had "suggested" that Dante stay there. Florence under
7742-519: The Great Depression . He then signed with Universal Studios to portray a troubled Jewish lawyer in Counsellor at Law . During filming he struggled to remember his lines for even small scenes. Filming was stopped on one occasion after more than 25 takes when he struggled to recall the right lines; it was a problem with which he began to suffer regularly. Despite the problems, Norden believes that this
7900-627: The Guelphs , who supported the papacy , and the Ghibellines , who supported the Holy Roman Empire . Dante's family was loyal to the Guelphs. The Ghibellines took over Florence at the Battle of Montaperti in 1260, forcing out many of the Guelphs. Although Dante's family were Guelphs, they suffered no reprisals after the battle, probably because of Alighiero's low public standing. The Guelphs later fought
8058-474: The Inferno had been published by 1317; this is established by quoted lines interspersed in the margins of contemporary dated records from Bologna , but there is no certainty as to whether the three parts of the poem were each published in full or, rather, a few cantos at a time. Paradiso was likely finished before he died, but it may have been published posthumously. In 1312, Henry assaulted Florence and defeated
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#17328511143668216-454: The Inferno , or that this part had been published at the time, but it indicates composition was well underway and that the sketching of the poem might have begun some years before. (It has been suggested that a knowledge of Dante's work also underlies some of the illuminations in Francesco da Barberino's earlier Officiolum [c. 1305–08], a manuscript that came to light in 2003. ) It is known that
8374-427: The Irish actor John Drew Sr. (1827-1862). Except for Lionel Barrymore , John Drew Barrymore , Ethel , Diana , Drew , and John Blyth , none of the other members of John Barrymore's family have yet entered the entertainment industry. Most of the spouses, however, were related to the artistic world, mainly actresses and actors. The family of Georgiana Emma Drew , mother of Lionel, Ethel, and John, also includes
8532-443: The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas , and later served in the papal curia . In 1315, Florence was forced by Uguccione della Faggiuola (the military officer controlling the town) to grant an amnesty to those in exile, including Dante. But for this, Florence required public penance in addition to payment of a high fine. Dante refused, preferring to remain in exile. When Uguccione defeated Florence, Dante's death sentence
8690-410: The University of Pisa and forensic engineers at the University of Bologna at Forlì constructed the model, portraying Dante's features as somewhat different from what was once thought. In 2008, the Municipality of Florence officially apologized for expelling Dante 700 years earlier. In May 2021, a symbolic re-trial was held virtually in Florence to posthumously clear his name. A celebration
8848-426: The dual leading role , and the film was released in theaters the following year. Wid's Daily thought that "it is the star's picture from the very outset, and it is the star that makes it", going on to say that Barrymore's portrayal was "a thing of fine shadows and violent emotions". The Washington Post was in agreement, and considered the performance to be "a masterpiece", and "a remarkable piece of work". The film
9006-466: The family curse , acting", and he later admitted that "there isn't any romance about how I went on stage. ... I needed the money." Barrymore began to contact his family's theatrical connections to find work and approached Charles Frohman , who had been the producer of Captain Jinks and had also been an employer of Barrymore's mother Georgie a decade earlier. Frohman thought that Barrymore had comedic potential but needed more experience before making
9164-404: The humanism demonstrated between Barrymore's character and his family, particularly the "close bond" between father and daughter. In his final film of the year, he returned to MGM for Rasputin and the Empress , Barrymore, Ethel and Lionel co-starred. Physically, Barrymore had deteriorated since filming Svengali , and he had gained weight because of his drinking. Peters notes the "dissipation of
9322-418: The 1970s, he said: "The handsome middle-aged stars of the Edwardian theatre romanticised the part. Even John Barrymore, whose Hamlet I admired very much, cut the play outrageously so that he could, for instance, play the closet scene all out for sentiment with the emphasis on the ' Oedipus complex ' – sobbing on Gertrude's bosom. Yet Barrymore ... had a wonderful edge and a demonic sense of humour." At
9480-447: The American stage had never witnessed finer acting", according to Peters. Alexander Woollcott , writing in The New York Times , thought that "John and Lionel Barrymore hold spellbound each breathless audience", and he commented that Barrymore "contributes to that appeal by every step, every hand, every posture of a body grown unexpectedly eloquent in recent years". In November, Barrymore began filming Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , playing
9638-482: The Black Guelphs ( Guelfi Neri ), led by Corso Donati . Although the split was along family lines at first, ideological differences arose based on opposing views of the papal role in Florentine affairs. The Blacks supported the Pope and the Whites wanted more freedom from Rome. The Whites took power first and expelled the Blacks. In response, Pope Boniface VIII planned a military occupation of Florence. In 1301, Charles of Valois , brother of King Philip IV of France ,
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#17328511143669796-488: The Black Guelphs, but there is no evidence that Dante was involved. Some say he refused to participate in the attack on his city by a foreigner; others suggest that he had become unpopular with the White Guelphs, too, and that any trace of his passage had carefully been removed. Henry VII died (from a fever) in 1313 and with him any hope for Dante to see Florence again. He returned to Verona, where Cangrande I della Scala allowed him to live in certain security and, presumably, in
9954-410: The Black Guelphs, therefore, considered Dante an absconder. Dante did not pay the fine, in part because he believed he was not guilty and in part because all his assets in Florence had been seized by the Black Guelphs. He was condemned to perpetual exile; if he had returned to Florence without paying the fine, he could have been burned at the stake. (In June 2008, nearly seven centuries after his death,
10112-401: The Empire Theatre on Broadway, which ran for 48 performances. Charles Darnton, a critic for The Evening World , observed that "Barrymore takes delight in 'kidding' his part not only to the limit, but perhaps beyond". A review in The Washington Times stated that "Barrymore inimitably imitates his uncle John Drew". Barrymore may have appeared in his first films in 1912. In four short films,
10270-444: The Ghibellines again in 1266 at the Battle of Benevento, retaking Florence from the Ghibellines. Dante said he first met Beatrice Portinari , daughter of Folco Portinari , when he was nine (she was eight), and he claimed to have fallen in love with her " at first sight ", apparently without even talking with her. When he was 12, however, he was promised in marriage to Gemma di Manetto Donati , daughter of Manetto Donati, member of
10428-410: The Great Profile. His stage-trained voice proved an asset when sound films were introduced, and four of his works, Grand Hotel (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), Twentieth Century (1934), and Midnight (1939), have been inducted into the National Film Registry . Barrymore's personal life has been the subject of much attention before and since his death. He struggled with alcohol abuse from
10586-429: The Latin motu proprio titled Altissimi cantus , which was dedicated to Dante's figure and poetry. In that year, the pope also donated a golden iron Greek Cross to Dante's burial site in Ravenna, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his birth. The same cross was blessed by Pope Francis in October 2020. In 2007, a reconstruction of Dante's face was undertaken in a collaborative project. Artists from
10744-429: The Lubin vaults in 1914. In July 1912, Barrymore went to Los Angeles, where he appeared in three short-running plays at the Belasco Theatre. He returned to New York in October, where he took the lead role in 72 performances of the comedy The Affairs of Anatol at the Little Theatre . Although the critical response was lukewarm, Barrymore's salary for the play was $ 600 a week. He began the following year by appearing in
10902-453: The Physicians' and Apothecaries' Guild. His name is occasionally recorded as speaking or voting in the councils of the republic. Many minutes from such meetings between 1298 and 1300 were lost, so the extent of his participation is uncertain. Not much is known about Dante's education; he presumably studied at home or in a chapter school attached to a church or monastery in Florence. It is known that he studied Tuscan poetry and that he admired
11060-438: The Roman Catholic Church as guide to eternal peace. De vulgari eloquentia ("On the Eloquence in the Vernacular") is a treatise on vernacular literature, partly inspired by the Razos de trobar of Raimon Vidal de Bezaudun . Quaestio de aqua et terra ("A Question of the Water and of the Land") is a theological work discussing the arrangement of Earth's dry land and ocean. The Eclogues are two poems addressed to
11218-455: The age of 14, was married and divorced four times, and declared bankruptcy later in life. Much of his later work involved self-parody and the portrayal of drunken has-beens. His obituary in The Washington Post observed that "with the passing of the years – and as his private life became more public – he became, despite his genius in the theater, a tabloid character." Although film historians have opined that Barrymore's "contribution to
11376-539: The apples I try to keep on top of the barrel." In February 1925, Barrymore staged Hamlet in London at the Haymarket Theatre, which the Manchester Guardian later said had "the most memorable first night for years". The reviews were positive, and "although none of the London critics found Barrymore superior to [Henry] Irving and [Johnston] Forbes-Robertson , many were favorable in their comparisons". Among
11534-585: The art of cinematic acting began to fade" after the mid-1930s, Barrymore's biographer, Martin Norden, considers him to be "perhaps the most influential and idolized actor of his day". Barrymore was born John Sidney Blyth in the Philadelphia home of his maternal grandmother Louisa Lane Drew and was known by family, friends and colleagues as "Jack". Although the Barrymore family Bible puts his date of birth as February 15, 1882, his birth certificate shows February 14. He
11692-450: The audience members was the 20-year-old actor John Gielgud , who wrote in his program "Barrymore is romantic in appearance and naturally gifted with grace, looks and a capacity to wear period clothes, which makes his brilliantly intellectual performance classical without being unduly severe, and he has tenderness, remoteness, and neurosis all placed with great delicacy and used with immense effectiveness and admirable judgment". Looking back in
11850-469: The basis of modern research, an earlier account of Dante's life and works had been included in the Nuova Cronica of the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani . Some 16th-century English Protestants, such as John Bale and John Foxe , argued that Dante was a proto-Protestant because of his opposition to the pope. The 19th century saw a "Dante revival", a product of the medieval revival , which
12008-411: The books, Purgatorio is arguably the most lyrical of the three, referring to more contemporary poets and artists than Inferno ; Paradiso is the most heavily theological, and the one in which, many scholars have argued, the Divine Comedy 's most beautiful and mystic passages appear. With its seriousness of purpose, its literary stature and the range—both stylistic and thematic—of its content,
12166-583: The children behind. Modjeska was influential in the family, and she insisted that all three children be baptized into the Catholic Church . In 1884 the family traveled to London as part of Augustin Daly 's theatrical company, returning to the US two years later. As a child, Barrymore was sometimes badly behaved, and he was sent away to schools in an attempt to instill discipline. The strategy was not always successful, and he attended elementary schools in four states. He
12324-502: The city council of Florence passed a motion rescinding Dante's sentence.) In 1306–07, Dante was a guest of Moroello Malaspina [ it ] in the region of Lunigiana . Dante took part in several attempts by the White Guelphs to regain power, but these failed due to treachery. Bitter at the treatment he received from his enemies, he grew disgusted with the infighting and ineffectiveness of his former allies and vowed to become
12482-639: The city in 1318 by its prince, Guido II da Polenta . Dante died in Ravenna on September 14, 1321, aged about 56, of quartan malaria contracted while returning from a diplomatic mission to the Republic of Venice . He was attended by his three children, and possibly by Gemma Donati , and by friends and admirers he had in the city. He was buried in Ravenna at the Church of San Pier Maggiore (later called Basilica di San Francesco ). Bernardo Bembo , praetor of Venice , erected
12640-786: The compositions of the Bolognese poet Guido Guinizelli —in Purgatorio XXVI he characterized him as his "father"—at a time when the Sicilian School ( Scuola poetica Siciliana ), a cultural group from Sicily , was becoming known in Tuscany. He also discovered the Provençal poetry of the troubadours , such as Arnaut Daniel , and the Latin writers of classical antiquity , including Cicero , Ovid and especially Virgil . Dante's interactions with Beatrice set an example of so-called courtly love ,
12798-553: The couple married in September that year. Harris' father objected to the relationship and refused to attend the wedding. Shortly after the ceremony, The Dictator went on tour, and Harris was given a small role in the play. According to Peters, Barrymore "began to think of his marriage as a 'bus accident ' ". Film critic Hollis Alpert wrote that, within a week of the wedding, Katherine was complaining that she saw her new husband too infrequently. Barrymore's increasing dependence on alcohol
12956-523: The critic for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle , wrote that Barrymore "registers a personal triumph in the role", calling his performance "brilliant ... one of the best of his movie career". Later in 1931, he played a crippled puppeteer, who tries to fulfill his frustrated ambitions by manipulating the life of a young male ballet dancer and the dancer's lover (also Marsh) in The Mad Genius ; the film
13114-649: The destruction of Dante's remains. Florence eventually came to regret having exiled Dante. The city made repeated requests for the return of his remains. The custodians of the body in Ravenna refused, at one point going so far as to conceal the bones in a false wall of the monastery. Florence built a tomb for Dante in 1829, in the Basilica of Santa Croce . That tomb has been empty ever since, with Dante's body remaining in Ravenna. The front of his tomb in Florence reads Onorate l'altissimo poeta — which roughly translates as "Honor
13272-708: The dialogue and wrote that a viewer would be "deeply impressed with the rarity in screen drama on which he is looking." Grand Hotel won the Academy Award for Best Picture and was one of the highest-grossing films of the year. It was later added to the National Film Registry . In 1932, Barrymore went to RKO Pictures where he played a borderline-alcoholic lawyer in State's Attorney , and an escaped lunatic in A Bill of Divorcement , opposite Katharine Hepburn in her screen debut. Film scholar Daniel Bernardi later noted
13430-427: The directors of the films were sympathetic to his condition. When he filmed his last serious role, Gregory Vance in the 1939 film The Great Man Votes , the director, Garson Kanin , ensured that the cast and crew addressed him as "Mr. Barrymore" as a mark of respect. Barrymore family The Barrymore family , and the related Drew family, form a British-American acting dynasty which traces its acting roots to
13588-414: The disputes that the two principal mendicant orders ( Franciscan and Dominican ) publicly or indirectly held in Florence, the former explaining the doctrines of the mystics and of St. Bonaventure , the latter expounding on the theories of St. Thomas Aquinas . At around the age of 18, Dante met Guido Cavalcanti , Lapo Gianni , Cino da Pistoia and, soon after, Brunetto Latini ; together they became
13746-520: The end of this run of Hamlet , Barrymore traveled to Paris, where Oelrichs had stayed during his residence in London, but the reunion was not a happy one and the couple argued frequently. When he returned to America, she remained in Paris, and the couple drew up a separation agreement that provided Oelrichs with $ 18,000 a year and stated that neither could sue for divorce on the grounds of adultery. While he had been in London, Warner Bros and Barrymore entered into
13904-503: The era. Italy's first dreadnought battleship was completed in 1913 and named Dante Alighieri in honor of him. On April 30, 1921, in honor of the 600th anniversary of Dante's death, Pope Benedict XV promulgated an encyclical named In praeclara summorum , naming Dante as one "of the many celebrated geniuses of whom the Catholic faith can boast" and the "pride and glory of humanity". On December 7, 1965, Pope Paul VI promulgated
14062-466: The film was not an unqualified success, the cast, including Barrymore, was generally praised. Around this time, Barrymore acquired the nickname "the Great Profile", as posters and photographs of him tended to favor the left-hand side. He later said: "The right side of my face looks like a fried egg. The left side has features that are to be found in almost any normal anthropological specimen, and those are
14220-483: The film work and the higher fees he earned from it, Barrymore continued to seek stage work, and in January 1914 he played the lead in The Yellow Ticket at New York's Eltinge Theatre . The role marked a departure from the light comedy of his previous performances, a result of Sheldon urging him to turn towards more dramatic parts. The Yellow Ticket was not the breakthrough that Barrymore wanted. A few months before
14378-547: The film's producer, signed Astor. After completing his Warner Bros. contract with When a Man Loves , with Costello, Barrymore joined United Artists (UA) under a three-film deal. For the next three years, according to Morrison, he "enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and spent lavishly". Nevertheless, he received some harsh reviews. Critic and essayist Stark Young wrote in The New Republic that Barrymore's films were "rotten, vulgar, empty, in bad taste, dishonest, noisome with
14536-445: The filming of one scene, he again forgot his lines and even the name of his character. Filming was postponed until the following day, but the result was the same. After he took a break for a few days, he returned to the set, but he still could not remember any of the script, and RKO replaced him with Ricardo Cortez . Soon afterwards, he suffered a mental and physical breakdown and was hospitalized. Costello confirmed that his drinking over
14694-570: The first use of the interlocking three-line rhyme scheme, or the terza rima , is attributed to him. He is described as the "father" of the Italian language, and in Italy he is often referred to as il Sommo Poeta ("the Supreme Poet"). Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio are also called the tre corone ("three crowns") of Italian literature. Dante was born in Florence , Republic of Florence , in what
14852-505: The guild due to association between philosophy and medicine, but also may have joined as apothecaries were also booksellers. His guild membership allowed him to hold public office in Florence. As a politician, he held various offices over some years in a city rife with political unrest. After defeating the Ghibellines, the Guelphs divided into two factions: the White Guelphs ( Guelfi Bianchi )—Dante's party, led by Vieri dei Cerchi—and
15010-544: The inability of making The Sea Beast as a sound film, Barrymore returned to Moby Dick as the source for a 1930 film of the same name . Peters thinks little of the film, describing it as "a seesaw between the cosmic and the comic, a travesty of Melville as well as a silly film all on its own". The following year, Barrymore played the title role of a manipulative voice coach in Svengali , opposite Marian Marsh . Martin Dickstein,
15168-510: The latter film, Barrymore played madcap Broadway impresario Oscar Jaffe, a role in which he demonstrated a "rare genius as a comedian". Morrison writes that the portrayal was one "that many consider to be his finest contribution to film". In 2011, the picture was added to the National Film Registry, where it was described as Barrymore's "last great film role". In May 1934, Barrymore was filming Hat, Coat and Glove for RKO when, during
15326-677: The lead role in Winchell Smith 's play The Fortune Hunter at the Gaiety Theatre in September the same year. It was his longest-held role, running for 345 performances until May 1911, initially at the Gaiety Theatre in New York, and then on tour. The critic for The New York Times thought the play was, "acted with fine comedy spirit by John Barrymore ... [who] gave indisputable signs last night of grown and growing powers." In mid-1910 Barrymore met socialite Katherine Corri Harris , and
15484-496: The leaders of the dolce stil nuovo . Brunetto later received special mention in the Divine Comedy ( Inferno , XV, 28) for what he had taught Dante: "Nor speaking less on that account I go With Ser Brunetto, and I ask who are his most known and most eminent companions". Some fifty poetical commentaries by Dante are known (the so-called Rime , rhymes), others being included in the later Vita Nuova and Convivio . Other studies are reported, or deduced from Vita Nuova or
15642-484: The limits of his time) of Roman antiquity, and his evident admiration for some aspects of pagan Rome, also point forward to the 15th century. He wrote the Comedy in a language he called "Italian", in some sense an amalgamated literary language predominantly based on the regional dialect of Tuscany, but with some elements of Latin and other regional dialects. He deliberately aimed to reach a readership throughout Italy including laymen, clergymen and other poets. By creating
15800-541: The memory of this youthful romance belonged to the past. An early indication that the poem was underway is a notice by Francesco da Barberino , tucked into his Documenti d'Amore ( Lessons of Love ), probably written in 1314 or early 1315. Francesco notes that Dante followed the Aeneid in a poem called "Comedy" and that the setting of this poem (or part of it) was the underworld; i.e., hell. The brief note gives no incontestable indication that Barberino had seen or read even
15958-523: The mid- 19th century London stage. After migrating across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States , members of the family subsequently appeared in motion pictures , beginning with the silent film period of the 1890s to 1929 and then into the modern era of sound film . The surname Barrymore originated with an actor named William Barrymore (c. 1759-1830). The related Drew family traces back to
16116-558: The most exalted poet" and is a quote from the fourth canto of the Inferno . In 1945, the fascist government discussed bringing Dante's remains to the Valtellina Redoubt , the Alpine valley in which the regime intended to make its last stand against the Allies . The case was made that "the greatest symbol of Italianness" should be present at fascism's "heroic" end, but ultimately, no action
16274-460: The next production during the day, and by the time he appeared as Richard, he was spending his daytimes filming Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . He spent six weeks recuperating under the ministrations of his father's friend, wrestler William Muldoon , who ran a sanitarium. During the summer of 1920, Oelrichs became pregnant with Barrymore's child, and a quick divorce was arranged with her husband, which left her and Barrymore free to marry in August that year;
16432-455: The once ascetic face, a dissipation only underlined by the studio's attempt to reconstruct with lights, filters and make-up a spiritual beauty that had been corrupted." The film was a critical and commercial failure, and MGM lost significant amounts of money. The New Yorker thought the three Barrymores had produced their worst work. The year 1933 was a busy one for Barrymore, and his decline began to be evident. He appeared in five films during
16590-431: The other delegates and asked Dante alone to remain in Rome. At the same time (November 1, 1301), Charles of Valois entered Florence with the Black Guelphs, who in the next six days destroyed much of the city and killed many of their enemies. A new Black Guelph government was installed, and Cante dei Gabrielli da Gubbio was appointed podestà of the city. In March 1302, Dante, a White Guelph by affiliation, along with
16748-558: The outbreak of World War I , he took a vacation to Italy with Sheldon to enjoy a temporary break from his worsening marriage. He returned from Italy and accepted another serious stage role, that of an ex-convict in Kick In , at New York's Longacre Theatre . The play was a success, and Barrymore received praise from the critics; The New York Times reviewer thought that in a play that had "uncommonly able and sincere playing", Barrymore acted his role with "intelligence and vigor and impart[ed] to it
16906-468: The pair worked together daily for up to six hours a day for six weeks. After the debut in March 1920, the critics were effusive in their praise. The Washington Herald observed that the audience were "held by the sheer power of Barrymore's performance", which was "remarkable for ... [the actor's] unexpected vocal richness", while Woollcott, in The New York Times , thought the performance "marked
17064-552: The patterns of earlier masters; and who, in turn, could not truly be imitated. Throughout the 19th century, Dante's reputation grew and solidified; and by 1865, the 600th anniversary of his birth, he had become established as one of the greatest literary icons of the Western world. New readers often wonder how such a serious work may be called a "comedy". In the classical sense the word comedy refers to works that reflect belief in an ordered universe, in which events tend toward not only
17222-437: The poet Giovanni del Virgilio. Dante is also sometimes credited with writing Il Fiore ("The Flower"), a series of sonnets summarizing Le Roman de la Rose , and Detto d'Amore ("Tale of Love"), a short narrative poem also based on Le Roman de la Rose . These would be the earliest, and most novice, of his known works. Le Rime is a posthumous collection of miscellaneous poems. The major works of Dante's are
17380-433: The poet's wide learning and erudition. Evidently, Dante's command of philosophy and his literary interests deepened in exile and when he was no longer busy with the day-to-day business of Florentine domestic politics, and this is evidenced in his prose writings in this period. There is no real evidence that he ever left Italy. Dante's Immensa Dei dilectione testante to Henry VII of Luxembourg confirms his residence "beneath
17538-623: The powerful Donati family. Contracting marriages for children at such an early age was quite common and involved a formal ceremony, including contracts signed before a notary . Dante claimed to have seen Beatrice again frequently after he turned 18, exchanging greetings with her in the streets of Florence, though he never knew her well. Years after his marriage to Gemma, he claims to have met Beatrice again; he wrote several sonnets to Beatrice but never mentioned Gemma in any of his poems. He refers to other Donati relations, notably Forese and Piccarda, in his Divine Comedy . The exact date of his marriage
17696-471: The previous two years had worsened, and she described him as a "hopeless alcoholic". Barrymore's relationship with Costello was deeply troubled and, believing she was going to declare him mentally incompetent, he left their home in Los Angeles and traveled first to London and then to India. He returned to the U.S. in early 1935 and settled in New York, leaving his wife in Los Angeles. Shortly after his return, he
17854-633: The same piece again the following year, but he still thought of the experience as merely a way to supplement his income, rather than as a possible future career. In October 1901, Ethel was appearing in Philadelphia in Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines when one of the younger actors became temporarily unavailable. She persuaded the director to allow Barrymore to accept the part of the minor character, and Barrymore traveled from New York, learning his lines on
18012-497: The same year. The couple had a heated argument in public shortly afterward, and he again spent time in Kelley's Rest Home and hospital, which cost him an average of $ 800 daily, draining his finances. When he came out, he collapsed on the Maytime set. On January 15, 1937, he was served with divorce papers, and a month later he filed for bankruptcy protection, with debts of $ 160,000. The divorce
18170-437: The spotlight, Barrymore took vacations on his yacht, Infanta ; it cost him over $ 35,000 a year to run, and so he sold it in 1938 after encountering financial difficulties. Barrymore's alcohol dependence meant most studios were unwilling to employ him, but MGM risked casting him in the role of Mercutio in their 1936 film Romeo and Juliet . To minimize disruption to the schedule, the studio put Barrymore in Kelley's Rest Home,
18328-538: The springs of Arno, near Tuscany" in April 1311. In 1310, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII of Luxembourg marched into Italy at the head of 5,000 troops. Dante saw in him a new Charlemagne who would restore the office of the Holy Roman Emperor to its former glory and also retake Florence from the Black Guelphs. He wrote to Henry and several Italian princes, demanding that they destroy the Black Guelphs. Mixing religion and private concerns in his writings, he invoked
18486-512: The studios reacted positively with offers of work. This led to appearances in nine films in 1937 and 1938, including as Colonel Nielson in three Bulldog Drummond films, and roles in True Confession and Marie Antoinette . He was offered predominantly supporting roles, but he worked conscientiously on the films and as a result was able to honor his debts. His memory was still problematic, and he used cue cards as an aid; his fellow actors and
18644-517: The summer of 1900, and by November he found work as an illustrator on The New York Evening Journal , at a salary of $ 50 a week. Barrymore had always professed a dislike of the acting profession, but in 1900 he was persuaded by his father to join him on stage for a few performances of a short play, "A Man of the World" which his father had produced in Fort Lee, New Jersey near his home in town. He appeared in
18802-484: The sun was in Gemini between approximately May 11 and June 11 ( Julian calendar ). Dante claimed that his family descended from the ancient Romans ( Inferno , XV, 76), but the earliest relative he could mention by name was his great-great-grandfather Cacciaguida degli Elisei ( Paradiso , XV, 135), born no earlier than about 1100. Dante's father was Alighiero di Bellincione , a businessman and moneylender, and Dante's mother
18960-452: The thirteenth century. However, Dante's commentary on his own work is also in the vernacular—both in the Vita Nuova and in the Convivio —instead of the Latin that was almost universally used. The Divine Comedy describes Dante's journey through Hell ( Inferno ), Purgatory ( Purgatorio ), and Paradise ( Paradiso ); he is first guided by the Roman poet Virgil and then by Beatrice. Of
19118-436: The title role. He then returned to New York to work on the film's interior scenes in January 1922. Barrymore became involved in the pre-production work for the film and provided designs for Moriarty's lair. The film was released later that year and was generally thought "a little dull and ponderous, with too many intertitles ", although James W. Dean of The Evening News of Harrisburg opined that "the personality of Barrymore
19276-405: The train. In the first act, he stopped in the middle of his dialogue, unable to remember the text, and asked the audience and his fellow actors, "I've blown up. Where do we go from here?", which led the cast to improvise the remainder of the scene. An incident in 1901 had a major impact on Barrymore. In March, his father had a mental breakdown as a result of tertiary syphilis , and Barrymore, after
19434-406: The two Barrymores were warmly regarded by the critics. Around this time, Barrymore began a relationship with a married mother of two, Blanche Oelrichs , a suffragist from an elite Rhode Island family with what Peters calls "anarchistic self-confidence". Oelrichs also published poetry under the name Michael Strange. While their relationship began in secret, it became more open after Oelrichs' husband
19592-547: The vernacular. His use of the Florentine dialect for works such as The New Life (1295) and Divine Comedy helped establish the modern-day standardized Italian language. By writing his poem in the Italian vernacular rather than in Latin, Dante influenced the course of literary development, making Italian the literary language in western Europe for several centuries. His work set a precedent that important Italian writers such as Petrarch and Boccaccio would later follow. Dante
19750-470: The voice of John Barrymore sweep through the 'ether' with a sound of finality; it seems that they are his words and no one else could speak them with such lifelike force". Peters disagrees however, and considers that "because he was desperate he pressed too hard and ended by caricaturing, not capturing, his great Shakespearean acting". Throughout the NBC series, Barrymore had been reliable, sober, and responsible, and
19908-415: The worst anger of God against his city and suggested several particular targets, who were also his personal enemies. It was during this time that he wrote De Monarchia , proposing a universal monarchy under Henry VII. At some point during his exile, he conceived of the Comedy , but the date is uncertain. The work is much more assured and on a larger scale than anything he had written in Florence; it
20066-506: The wretched prisoner in Justice , step forward into a new position on the American stage." The critic went on to say that Barrymore gave "an extraordinary performance in every detail of appearance and manner, in every note of deep feeling ... a superb performance." From early 1916, Barrymore had been living apart from Katherine, and she sued for divorce in November 1916. By the time the divorce
20224-476: The year, including as a meek schoolteacher-turned-businessman in Topaze , opposite Myrna Loy , and Dinner at Eight , with Lionel. Peters opines that Barrymore's portrayal of a washed-up alcoholic actor "could well have fixed ... in the public's and MGM's mind that John Barrymore was a drunken has-been." After the run of films with MGM, the company ended its contact with Barrymore amid its financial woes caused by
20382-402: Was "an evening that will be memorable in the history of the American theater". while John Corbin , the drama critic for The New York Times , agreed, writing that "in all likelihood we have a new and a lasting Hamlet". The reviewer for Brooklyn Life stated that Barrymore had "doubtless won the right to be called the greatest living American tragedian". In 1963, Orson Welles said that Barrymore
20540-407: Was "one of his best film performances". In December 1933, Barrymore agreed with RKO to film Hamlet . He underwent screen tests and hired Carrington to act as vocal coach again, but during one session, his memory failed him again, and the project was eventually scrapped. Barrymore starred in two films released in 1934, the drama Long Lost Father and the screwball comedy Twentieth Century . In
20698-539: Was Bella, probably a member of the Abati family, a noble Florentine family. She died when Dante was not yet ten years old. Alighiero soon married again, to Lapa di Chiarissimo Cialuffi. It is uncertain whether he really married her, since widowers were socially limited in such matters, but she definitely bore him two children, Dante's half-brother Francesco and half-sister Tana (Gaetana). During Dante's time, most Northern Italian city states were split into two political factions:
20856-490: Was a commercial failure. With disappointing box office returns from their five-film deal, Warner Bros. decided not to offer Barrymore a contract renewal. Instead, Barrymore signed a non-exclusive contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and took a $ 25,000 salary cut per film. Barrymore's first film for MGM was the 1932 mystery Arsène Lupin , in which he co-starred with his brother Lionel. In The New York Times , Hall called Barrymore's performance "admirable" and wrote that "it
21014-573: Was already studying. Barrymore was unhappy at Seton and was soon withdrawn, after which he attended several public schools in New York, including the Mount Pleasant Military Academy . In 1892, his grandmother Louisa Drew's business began to suffer, and she lost control of her theater, causing disruption in the family. The following year, when Barrymore was 11 years old, his mother died from tuberculosis ; her consistent touring and his absence at school meant that he barely knew her, and he
21172-474: Was also a cause of marital problems, and he explained that "unhappiness increased the drink, and drink increased the unhappiness". Barrymore's next two plays – Uncle Sam and Princess Zim-Zim , both from 1911 – were critically and commercially weak, but the second work introduced him to playwright Edward Sheldon , who would "reshape ... [Barrymore's] entire career". In January 1912, Barrymore appeared together with his sister in A Slice of Life at
21330-597: Was commissioned into the army and then posted to France. Both Oelrichs and Sheldon urged Barrymore to take on his next role, Fedya Vasilyevich Protasov, in Leo Tolstoy 's play Redemption at the Plymouth Theatre . The critic for The New York Times felt that, although Barrymore's performance was "marred by vocal monotony", overall the performance was "a distinct step forward in Mr. Barrymore's artistic development ... There
21488-468: Was commuted to house arrest, on condition that he go to Florence to swear he would never enter the town again. He refused to go, and his death sentence was confirmed and extended to his sons. Despite this, he still hoped late in life that he might be invited back to Florence on honorable terms, particularly in praise of his poetry. Dante's final days were spent in Ravenna , where he had been invited to stay in
21646-459: Was customary for such poems. It also contains, or constructs, the story of his love for Beatrice Portinari, who later served as the ultimate symbol of salvation in the Comedy , a function already indicated in the final pages of the Vita Nuova . The work contains many of Dante's love poems in Tuscan, which was not unprecedented; the vernacular had been regularly used for lyric works before, during all
21804-441: Was expected to visit Florence because the Pope had appointed him as peacemaker for Tuscany. But the city's government had treated the Pope's ambassadors badly a few weeks before, seeking independence from papal influence. It was believed Charles had received other unofficial instructions, so the council sent a delegation that included Dante to Rome to persuade the Pope not to send Charles to Florence. Pope Boniface quickly dismissed
21962-463: Was expelled in November 1897, probably after being caught waiting in a brothel . One of his biographers, Michael A. Morrison, posits the alternate theory that Barrymore was expelled after the staff saw him inebriated. By the time he left Georgetown he was, according to Martin Norden in his biography of Barrymore, "already in the early stages of a chronic drinking problem". 1897 was an emotionally challenging year for Barrymore: he lost his virginity when he
22120-587: Was finalized in December 1917, he had taken the lead role in the film Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman . He had also tried to enlist in the U.S. Army following the country's entry into World War I, but Army doctors discovered that he had varicose veins , and he was not accepted for military service. For over a year beginning in April 1917, he appeared together with Lionel in a stage version of George du Maurier 's 1891 novel Peter Ibbetson . The play and
22278-423: Was granted in April, but the couple reconciled before it was finalized. Barrymore decided to work on more Shakespeare roles. In June 1937, he signed with NBC Radio to produce a series of six episodes under the name Streamlined Shakespeare , which also featured Barrie. The first program was Hamlet , which was well received by critics. The New York Times commented that "Shakespeare's lines uttered dramatically by
22436-426: Was haunted by fears he would suffer the same fate". The same year, Barrymore began an affair with a beautiful artists' model , " Florodora girl" and aspiring actress named Evelyn Nesbit , who was a mistress of architect Stanford White . Barrymore later described Nesbit as "the most maddening woman. ... She was the first woman I ever loved", and he proposed marriage to her. Nesbit's mother did not think that, as
22594-579: Was held in 2015 at Italy's Senate of the Republic for the 750th anniversary of Dante's birth. It included a commemoration from Pope Francis, who also issued the apostolic letter Cando lucis aeternae in honor of the anniversary. Most of Dante's literary work was composed after his exile in 1301. La Vita Nuova ("The New Life") is the only major work that predates it; it is a collection of lyric poems (sonnets and songs) with commentary in prose, ostensibly intended to be circulated in manuscript form, as
22752-549: Was hospitalized for a month with bronchitis and influenza . A 19-year-old fan, Elaine Jacobs , visited him, and the two became good friends. On his release from the hospital, her mother invited him to recuperate at their house. She changed her name to Elaine Barrie, which she explained was to get "as near to Barrymore as I dared", and they began a relationship. In May, the couple underwent the first of several professional collaborations, when they appeared on Rudy Vallée 's The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour radio show. Costello filed for
22910-426: Was instrumental in establishing the literature of Italy, and is considered to be among the country's national poets and the Western world's greatest literary icons. His depictions of Hell , Purgatory , and Heaven provided inspiration for the larger body of Western art and literature . He influenced English writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer , John Milton , and Alfred Tennyson , among many others. In addition,
23068-727: Was itself an important aspect of Romanticism . Thomas Carlyle profiled him in "The Hero as Poet", the third lecture in On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History (1841): "He is world-great not because he is worldwide, but because he is world-deep… Dante is the spokesman of the Middle Ages; the Thought they lived by stands here, in everlasting music." Leigh Hunt , Henry Francis Cary and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow were among Dante's translators of
23226-409: Was mostly raised by his grandmother. The loss of their mother's income prompted both Ethel and Lionel to seek work as professional actors. Barrymore's father was mostly absent from the family home while on tour, and when he returned he would spend time at The Lambs , a New York actors' club. In 1895, Barrymore entered Georgetown Preparatory School , then located on Georgetown University Campus, but he
23384-501: Was never called as a witness because Thaw pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. In May 1902, Barrymore was fired from his newspaper position after producing a poor illustration for the paper while hung over. He spent time as a poster designer but realized it was not lucrative enough for his lifestyle, which was being partly financed by Ethel, who was also paying for their father's care. While discussing his future with his brother, Barrymore said "it looks as though I'll have to succumb to
23542-472: Was one of the biggest money-makers of the year for Warner Bros. Although Barrymore wanted Astor to play the female lead, she was unavailable, and Dolores Costello was cast in her place. He later said that "I fell in love with her instantly. This time I knew I was right", and the couple began an affair. Costello's father was angered by the relationship, but his complaints were ignored by both Costello and her mother: Costello's parents separated and were divorced as
23700-604: Was playing in Buffalo, Barrymore's father died in Amityville and was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Philadelphia. At the close of the US tour, The Dictator visited Britain from April 1905, where it played at the Comedy Theatre . The critic for The Observer wrote that Barrymore "admirably seconded" Collier. When he returned to America, Barrymore appeared at the Criterion Theatre in a double bill of works by J. M. Barrie ; he played
23858-583: Was seduced by his step-mother, Mamie Floyd, and in August his grandmother, the main female role model in his life, died. Barrymore traveled with his father to England in 1898, where he joined King's College School , Wimbledon . A year later he joined the Slade School of Fine Art , to study literature and art. After a year of formal study, he left and "devoted much of his subsequent stay in London to bohemianism and nocturnal adventures", according to family biographer Margot Peters . Barrymore returned to New York in
24016-505: Was sent first to the boys' annex of the Convent of Notre Dame in Philadelphia. One punishment that he received there was being made to read a copy of Dante 's Inferno ; he later recounted that, as he looked at the illustrations by Gustave Doré , "my interest was aroused, and a new urge was born within me. I wanted to be an artist". He was expelled from the school in 1891 and was sent to Seton Hall Preparatory School in New Jersey, where Lionel
24174-508: Was so successful that the US Navy used stills of Barrymore in its recruiting posters. After planning for over a year – largely in secret – Barrymore played his first Shakespeare part, the title role in Richard III . Conscious of the criticism of his vocal range, he underwent training with Margaret Carrington, the voice and diction trainer, to ensure he sounded right for the part, and
24332-575: Was taken. A copy of Dante's so-called death mask has been displayed since 1911 in the Palazzo Vecchio ; scholars today believe it is not a true death mask and was probably carved in 1483, perhaps by Pietro and Tullio Lombardo . The first formal biography of Dante was the Vita di Dante (also known as Trattatello in laude di Dante ), written after 1348 by Giovanni Boccaccio. Although several statements and episodes of it have been deemed unreliable on
24490-501: Was the best Hamlet he had seen, describing the character as "not so much princely – he was a man of genius who happened to be a prince, and he was tender, and virile, and witty, and dangerous". Barrymore and Hopkins decided to end the run at 101 performances, just breaking the record of one hundred by Edwin Booth , before the play closed in February 1923. In November and December that year,
24648-513: Was the youngest of three children. His siblings were Lionel (1878–1954), and Ethel (1879–1959). His father was Maurice Barrymore , an Indian -born British actor who had been born Herbert Blyth, and had adopted Barrymore as a stage name after seeing it on a poster in the Haymarket Theatre in London. Barrymore's mother, Georgie Drew Barrymore , was born into a prominent theatrical family . His maternal grandparents were Louisa Lane Drew ,
24806-492: Was too thick for him ... he was a great fencer, an athlete, a man who led an active, healthy life. How can you make a sickly half-wit out of a man like that?" Barrymore again used Carrington as a vocal coach; rehearsals started in October, and the play opened on November 16, 1922. The production was a box-office success, and the critics were lavish in their praise. Woollcott, writing for the New York Herald , opined that it
24964-454: Was uncomplimentary, writing to Peggy Ashcroft that "Barrymore, who is like a monstrous old male impersonator jumping through a hoop, should really have been shot." Word about Barrymore's problems on and off the set spread around the industry, and he did not work on another film for over a year until he had a supporting role in the musical film Maytime . His divorce from Costello was finalized in October 1936, and he married Barrie in November
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