| Maurice Barrymore |
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| 1849 births | |
| barrymore, maurice | |
| 1905 deaths | |
| people from amritsar | |
| people from pennsylvania | |
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| american stage actors | |
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Maurice Barrymore ( September 21 , 1847 - March 26 , 1905 ) was the forefather of the Barrymore Family of American actors. Born Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blyth, in Fort Agra , India , he was educated at Harrow School , England and subsequently studied Law at Oxford University . On March 21 , 1872 he won the Middleweight boxing championship of England . In 1873 he took the stage name of Maurice Barrymore, inspired by an old playbill hanging in the Haymarket Theatre , London featuring the actor William Barrymore . On December 29 , 1874 he set sail on board the SS America for Boston , United States and in 1875 joined Augustin Daly 's troupe making his first appearance in Daly's ''Under the Gaslight''. In 1876 , he married actress Georgianna "Georgie" Emma Drew, daughter of the Irish born actor, John Drew . On March 19 1879 , in Marshall, Texas , he and fellow actor Ben Porter were shot by Texas And Pacific engineer and railroad detective, Jim Currie (who shared a cell with the accused killer of Diamond Bessie ). Porter was killed, but Barrymore was only injured and he returned to Marshall for trials and retrials but Currie's brother was sheriff in nearby Shreveport, Louisiana and apparently that influence was enough to get juries not to convict. {Link without Title} The jury found Currie not guilty by reason of insanity. After the not-guilty verdict Barrymore vowed never to return to Texas. After 1890, Maurice and Georgie toured the United States with Helena Modjeska . Maurice was leading man for other stars of the time including Minnie Maddern Fiske , and British actress Lillie Langtry . Barrymore became infected with Syphilis causing him to become violently insane, he died on March 25 , 1905 and was interred in the Mount Vernon Cemetery in Philadelphia. From the March 25 New York Times :
The couple had three famous children, all renowned actors: Maurice Barrymore is also the great-grandfather of actress Drew Barrymore . EXTERNAL LINKS In 1873 he took the stage name of Maurice Barrymore, inspired by a conversation he had with fellow actor Charles Vandenhoff, while traveling on a train in England. Vandenhoff related to him a story about William Barrymore, an early 19th century English thespian who was acting in a play titled "''The Last Days of Pompeii''". William Barrymore prepared a special effect with gunpowder and fireworks that was supposed to emulate the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius during the performance. Barrymore could not ignite the fireworks due to a malfunction of the match he used. The curtain was brought down and the audience grew restless with catcalls and hisses. Barrymore then threw a kerosene lamp at the fireworks and succeeded in igniting the fireworks splendidly, but all for naught, due to the curtain being down during the explosion. Maurice Barrymore intended for his first name to be pronounced in the French manner with the emphasis on the last syllable, as opposed to the English pronunciation which sounds like "Morris". His friends avoided the use of his first name altogether by calling him "Barry". |
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