Biography
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul (1931), and remains best known to modern audiences for the role of villainous Mr. Potter in Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. He is also particularly remembered as Ebenezer Scrooge in annual broadcasts of A Christmas Carol during his last two decades. He is also known for playing Dr. Leonard Gillespie in MGM's nine Dr. Kildare films, a role he reprised in a further six films focusing solely on Gillespie and in a radio series entitled The Story of Dr. Kildare. He was a member of the theatrical Barrymore family.
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Actor · 1931
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
- Academy Award — Best Director · 1929 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Actor · nominated
Filmography45 titles
It's a Wonderful Life
Our Mr. Sun
On Borrowed Time
Key Largo
You Can't Take It with You
That's Entertainment!
The Valley of Decision
Captains Courageous
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
That's Entertainment, Part II
Camille
Grand Hotel
Malaya
West of Zanzibar
The Ed Sullivan Show
Let Freedom Ring
The Devil-Doll
Dinner at Eight
Dragon Seed
A Guy Named Joe
David Copperfield
The Stars Look Down
Ah, Wilderness!
The Little Colonel
Saratoga
Treasure Island
Madame X
Dr. Kildare's Victory
Mark of the Vampire
Mata Hari
Free and Easy
The Bells
The Secret of Dr. Kildare
A Free Soul
Super Duper Bloopers
The Return Of Peter Grimm
Guilty Hands
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
Navy Blue and Gold
Sweepings
Lone Star
The Unholy Night
Lady Be Good
Rasputin and the Empress
The Mysterious Island