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Sit Down With the Barrymore, Drew and Costello Family's and Visit.

100 Years Since the Great Earthquake of San Francicco -Eleven Years later John Barrymore acted as Saint Assisi.

Saint Francis Assisi is the man and saint whom the City of San Francisco was named after. In 1905 when John's father was dying, Maurice Barrymore said on his death bed, para-phrased "Don't go to San Francisco haven't you heard it has fallen into the sea." This was a year before the worst earthquake in U.S. History, as far as damage is concerned on April 18, 1906 at 5:12 am. Eighty percent of the homes were destroyed.

The worst earthquake that we know of was in 1811-12 as far as strength goes was "The New Madrid" earthquake in Missouri. All of the major shocks came on a Full Moon. One shaker lasted an hour and the famous artist of bird John Audobon was knocked to his feet.

The photograph above is John Barrymore as Saint Francis Assisi in 1917. This photograph was taken ten years before motion pictures would develope sound. John Barrymore was then a Saint! If you are interested in honoring the memory of Saint Francis' of Assisi and John Barrymore there is a store at the bottom of this page. A decade later John Barrymore would meet his wife Dolores Costello who starred in the film San Francisco. Yet, before he did he starred in the film Don Juan and the Chief Camera Engineer at Vitaphone was Bruce Adamson's grand-uncle Ernest Martin.

Click here to read the biography of Saint Francis Assisi.

The name Barrymore is virtually synonymous with "theatre", and the family is a true dynasty, spanning generations

----Click here to read more about John Drew Barrymore, Jr. who passed away Nov. 29, 2004--When I would visit John, Jr. he would enjoy feeding the birds on his balcony overlooking the hills on the other side of Latigo Canyon. Click on link to read more >>>>

This website is intended as a digital museum of sorts, where you can read about, see pictures of, and soon even hear these legends of the stage. Click on the buttons on the left for more detailed information about the Barrymore, Costello, and Drew families. The stories were gathered by genealogist Bruce Adamson. John Barrymore III, and Bruce Adamson are the same age and both went to Santa Monica College in the1970s. Not by blood, yet by coincidence our families are inter-connected by association dating back to the 1890s on both sides of my family. My great grandparents on my mother's side of the family were in charge of the original building of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and the opening act was Rosemary with John Drew and Ethel Barrymore as the leading actors with Maude Adams. On my father's side of the family, my granduncle Ernest Martin was a chief camera engineer at Vitaphone and worked on Don Juan, when John Barrymore was at his peak in 1926. My uncle wrote a song for the film Long Lost Father when John Barrymore, Jr. was only 2 years of age.

John Barrymore is not a political person,. if he was he was he would not helped me in using Acrobat software in putting my JFK books on C.D.'s which is much cheaper than hard copy. In fact because of his knowledge I don't have to cut down a tree everytime I sell my books. Instead of binding 2500 pages with a 16 volume C.D. I can put all of the material digiiital mastered on C.D. thanks to John. My books are political.

A cousin has worked for Drew Barrymore. In 2003 he gave Drew a copy of the website. Drew asked this cousin "Is Bruce Adamson your cousin?" He responded "Yes." She said to him that she thought this website was very well done. Our paths have crossed a couple of times yet never met Drew, only her brother and father. I did not want to approach her. I used to take Aunt Gretchen to Beverly Hills park and we drove by Frank Sinatra's old house which I heard Drew was renting. Gretchen was fond of Sinatra for he sang "Couldn't Sleep A Wink Last Night." Which was Sinatra's first Oscar nomination and Hal's third. I said to Gretchen if I was ever in this home I wouldn't sleep a wink either. Aunt Gretchen smiled!

Drew's second great grandmother Mrs. John Drew who is the founding member of their family within the United States. She came to the United States in March of 1827 as a young Miss Louisa Lane playing five different parts in a single act. Louisa was then very funny and the American public then loved her. If it was not for Louisa Lane's marriage to John Drew there would be no Barrymore's today as we have come to know and respect them. Photograph on the right is Mrs. John Drew in 1863 the year that she was on stage with John Wilkes Booth for a fair well performance to his honor. No, No, no conspiracy. Booth would shoot Lincoln two years later. A conspiracy of Love maybe. John W. Booth and Robert Lincoln both dated the same women, Lucy P. Hale as did Oliver W. Holmes and John Hay. They all Loved Lucy accept Ricky Ricardo. They were way ahead of their time. This is a true story. Do you want to know what the sad thing is? Macbeth killed my great grandfather King Duncan in 1039. On mother's side of the family.

-NEW Click here to read more about Louisa Drew and family.

Another interesting tidbit is that I grew up with Pat Hale whose father was Richard Hale, a well known actor and worked with uncle Hal in Jupiter's Darling.-Before Drew Barrymore was even born, in 1969 Steven Spielberg directored a Night Series in which Richard Hale acted in. This was Spielberg's first film he would direct. Spielberg would in more than ten years become Drew's god-father. One of friends Michael Augustine went to high school with Spielberg.--Click here to read more about Richard Hale's film Career.

There are an estimated 300 photographs linked into the Barrymore, Costello and Drew families. One may wonder, why would Adamson spend more time on their family website, than his own? While taking care of my aunt "Gretchen" who died in 2002 at age of 90, I was her caregiver and checked out 12 books on their family history. Aunt Gretchen was also an actress under George M. Cohen and George S. Kaufman and was taught by Lee Strasberg. Ironic as it may seem it was Kaufman's play "You Can't Take It With You" 1938, which was one of the best films I have ever seen. Starring Lionel Barrymore, Jimmy Stewart and the Black Crow from "It's A Wonderful Life." Frank Capra's masterpiece was made seven odd years before "It's A Wonderful Life," and was similar in theme. I personally love films with a message and Capra and Kaufman delivered. For aunt Gretchen's biographical sketch see Adamson's website on uncle Harold Adamson.

Click here to read more about Kaufman's career;

Because there was so much photographic material to work with the Barrymores, Costello and Drew families. I got hooked, hopefully you will too. The Barrymore's were not the only other acting family I became associated with. I went to school and hung out with Virginia and George Morgan the grandchildren of Frank Morgan known as "The Wizard of Oz." I remember a very spirital experience where I spent the night at the Morgan's Malibu home on a Full Moon. We stayed up all night. I don't recall what we were doing all night, yet I do recall driving home to Santa Monica and witnessed the most colorful sight where the sunrise and the ocean were purple. Frank Morgan and the Barrymore's both worked for MGM and were all great actors. Interesting note about George and Virginia's great uncle "Ralph Morgan" he was the "Czar" in the film Rasputin and the Empress. This is the only film in which Ethel, John and Lionel acted in, together.

John Barrymore plays "Paul" whom was in reality Grand Duke Dimtri. Today Dimtri's son, Paul Romanov Ilyinsky was the former Mayor of Palm Beach, Florida. Ilyinsky was friends with George de Mohrenschildt and the Cassinis. In 1995 Ilyinsky wrote Adamson a letter on swimming at Palm Beach with the Portuguese Man-o-War.Rasputin and the Empress is definitly worth watching a great film. Click here to read more about Frank Morgan's film career;.

In 1917 John Barrymore and Frank Morgan were great together in a silent film RAFFLES THE AMATEUR CRACKSMAN, based on the story by E. W. Hornung. If you are interested in buying this one feel to contact me. email Adamson at bca@got.net. Barrymore and Frank Morgan make a great team and Barrymore's energy for a silent film is terrific. He says so much with his movements and without ever saying a word. Click here to read more Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman film;.

My favorite actress/singer is Bernadette Peters or is it Charlotte Crabtree?

This website took a couple of years to put together and Adamson went on a couple of trips to dig up many of the photographs. This site is still under construction. It has been overwhelming when dealing with so many interesting family members in the film and stage industry. If I have, overlooked a fact or important point, please share it with me. I am sure you will enjoy the photographic and portrait galleries. See Resourses and Links button for an excellent photographic book on John Barrymore and Dolores Costello. Since 2001-02 this website has been non-profit even though there are stores on this site. I figured that if someone wants an item then what the heck maybe someday it will pay for itself.

Just click on the icon button at the bottom or on side.

John Barrymore	Dolores Costello	John Drew