Hollywood star Drew Barrymore's acting dynasty dad dies
[My Australasia]
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - John Barrymore, the father of Hollywood darling Drew Barrymore, has died at the age of 72, his daughter's spokesman announced.
The troubled actor, who had faced alcohol and drug addictions, died in Los Angeles on Monday, representatives said, but no cause of death was immediately available.
"He was a cool cat," Drew Barrymore said in a statement released by her publicist. "Please smile when you think of him."
John Barrymore, the son of a legendary golden-age star also called John Barrymore and nephew of Lionel and Ethel Barrymore, entered the family business in the 1950s but never enjoyed the success of his famous forebears or daughter.
His sporadic film career included appearances in "The Big Night" (1951) and "While the City Sleeps" in 1956, as well as the 1960s-era "War of the Zombies."
For years he was estranged from his famous daughter, born to his third wife Jaid Barrymore, and captured more headlines for his run-ins with addiction and the law than for his acting.
"My father was a junkie and an alcoholic for 30 years," Drew Barrymore once said. "It was hard for me to deal with growing up. It was chaotic and violent and scary."
9T9: She thinks her father likes a CAT. So she's a kitten.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - John Barrymore, the father of Hollywood darling Drew Barrymore, has died at the age of 72, his daughter's spokesman announced.
The troubled actor, who had faced alcohol and drug addictions, died in Los Angeles on Monday, representatives said, but no cause of death was immediately available.
"He was a cool cat," Drew Barrymore said in a statement released by her publicist. "Please smile when you think of him."
John Barrymore, the son of a legendary golden-age star also called John Barrymore and nephew of Lionel and Ethel Barrymore, entered the family business in the 1950s but never enjoyed the success of his famous forebears or daughter.
His sporadic film career included appearances in "The Big Night" (1951) and "While the City Sleeps" in 1956, as well as the 1960s-era "War of the Zombies."
For years he was estranged from his famous daughter, born to his third wife Jaid Barrymore, and captured more headlines for his run-ins with addiction and the law than for his acting.
"My father was a junkie and an alcoholic for 30 years," Drew Barrymore once said. "It was hard for me to deal with growing up. It was chaotic and violent and scary."
9T9: She thinks her father likes a CAT. So she's a kitten.
posted by 9T9 at
1:01 pm
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