Profiles

Let’s start with this amusing headline from nypost.com: “Naked aggression: OnlyFans-inspired group selling nude photos to raise money for Ukraine military.”

Rare good news for the Quid Pro Joe administration, headline from newsmax.com: “US Airstrike Kills Al-Qaida-Aligned Leader in Syria.”

The incoming was greater than the outgoing at the floating book shop on this picture-perfect day. The donations included a bottle of water and a handful of Raisinets. My thanks to the kind folks who donated and bought. Here’s what sold: a large pictorial on Hitler, two books in Spanish; Black Beauty by Anna Sewell; and Good Night, Sweet Prince: The Life and Times of John Barrymore by Gene Fowler. Born John Sidney Blyth in 1882, Barrymore did not want to become an actor, although he came from a theatrical family. He briefly tried his hand at art, but eventually took to the stage, at first in light comedy. His portrayal of Hamlet led to him being called the “greatest living American tragedian.” When he turned to Hollywood, he was known as “The Great Profile.” Three of his films, Grand Hotel (1932), Twentieth Century (1934) and Midnight (1939) are in the National Film Registry. Tragically, he struggled with alcohol from the age of 14. From 1912-’41, he made 66 films, the first six shorts. Among the characters he gave life to on the big screen: Jekyll & Hyde, Sherlock Holmes, Beau Brummel, Captain Ahab, Don Juan, François Villon, Svengali, Mercutio and Louis XV. In his final screen role, Playmates (1941), he played and lampooned himself, even his drinking problem. In June 1937 he did six NBC radio episodes under the title Streamlined Shakespeare, which garnered mixed reviews. He then began self-parody over the airwaves, doing 74 episodes with Rudy Vallee. In 1942 he collapsed while recording a line in that vein from Romeo and Juliet and was taken to the hospital, where he died at 60 ten days later. He did not win any acting awards, unlike his brother and sister, who each won an Oscar, Lionel Best Actor in A Free Soul (1931), and Ethel Supporting Actress in None But the Lonely Heart (1944). Married four times, he was a father of three and is the grandad of Drew Barrymore. Here’s a quote attributed to him: “The good die young, because they see it’s no use living if you have got to be good.” Facts from Wiki and IMDb.

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