The Siren has a really interesting interview up with Marylyn Roh about her mother, Mary Astor.
And here’s a part 2, of sorts.
The anecdotes about John Barrymore (there are several) were very moving to me: his seriousness about acting, his understanding of craft (and his willingness to pass it on to Astor), the “what if” of their love affair, and a final heartwrenching image of Barrymore in his later years, from Mary Astor’s wonderful autobiography.
Must-reads.
I highly recommend ‘John Barrymore Shakespearean Actor’ by Michael A. Morrison. You probably own it and have read it several times. My favorite nugget is that Barrymore’s voice coach for his Broadway Shakespeare adventure was Margaret Carrington, Walter Huston’s sister, John Huston’s aunt. Of course she would be a VOICE coach.
Doc – That was required reading in one of my voice classes, but it was YEARS ago – I think I still have it somewhere, and will definitely check it out again. What an artist! Tragic guy in many ways – how much would I have loved to have seen him live.