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Creator
Barrymore, Diana, 1921-1960
Call number
*T-Mss 1960-002
Physical description
7.3 linear feet (4 boxes, 7 volumes)
Preferred Citation

Diana Barrymore papers, *T-Mss 1960-002. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Diana Barrymore (1921-1960) was an an American actress. The Diana Barrymore papers hold correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, programs, and other material documenting Barrymore's acting career and the publication of her memoir, Too Much, Too Soon.

Biographical/historical information

Diana Barrymore (1921-1960) was an an American actress. She was the daughter of John Barrymore and his second wife, poet and actress Blanche Oelrichs. Oelrichs performed and wrote under the pseudonym Michael Strange. Barrymore studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and made her Broadway debut at age 19 in Romantic Mr. Dickens. In November 1938, David Selznick had her screen tested for Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, though she didn’t get the part. In 1942, she signed a contract with Universal Studios, appearing in several films including Nightmare (1942) and Ladies Courageous (1944). Alcohol and drug problems ended her film career in 1944. Barrymore married three times and was never able to restart her career, though she worked intermittently in summer stock theatre. In 1950 CBS offered her a live talk show, The Diana Barrymore Show, but Barrymore showed up the first night too drunk to work; and the show was canceled before it aired. In 1957 she completed her memoir, Too Much, Too Soon with the help of ghostwriter Gerold Frank. She died in New York of a drug and alcohol overdose at the age of 38.

Scope and arrangement

The Diana Barrymore papers hold correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, programs, and other material documenting Barrymore's acting career and the publication of her memoir, Too Much, Too Soon.

Correspondence is both personal and professional and includes letters from her mother Michael Strange, congratulatory telegrams from opening nights, invitations to dinner from friends, and statements from her lawyer in later years concerning her financial situation. Barrymore's letters to close friend Francis Kellogg are here. There is also fan mail, the bulk of which resulted from television appearances she made promoting Too Much, Too Soon in 1957.

Photographs include portraits of various family members such as Michael Strange, John Barrymore, and her half-brothers Leonard and Robin Thomas. There are also head shots and promotional shots of Barrymore in various productions, as well as snapshots and childhood portraits. There is a set of photographs from her 1942 wedding to actor Bramwell Fletcher, whom she met while they were both starring in Rebecca.

Barrymore's scrapbooks document her outings and parties as a New York debutante in the 1937-1938 season, as well as the first few years of her acting career. The scrapbooks consist of photographs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and the occasional sketch by Barrymore. A programs and clippings file holds further promotional material from Barrymore's stage shows and films, as well as copies of advertisements in which she appeared.

Contracts are primarily from her book deal in 1957 and relate to serialization rights and publication. There are also address books and a script for Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines from a 1941 production starring Barrymore at the Ridgeway Theatre in White Plains, New York.

Some files have internal call numbers with which they are associated. These call numbers are indicated in the container list with the letters "MWEZ."

Arrangement

Alphabetical by file title.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by the Estate of Diana Barrymore, 1960

Processing information

Compiled by Lea Jordan, 2015

Related Material

Gerold Frank papers, MssCol 1067. Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Theatre Division at theatre@nypl.org.