John Barrymore came from a long line of theater actors. He himself first appeared on stage alongside his father in 1900, and in 1903 officially began his career, starring in the likes of Justice (1916) and Richard III (1920). His greatest role was his 1992 appearance in Hamlet, for which he was dubbed “the greatest living American tragedian.”
Barrymore also starred in a slew of silent films, most notably Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), Sherlock Holmes (1922) and Beau Brummel (1924). He later made the transition to sound movies, starring in the likes of Grand Hotel (1932) and Midnight (1939).
On May 29, 1942, Barrymore died at the age of 60 from pneumonia and cirrhosis. What happened next has been the subject of many rumors. It’s alleged his friends, Errol Flynn, W.C. Fields and Sadakichi Hartmann snuck into the morgue where his body was being held, propped him up against a poker table and allowed him to experience one final celebration.
As it turns out, these rumors are true! In an August 2020 episode of the popular YouTube series Hot Ones, the acting legend’s granddaughter, Drew Barrymore, revealed his corpse had actually been stolen.
“Not only yes, but there have been cinematic interpretations of it,” she exclaimed. Those interpretations include S.O.B., starring Julie Andrews, and allegedly the 1989 comedy Weekend at Bernie’s, in which two friends pretend their deceased boss is alive.
Barrymore added that she wants the same to happen to her. “I will say this, I hope my friends do the same for me. That is the kind of spirit I can get behind. Just prop the old bag up, let’s have a few rounds.
“I think death comes with so much morose sadness and I understand that, but if it’s okay, just for me, if everybody could be really happy and celebratory and have a party, that would be my preference.”
Vintage Hollywood certainly was a different era…
15 People Whose Day Was Anything but Boring
April 11, 1954, is the most boring day ever, according to a Cambridge computer scientist who used a search engine with a database with over 300 million facts. Don’t be judgmental, we know a couple of cool things happened, but there was no Google to check it. Well, a couple of decades have passed and life is anything but boring right now.
Bright Side wants to show you 15 people whose ordinary day turned into an absolutely wild adventure after a surprising discovery.
1. “This circle that appeared in the evening sky”
2. “My orange has 2 sides.”
3. “The sun reflecting off my side mirror melted a mirror-shaped hole in the frost on the window.”
4. “I have a ridiculously oversized clothespin I found years ago and now I’ve found its ridiculously micro-sized little brother.”
5. “Saw this mega strawberry.”
6. “This wheelchair ramp is made out of Legos.”
7. “This moss in the shape of a heart”
8. “Caught a yellow garden spider eating a lady bug at the perfect moment.”
9. “There was one heart-shaped treat in my dog’s bone-shaped treats.”
10. “There was a billiard ball inside of my bocce ball.”
11. “It was a great day till this moment.”
11. “It was a great day till this moment.”
12. “Found a cauliflower growing straight out of a concrete curb in my street.”
13. “Found a tiny, seemingly ripe, orange.”
14. “My friend’s bruise resembles The Mona Lisa.”
15. “Found a rock in the shape of a skull on a Scottish Mountain.”
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