Barrymore made a name for himself on stage before going to Hollywood in 1924. He won an Oscar in 1931 for best actor in Free Soul[?], after having been nominated in 1930 for best director for Madame X.
He played the irascible Doctor Gillespie in a series of Doctor Kildare and Doctor Gillespie movies in the 1930s and 1940s. Years later, after breaking his hip twice, he was confined to a wheelchair, but still acted. He is perhaps currently best known as Mr. Potter, the miserly banker, in It's a Wonderful Life, 1946.
Lionel Barrymore is interred in the Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles, California.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1724 Vine Street.
See also: Barrymore family
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