In case you have no clue about the history of the great Barrymore family, Drew Barrymore is not the first member of her family to become a household name. She comes from a long line of theater and film royalty. Her great-grandparents Maurice Barrymore and Georgie Drew Barrymore, Maurice Costello and Mae Costello (née Altschuk) and her grandparents John Barrymore and Dolores Costello were all actors. John Barrymore was arguably the most acclaimed actor of his generation. She is the grandniece of Ethel Barrymore and Helene Costello, the great-great-granddaughter of John Drew and actress Louisa Lane Drew, and the great grandniece of silent film actor/writer/director Sidney Drew. She is also the god-daughter of director Steven Spielberg and Sophia Loren. For today's post, we're going to focus on her Great Uncle Lionel Barrymore. Back in 1945, Lionel produced a stage show at the Hollywood Bowl to coincide with the holiday of Halloween. He wrote the story as well as the music and titled it, "Hallowe'en: A Musical Fantasy". The story deals with a little girl named Myrtle who has a dream involving a big bear in the woods who steals little children. Two years later, MGM records released the "theater piece" as a children's book and record set which contained 3 78 RPM records and a story book (this was a popular concept at the time and it would eventually evolve into the book and record sets of the 60s, 70s and 80s.) It's a bit on the bizarre side but is worth a listen. I present it for you now. Here is Lionel Barrymore's "Hallowe'en: A Musical Fantasy". Enjoy!
Lionel Barrymore-Hallowe'en: A Musical Fantasy
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