John Drew Jr. (November 13, 1853 – July 9, 1927), commonly known as John Drew during his life, was an American stage actor noted for his roles in Shakespearean comedy, society drama, and light comedies. He was considered to be the leading matinee idol of his day, but unlike most matinee idols Drew's acting ability was largely undisputed.

He was a part of the prominent Drew acting family that continues today. The appellation "Jr.", distinguishing him from his long-deceased actor father, is usually dropped.

Early life and lineage

John Drew Jr. was born November 13, 1853, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to actor John Drew Sr. and actress and theatre manager Louisa Lane.

When Drew was ten, he would be sent to Village Green, a military school and from there he would go to another boarding school Andalusia Academy in Buck's County. After a family friend has expressed disdain of Andalusia, Drew was pulled from the institution and moved to the Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia. As Drew had said, a good amount of his education was "disrupted" by the on-going Civil War. Two uncles, Edward and George Drew, had died in war and the fall of Richmond had canceled school. In April 1865, he was eleven years old when John Wilkes Booth, a family friend and co-star of his grandmother, asassinated President Abraham Lincoln.

His first role as a boy was "Plumper" in Cool as a Cucumber at his mother's Arch Street Theater.

Life and career

After having numerous small roles in his mother's plays, Drew chose to move to New York City in hopes for bigger roles in January 1875. Here he was associated originally with the company of Augustin Daly, a man known for managing and training with grim efficiency. He continued to work for Daly into the 1880s. Under Daly's management, John Drew developed his reputation for versatility, appearing in many varieties of play, but especially in contemporary works that are rarely performed or remembered today. This would unite the two established theatrical families - the Drews and the Barrymores - and contribute to a lineage that would dominate American stage acting for decades. This union is frequently cited by theatre historians as foundational to the emergence of the Barrymore acting dynasty in American cultural history. Their descendants continued in the performing arts across multiple generations. He would also act alongside Edwin Booth, of the Booth acting family.

Drew left Daly in 1892 to join Charles Frohman's company. He had a long association with Frohman and leading lady Maude Adams. In these years under Frohman, John Drew's stardom was established.

Theatre

{| class="wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!Role

!Theatre

!Notes

!Ref.

|-

|1873

|Cool as a Cucumber

|Plumper

|Arch Street Theatre

|

|

|-

| rowspan="3" |1875

|The Big Bonanza

|Bob Ruggles

|Fifth Avenue Theatre

|Original cast

|

|-

|Hamlet

|Rosencrantz

|

|

|

|-

|Richard II

|Sir Pierce of Exton

|

|

|

|}

See also

  • Barrymore family
  • Drew family

References

General references

References

</references>

  • Britannica Student Encyclopedia entry on John Drew (Jr.)
  • John Drew photo gallery at NYP Library
  • John Drew Jr. : North American Theatre Online