John Drew (September 3, 1827 – May 21, 1862) was an Irish-American stage actor and theatre manager. Drew is a part of the multi-generational Drew acting family and the great-great-grandfather of actress Drew Barrymore.
Early life
Born Jonathan Henry Drewland in Dublin, Ireland, (1801–1922)
Personal life
Drew married Louisa Lane in 1848, this being her third marriage and his first. They had subsequently three children together: Louisa, John Jr., and Georgiana.
Affair
Before Drew had married Lane, he had been said to be courting her half-sister, Georgiana Kinlock. A 1859 newsarticle suggests that Kinlock and Drew had been exchanging letters until the day before the wedding. Ethel Barrymore, Drew's granddaughter, claimed that Drew and Kinlock were in love, however Lane would not allow the marriage and she wed him instead.
From 1859 to 1862, Drew was on a world tour performing alongside Kinlock. While abroad, Kinlock wrote to her sister that she had been wed to a John Stephens in Australia and would be returning with a daughter, Adine Stephens - named for her and Lane's other sister. When Kinlock and her daughter returned, they moved into the Drew home and Stephens would never arrive to the United States. Modern speculation suggests that Adine was in fact the illegitimate daughter of Drew and that the pair used a false marriage to hide their infidelity. In an 1890 article, Adine is referred to as "Adine Drew" rather than " Adine Stephens" and Georgiana Drew is said to be her sister.
Death and legacy
Drew died at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 21, 1862, at the early age of 34, after tripping, falling and fatally hitting his head during a party for then 6-year-old daughter Georgiana. He was buried in nearby Glenwood Cemetery (now Glenwood Memorial Gardens), in Philadelphia, which was later closed. His remains were then moved to nearby Mount Vernon Cemetery in Philadelphia.
After his death, his wife, Louisa, took over the management of the Arch Street Theatre for the next three decades up to 1892. The Arch Street venue survived as the second oldest theatre in America until 1936 when it was unfortunately demolished after 108 years.