Career
In 1958, he changed his middle name to Drew, although he had previously been credited in past works as Blyth. This was followed by a brief resurgence in Italian movies, as he appeared in several leading roles. He also appeared several times in the TV series Gunsmoke However, Barrymore's social behavior obstructed any professional progress. In the 1960s, he was occasionally incarcerated for drug use, public drunkenness, and spousal abuse.
He notably guest starred in other memorable episodes of classic TV Westerns Rawhide – "Incident of The Haunted Hills" – playing a half-Native half-White outcast and Wagon Train – "The Rutledge Monroe Story" – playing a "too cheerful" character who spreads death wherever he goes and turns out to be a figure from Major Adams' (Ward Bond) military past.
In 1966, Barrymore accepted a major guest role as Lazarus in the Star Trek episode "The Alternative Factor". However, he failed to show up (and was ultimately replaced at the last minute by actor Robert Brown), resulting in a SAG suspension of six months. He did appear as Stacey Daggart in the 1966–67 NBC series The Road West, starring Barry Sullivan.
Read more about this topic: John Drew Barrymore
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“It is a great many years since at the outset of my career I had to think seriously what life had to offer that was worth having. I came to the conclusion that the chief good for me was freedom to learn, think, and say what I pleased, when I pleased. I have acted on that conviction... and though strongly, and perhaps wisely, warned that I should probably come to grief, I am entirely satisfied with the results of the line of action I have adopted.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“I restore myself when I’m alone. A career is born in public—talent in privacy.”
—Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962)
“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)