Sidney Rankin Drew (September 19, 1891May 19, 1918) was an American actor and
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
.
Biography
Born in 1891, Drew was the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew
Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Drew were an American comedy team on stage and screen. The team initially consisted of Sidney Drew (August 28, 1863 – April 9, 1919) and his first wife Gladys Rankin (October 8, 1870 – January 9, 1914). After Gladys died in 19 ...
and first cousin of the actors
John Barrymore
John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...
,
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
, and
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...
.
He appeared in 36 films between 1913 and 1917, and directed 14 films between 1915 and 1917.
After a successful career with
Vitagraph
Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...
, Drew moved to
Metro Pictures
Metro Pictures Corporation was a Film, motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leas ...
in 1916, becoming the fifth of the Barrymore/Drew to work at the studio. His first, and last, film at Metro was ''
The Belle of the Season
''The Belle of the Season'' is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film, directed by S. Rankin Drew, and stars Emmy Wehlen, S. Rankin Drew, and Walter Hitchcock. It was originally scheduled to be released in 1917, but its premiere was delayed unt ...
'', which was shot in 1916, but released posthumously in 1918.
Drew was killed in action when his plane was shot down over
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
He was originally buried in France but reinterred at
Mount Vernon Cemetery in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
He has a monument in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
.
Partial filmography
* ''
Mr. Barnes of New York'' (1914, actor)
* ''
In the Latin Quarter'' (1915, actor)
* ''
The Suspect'' (1916, director and actor)
* ''
The Girl Philippa'' (1917, director and actor)
* ''
Who's Your Neighbor?'' (1917, director)
* ''
The Belle of the Season
''The Belle of the Season'' is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film, directed by S. Rankin Drew, and stars Emmy Wehlen, S. Rankin Drew, and Walter Hitchcock. It was originally scheduled to be released in 1917, but its premiere was delayed unt ...
'' (released 1919 although shot in 1917, director, scenario, and actor)
See also
*
Barrymore family
The Barrymore family is an American acting family.
The Barrymores are also the inspiration of a Broadway play called ''The Royal Family'', which debuted in 1927. Many members of the Barrymore family are not mentioned in this article. The surnam ...
References
External links
Biography ''Photoplay'', April 1917
*
*
Life and Letters of Sidney Rankin Drew' (1921), edited by Mrs. Sidney Drew, at the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drew, Sidney Rankin
1891 births
1918 deaths
American film directors
American male silent film actors
American military personnel killed in World War I
Sidney Rankin Drew
Burials at Mount Vernon Cemetery (Philadelphia)
United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I
20th-century American male actors
Male actors from Manhattan