Sidney Drew
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 1914, Sidney Drew married
Lucille McVey Lucille McVey (April 18, 1890 – November 3, 1925) also known as Mrs Sidney Drew, was an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actress. In the early 1900s, she was part with her husband Sidney Drew of the famous comedy duo Mr. a ...
(1890–1925), and the two performed as Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew.


Biography

Sidney Drew or ''Mr. Sidney Drew'' as he was usually billed, was an uncle of actors Lionel, Ethel and John Barrymore. Drew's origins have been the subject of speculation. His mother Mrs. Louisa Drew said she adopted him not long after the death of her husband
John Drew Sr. John Drew (September 3, 1827 – May 21, 1862) was an Irish-American stage actor and theatre manager. Early life Born Jonathan Henry Drewland in Dublin, Ireland, to Thomas L. Drewland and Louise Kanten, he was the fifth of six children. He live ...
in 1862. Researchers have speculated that Sidney was Mrs. Drew's biological child either from her late husband or from a love affair. It was noticed that she disappeared for some time to the country before returning to
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 ...
with baby Sidney. John Barrymore always said Sidney looked too much like Grandmother Louisa to be anyone else's child. In his stage career, Drew was a light-hearted leading man along with his wife, Gladys Rankin, the first ''Mrs. Sidney Drew''. She was the daughter of McKee Rankin and
Kitty Blanchard Elizabeth "Kitty" Blanchard (1847 - December 14, 1911) was an American stage actress from Pennsylvania. A popular actress in 1870s and 1880s, she married actor McKee Rankin (1841–1914). Their children married into several other famous stage ...
, sister of
Phyllis Rankin Phyllis McKee Rankin''M'Kee Rankin's House On Fire'', New York Times, April 2, 1891, pg. 8. (August 31, 1874 – November 17, 1934) was a Broadway actress and singer from the 1880s to the 1920s. Early life Phyllis McKee Rankin was the second dau ...
and half-sister of
Doris Rankin Doris Marie Rankin (August 24, 1887 – March 18, 1947) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Born in New York City, Rankin was the daughter of actor McKee Rankin and Mabel Bert. She was married to actor Lionel Barrymore from 19 ...
. In 1896, the pair introduced legitimate drama to the
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
stage. They entered films as a
team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...
with the old
Kalem Company The Kalem Company was an early American film studio founded in New York City in 1907. It was one of the first companies to make films abroad and to set up winter production facilities, first in Florida and then in California. Kalem was sold to V ...
in 1911, but achieved greater success after their switch to
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, ...
in 1913. Gladys Rankin Drew died later that year from undisclosed causes. Drew was briefly paired with
Clara Kimball Young Clara Kimball Young (born Edith Matilda Clara Kimball; September 6, 1890 – October 15, 1960) was an American film actress who was popular in the early silent film era. Early life Edith Matilda Clara Kimball was born in Chicago on Septembe ...
, with whom Drew starred in the two-reel melodrama satire ''Goodness Gracious; or, Movies as they Shouldn't Be'' (1914) directed by Clara's husband James Young. He remarried to
Lucille McVey Lucille McVey (April 18, 1890 – November 3, 1925) also known as Mrs Sidney Drew, was an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actress. In the early 1900s, she was part with her husband Sidney Drew of the famous comedy duo Mr. a ...
, born in
Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...
, a
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, ...
scriptwriter who briefly went under the name Jane Morrow. Drew added his new wife to his one-reel comedies, acknowledging McVey as both a writer and co-director. As a comedy team, known as Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Drew, the team perfected the situation comedy style that the team of
John Bunny John Bunny (September 21, 1863 – April 26, 1915) was an American actor. Bunny began his career as a stage actor, but transitioned to a film career after joining Vitagraph Studios around 1910. At Vitagraph, Bunny made over 150 short films – ma ...
and
Flora Finch Flora Finch (17 June 1867 – 4 January 1940) was an English-born vaudevillian, stage and film actress who starred in over 300 silent films, including over 200 for the Vitagraph Studios film company. The vast majority of her films from the sile ...
started. Their style of comedy was usually gentle
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
on married life, but also poked fun at the world of
show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produc ...
. Drew took sole credit as director for two five-reel features at Vitagraph, the groundbreaking cross-gender comedy ''
A Florida Enchantment ''A Florida Enchantment'' (1914) is a silent film directed by Sidney Drew and released by the Vitagraph studio. The feature-length comedy/fantasy was shot in and around St. Augustine, Florida, where its story is set. It is notable for its cross-dr ...
'' (1914), in which
Edith Storey Edith Storey (March 18, 1892 – October 9, 1967) was an American actress during the silent film era. Early life Storey was born on March 18, 1892, in New York City to William Chase Storey and Minnie Storey (née Thorn). Her younger brother, R ...
played the leading female role, and the drama ''Playing Dead'' (1915), the Drews' only attempt at a "serious" film. In 1916, the popular team was lured to
Richard A. Rowland Richard A. Rowland (December 8, 1880 – May 12, 1947) was an American studio executive and film producer. Career Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rowland was the head of Metro Pictures Corporation from 1915 to 1920, a studio he founded in ...
's and
Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...
's newly founded
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
company, where they continued to dominate in the field of marital comedy. 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 ...
, Drew's son, actor-director
S. Rankin Drew Sidney Rankin Drew (September 19, 1891May 19, 1918) was an American actor and film director. Biography Born in 1891, Drew was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew and first cousin of the actors John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, and Ethel Barrymo ...
, was killed in action. Drew never recovered from the loss. The team left Metro for personal appearances but was signed to V.B.K. Drew died suddenly on April 9, 1919, and was interred in Mount Vernon Cemetery in Philadelphia. Lucille McVey Drew died in 1925 from
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
at the age of 35.


Awards

* Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew have a joint star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
.Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame presumably refers to the second Mrs. Drew, Lucille Drew.


Selected filmography

*'' Jerry's Mother-In-Law'' (1913) *''
Beauty Unadorned ''Beauty Unadorned'' is a 1913 silent short film directed by Sidney Drew, L. Rogers Lytton and James Young. It starred Drew and Clara Kimball Young who was the wife of Young. It was produced by the Vitagraph Company of America. It survives, incomp ...
'' (1913) *''
A Florida Enchantment ''A Florida Enchantment'' (1914) is a silent film directed by Sidney Drew and released by the Vitagraph studio. The feature-length comedy/fantasy was shot in and around St. Augustine, Florida, where its story is set. It is notable for its cross-dr ...
'' (1914) *'' Boobley's Baby'' (1915) *'' Fox Trot Finesse'' (1915) (Short) *'' Diplomatic Henry'' (1915) (Short) *''Help'' (1916) (Short) *''Taking a Rest'' (1916) (Short) *''His Fourth Tooth'' (1916) (Short) * '' Pay Day'' (1918) *''Romance and Rings'' (1919) (Short) *''Bunkered'' (1919) (Short) *''The Stimulating Mrs. Barton'' (1920) *'' Cousin Kate'' (1921) (Directed by Mrs. Sidney Drew)


References


External links

* * *
line sketch
of Gladys Rankin and Sidney Drew {{DEFAULTSORT:Drew, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney American comedy duos Married couples