This may or may not come as a surprise to those who are aware of the Barrymore acting dynasty and fans of early Hollywood film —> It’s this —→ actor John Barrymore was deeply involved in Theosophy, astrology, mysticism and metaphysics, Eastern spirituality and occult philosophy.
He had a genuine fascination with these philosophies and spent time with many who were also deeply involved in these practices.
Below is a picture of John Barrymore circa 1910-ish – His nickname was “The Profile”
John Barrymore was born John Sidney Blyth on either February 14 or 15, 1882 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. and passed away on May 29, 1942 at the age of 60 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Below is a picture of John Barrymore circa 1925-ish
First, let’s take a look at the Barrymore dynasty…
The Acting Dynasty of The Barrymores
Before we discover the deep connection John had with the world of the occult, let’s take a quick look at the Barrymore acting dynasty.
It’s much more involved than just John, Lionel, Ethel and Drew.
In fact, you may be surprised to discover that the Barrymore acting dynasty is really the joining of two established theatrical families…
The Drews and the Barrymores —→ followed by several generations of performers.
A Short Timeline
Mid-1800s → The Drew family establishes major American theatrical dynasty
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1876 → Georgiana Drew marries Maurice Barrymore
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1878–1882 → Their children Lionel, Ethel and John Barrymore are born
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1890s–1930s → The three siblings become America’s “Royal Family of the Stage”
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1920s–1940s → The Barrymores become major Hollywood stars
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1930s–1970s → Both Ethel and John Barrymore’s children continue the acting line (Lionel had no surviving heirs). John had a boy and a girl. The male (John Drew Barrymore) married into another acting dynasty with Dolores Costello. They had 4 children, all went into acting.
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1975–present → Drew Barrymore is their youngest child. She becomes the most famous modern descendant with movies such as E.T. (1982), Irreconcilable Differences (1984), Scream (1996) and Charlie’s Angels (2000).
Now, The Occult Connections
Marie “Helios” Russak Hotchener was a famous opera singer, architect, Theosophist, and Freemason and became a close associate of John Barrymore’s.
This is significant because Russak Hotchener had also been a secretary to Col. Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907) (an American military officer, lawyer, journalist, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society) and Annie Besant, (1847 –1933) (English socialist, theosophist, Freemason, and women’s rights activist).
Russak Hotchener also became an international lecturer for the Theosophical Society, edited The Theosophist, and was deeply involved in Theosophical activities in California.
In fact, John Barrymore was so close with Russak Hotchener, that her husband, Henry Hotchener, became John Barrymore’s business manager around 1929.
The Association Continues…
A detailed history of the Hollywood Theosophical community states that Marie Russak Hotchener provided spiritual guidance to members of the film community, including John Barrymore and also became his personal astrologer.
According to an account in Good Night, Sweet Prince —- the biography of John Barrymore written by his good friend and writer, Gene Fowler, —- reports that when Barrymore was away from Hollywood sailing his yacht, he used zodiacal charts. Fowler also described him as having “an inborn trend toward mysticism.”
The Foundlings
The Theosophical Society was organized in New York City in 1875, principally by:
- Helena Petrovna Blavatsky — Russian occultist and writer
- Henry Steel Olcott — American lawyer, journalist, and Civil War veteran; became the Society’s first president
- William Quan Judge — American lawyer and early Theosophist
- Several other participants
*Of Note – The Theosophical Society was officially founded in New York City on November 17, 1875.
In late 1878: H. P. Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott left New York for India and arrived in Bombay (now Mumbai) in February 1879. This is where the Society’s HQ began, as Blavatsky and Olcott ran it from there between 1879-1882.
Ultimately, they acquired an estate at Adyar, near Madras (now Chennai) and the permanent international headquarters began there in December 1882.
The Picture In The Theosophist / 1935
Barrymore’s photograph actually appeared in an official Theosophical Society publication in 1935.
Below is a scan from the original… The picture cites Barrymore as one of the participants.
I believe he is the man sitting among the children in the center.
1935 is precisely the period when Barrymore’s relationship with the Hotcheners was active.
The Theosophical Society’s American publication reported that the Hotcheners had been recalled to America because of the various “Barrymore incidents” that had received considerable attention in the daily press.
Unfortunately, it seems there were a series of miss accounted for funds and Barrymore brought legal action against Hotchener. It was eventually resolved.
Communication With Barrymore’s Spirit
The famous British medium Leslie Flint, later claimed that the spirit of the long dead John Barrymore communicated through his séances.
In a 1970 radio interview, Flint was specifically asked about communications from the spirit of John Barrymore and discussed him in the context of his mediumistic sessions.
There are also spiritualist publications from the 1940s and 1950s that claimed communications from Barrymore’s spirit.
One 1959 Psychic Observer article even described a purported communication from Barrymore shortly before his death.
Of course, these types of gatherings are impossible to prove, so I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not John Barrymore’s spirit spoke through a medium.
Although there is limited direct evidence that demonstrates John Barrymore was a practicing Theosophist, clearly, he was considerably more involved with the metaphysical world than standard biographies tend to emphasize.
Occult Themed Movies
Barrymore had a surprisingly strong thread of horror, psychological thriller, crime, mystery, and dark melodrama roles, especially from 1920 through the late 1930s.
For example, Barrymore played the lead in the 1931 movie Svengali.
He played a character (Svengali) who used his hypnotic powers to control the woman he loved. The character dabbled in occult-adjacent activities and was in general rather off-beat.
***It’s interesting to note that one of the actors from the movie Svengali — Bramwell Fletcher who plays Billie — eventually marries Barrymore’s daughter, Diana. It lasted several years and yielded no children.***
Theosophy Weaves It All Together
I’ve had a fascination with all things psychic, paranormal, and occult like since I was a kid.
It’s my believe and understanding, that the horribly corrupt entertainment industry we live with today, is in large part because Hollywood was built on the foundation of the occult.
Having Said That…
I also think that in the beginning, human beings genuinely worked at their creative crafts.
Writers, actors, directors, musicians, producers of all kinds, really tried to offer the world the best of their work.
So it is that we examine the early years of Hollywood through the lens of dark and light.
Theosophy in particular is a fascinating and extremely important cog in this wheel.
The philosophy itself is an intersection of a myriad of fringe ideas and spirituality.
The Weird And Wonderful
I want to give you a smattering of what the early days of the Theosophical Society explicitly investigated and which continues to this day…
- occultism
- unexplained phenomena
- the “hidden” laws of nature
- the powers latent in humanity
- clairvoyance
- telepathy
- psychic powers
- astral projection
- clairaudience
- precognition
- spiritual healing
- occult meditation
- altered states of consciousness
- communication with higher intelligences
- invisible planes of existence
- astrology
Blavatsky attempted to synthesize many ancient traditions into a single underlying system of spiritual knowledge.
This is one reason Theosophy became so influential among artists and intellectuals.
It made sense to seekers of life understanding. It’s part of my own fascination with this topic —- and probably yours too if you’re still reading this.
So, when we find a Hollywood figure described as being interested in any type of ancient alternative philosophy or psychic phenomena, that can be a particularly relevant clue in their connection to the Theosophical Society.
The influence Madam Blavatsky and The Theosophical Society had on early Hollywood (and our culture) can NOT be underestimated.
One part of Old Hollywood that I will be writing on in more abundance is the Krotona Community.
There was a major Theosophical center in Hollywood during those years before it moved to Ojai.
The Theosophical Society’s historical accounts specifically identifies Krotona as one of the important spiritual centers established under Annie Besant — who was a Theosophist and Freemason —- who’s secretary was Marie “Helios” Russak Hotchener, who was a famous opera singer and Theosophist, and Freemason as well. Russak Hotchener was also a close associate of John Barrymore’s.
It comes full circle… and there’s much more on the way.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN OLD HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR & VINTAGE SENSUALITY AS WE PULL BACK THE CURTAIN ON THE MYTHS
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