John Blyth Barrymore III | |
---|---|
Born |
Beverly Hills, California |
May 15, 1954
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Actor |
Known for | Kung Fu |
John Blyth Barrymore III (born May 15, 1954) is an American former film and television actor.
He is known for his role as Zeke in the 1970s television series Kung Fu, which was his first role on television.
John Blyth Barrymore III was born to John Drew Barrymore and Cara Williams. As such, he is from the famous Barrymore family: He is the half-brother of American actress Drew Barrymore, as well as the grandnephew of Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore. He is of partial Irish descent through his great-grandfather, actor Maurice Costello. John has stated that he does not remember if he has met his aunt Diana Barrymore, also an actress.
Norman Abbott, the director of the television show The Munsters, requested that John play the role of Eddie Munster in the show. John's mother did not allow him to take the role, and in later years John thanked his mother for not allowing him to become a child actor.
Like his father, John has had a sporadic career in film and television, mainly appearing in shlock horror movies and comedies. John found himself homeless in 2012, though he was able to get a food stamps card. While on skid row, he took to wearing a shirt printed with "I'm Drew Barrymore's brother".
After John's sister Jessica Barrymore was found dead in her vehicle in 2014, he publicly criticized half-sister Drew for not being receptive to forming a relationship with either him or Jessica.
In 2017, he appeared in an hour-long episode of "Lasagna Cat", a parody of Jim Davis's comic-strip series Garfield, by Fatal Farm. His performance consisted of an hour long philisophical analysis of meaning behind a single Garfield comic strip. His performance was described as "bizarre" yet "inspiring".