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August 15: Happy Birthday, Ethel Barrymore

Born (in 1879) into a world with no movies or television or radio, Ethel Barrymore still had something in her genetic code predisposing her to a career in the performing arts. Both of her parents were stage actors, and her brothers Lionel and John would choose that craft as well.

Before her 1959 death, the theater star was able to make some high-quality appearances on radio. She managed to log time on quite a few of the big-name shows, including Screen Guild Theater, Suspense, Big Show, and Suspense. On the latter, she played a woman frightened by a psychotic handyman.

One of the first generation of the Barrymore dynasty, Ethel Barrymore gets today's birthday wish!

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