A poor-man’s Barrymore.  I’ve said it, I’ve read it, you’ve probably thought it.  It’s the easiest way to explain Warren William to the uninitiated, even if it is kind of a back-handed compliment.

1920's John Barrymore Promotional Photo

Well, I came across it again, in an article titled “William’s Dislikes” from the May 29, 1932 Sunday edition of the San Antonio Express newspaper.  The funny thing about the little column is that William doesn’t mind the Barrymore comparisons so much, but the article notes that two things he specifically does dislike are the game of bridge and being mistaken for an Englishman.

Of the great Barrymore, William says he’s already used to it:

“You see,” says William calmly, displaying a 12-year-old newspaper clipping, “this has been going on for years.  I don’t mind it anymore.”

The clipping is a review of one of his first shows, with the comment by Alexander Woolcott that he has “…a Barrymore accent in his speech and a Barrymore tone in his voice and he looks the very image of the young John Drew …”

The article ends a bit abuptly with an out of place note about William hoping to make enough money to retire to the South Seas.

Grainy newspaper photo of Warren William aboard a yacht