20th century actresses
A01=Jennifer Ann Redmond
alcoholism drug abuse
Author_Jennifer Ann Redmond
Between Us Girls
Blanche Marie Louise Oelrichs
Category=ATFA
Category=DNBF
Category=JBSF1
cinema movie
Drew
Eagle Squadron
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eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
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eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
famous royal family
Forgotten icons legends
Gilded Age
Goodnight Moon
Hamlet
Ladies Courageous
LGBTQIA+ gay identity sexuality
Margaret Wise Brown
Mental health
Michael Strange
New York City NYC Broadway theater stage
Overbearing mother
overdose suicide
Philadelphia Newport socialite
radio
Robin May Thomas
Tennessee Williams
Too Much
Too Soon
Tragic figures
Tyrone Power
Unpublished letters
Product details
- ISBN 9781496858665
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 30 Sep 2025
- Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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American actress and socialite Diana Barrymore (1921–1960) was a figure often overshadowed by her famous lineage and tragic narrative. In Too Fast, Too Short: The Life of Diana Barrymore, author Jennifer Ann Redmond illuminates Barrymore’s complex world, revealing a woman caught between the glittering facade of Hollywood and the dark shadows of her personal struggles.
That she was the confused, neglected daughter of legendary actor John Barrymore is common knowledge. Just as central to Barrymore’s story is the profound influence of her mother, poet/playwright Michael Strange. Both distant and domineering, Strange’s contradictory nature stifled Barrymore and her siblings, thrusting her into a socialite world she neither desired nor understood. Barrymore’s familial relationships were marked by pain and complexity. Her older brother, Leonard, was detached and the golden child brother Robin, who lived openly as a gay man in an era of secrecy, died by suicide after the death of his lover, Billy Rambo. Barrymore’s later years were colored by her relationship with the iconic playwright Tennessee Williams. Viewing Williams as the gateway to her dreams of a successful career, a happy marriage, and motherhood, Barrymore’s interactions with him reveal her vulnerability and resilience. Unpublished correspondence with mutual friends sheds light on her aspirations and the poignant desperation of her delusions.
This biography endeavors to present Diana Barrymore not as a cautionary tale but as a complex individual. Volatile, bristly, and unreliable, yet also clever, funny, and profoundly intelligent, Barrymore was a woman of remarkable talent and beauty, even if she rarely saw it herself. Through this volume, Barrymore emerges as a fully realized person, reclaiming her place in Hollywood’s history.
That she was the confused, neglected daughter of legendary actor John Barrymore is common knowledge. Just as central to Barrymore’s story is the profound influence of her mother, poet/playwright Michael Strange. Both distant and domineering, Strange’s contradictory nature stifled Barrymore and her siblings, thrusting her into a socialite world she neither desired nor understood. Barrymore’s familial relationships were marked by pain and complexity. Her older brother, Leonard, was detached and the golden child brother Robin, who lived openly as a gay man in an era of secrecy, died by suicide after the death of his lover, Billy Rambo. Barrymore’s later years were colored by her relationship with the iconic playwright Tennessee Williams. Viewing Williams as the gateway to her dreams of a successful career, a happy marriage, and motherhood, Barrymore’s interactions with him reveal her vulnerability and resilience. Unpublished correspondence with mutual friends sheds light on her aspirations and the poignant desperation of her delusions.
This biography endeavors to present Diana Barrymore not as a cautionary tale but as a complex individual. Volatile, bristly, and unreliable, yet also clever, funny, and profoundly intelligent, Barrymore was a woman of remarkable talent and beauty, even if she rarely saw it herself. Through this volume, Barrymore emerges as a fully realized person, reclaiming her place in Hollywood’s history.
Jennifer Ann Redmond is author of Silents of the Vamps: Bad Girls You Don’t Know–But Should, Southern Belle to Hollywood Hell: Corliss Palmer and Her Scandalous Rise and Fall, and Reels & Rivals: Sisters in Silent Film. Her work has been featured in Classic Images, Atlas Obscura, and the Library of Congress website.
