Damned in paradise

The central mystery of the life of John Barrymore is his epic self-destruction. Barrymore, it would seem, willed, embraced the instruments of his own fall. Endowed with rare physical grace and beauty, surpassing brilliant as both comedian and tragedian, wit, boonfellow, lover, a caricaturist of no mean ability, art collector, scholar, yachtsman, sportsman, he stood for a time at the pinnacle of both his professional and social community. But Barrymore chose to walk a steeply graded downward path - the process had begun even as his fame soared - into debasement and disintegration.