Barry, Philip, 1896-1949

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American playwright Philip Jerome Quinn Barry was born on June 18, 1896 in Rochester, N.Y. He was the youngest of the four children of James Corbett Barry and Mary Agnes Quinn. James Barry was a successful marble and tile contracter whose family had emigrated from Ireland when he was ten. His wife, also of Irish descent, was a Philadelphian, daughter of the proprietor of a lumber business. Barry matriculated at Yale University in 1913, but, war service intervening, did not receive his B.A. until 1919. In 1922 he married Ellen Semple and the following year achieved his first major success, "You and I", which ran for 170 performances on Broadway. The ensuing years saw both hits such as "Tomorrow and tomorrow" (1931) and flops such as "Spring dance" (1934). However, on March 28, 1939, the play which would assure his lasting fame, "The Philadelphia story", debuted at the Schubert Theater in New York. Its 417 performances would not be equaled by another Barry play, though "Without love" of 1942 achieved a more than respectable run of 113. Philip and Ellen S. Barry had two sons, Philip S. and Jonathan Peter, and a daughter who died in infancy. Philip Barry suffered a fatal heart attack on Dec. 3, 1949.

From the description of The Philip Barry papers, 1930-1984 (bulk 1930-1949) (Georgetown University). WorldCat record id: 71229518

Epithet: Reverend; of Navan

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000814.0x000381

Epithet: Major Royal Engineers

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000350.0x000352

Epithet: of Garrygort, county Cork

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000814.0x000380

Barry was an American dramatist; George Pierce Baker was a Harvard graduate (1887) and a Harvard faculty member in the English dept. (1888-1924), where he instituted in 1906 a class on playwriting techniques called the 47 Workshop.

From the description of Plays, ca. 1920-ca. 1936. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 82629423

Epithet: felon

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000814.0x00037f

American playwright Philip (James Quinn) Barry, who was born on June 18, 1896, in New York City, had a successful career writing plays for Broadway, particularly comedies.

Written in 1945, Barry's play Foolish Notion was one of three plays, along with Liberty Jones (1941) and Without Love (1942), which reflected the author's concerns with World War II. Philip Barry had just completed a draft of a final play, Second Threshold, when he died on December 3, 1949.

"Philip James Quinn Barry." Dictionary of American Biography (reproduced in Biography In Context). http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ (accessed May 16, 2013).

From the guide to the Foolish Notion : a Comedy : production script, 1945, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)

Philip Jerome Quinn Barry (1896-1949) was a 20th-century American playwright most widely known for comedies he authored during the 1920s and 1930s, including Paris Bound (1927), Holiday (1928), and The Philadelphia Story (1939). Born in Rochester, New York, Barry was the third and youngest son of a successful Irish immigrant father and an Irish-American mother from Philadelphia. After graduating from Yale in 1919, Barry attended George Pierce Baker's legendary 47 Workshop at Harvard, where he won the prestigious Richard Herndon Prize in 1922 for The Jilts . Subsequently produced by Herndon on Broadway as You and I, this script was the first of several composed before1930 that would establish Barry's reputation for high comedy and repartee. Together with the comedies of manners for which he was most popularly received, Barry authored a number of serious dramas tending toward religious and existential themes, including Tomorrow and Tomorrow (1931) and the more experimental Hotel Universe (1930) and Here Come the Clowns (1938). Barry's career as a playwright peaked in 1939 with the production of The Philadelphia Story, starring Katharine Hepburn, which was adapted to the screen the following year in a film featuring Hepburn, James Stewart, and Cary Grant.

Barry married Ellen Semple (1898-1995) in 1922. The two divided their time primarily between their homes in Manhattan and Mount Kisco, New York. They were the parents of two sons, Philip Semple Barry and Jonathan Peter Barry, and a daughter who died in infancy in 1933. Philip Barry died of a heart attack in 1949 at the age of 53.

From the guide to the Philip Barry papers, 1917-1950, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Stratford Festival Collection. Happy New Year / songs by Cole Porter and the play "Holiday" by Philip Barry ; made into a musical by Burt Shevelove, 1979 - house program. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
creatorOf Adams, Elbridge L., 1866-. Collection of books from the library of William Faulkner. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Rice, Elmer, 1892-1967,. Elmer Rice letters from various correspondents, 1915-1967. Houghton Library
creatorOf Barry, Philip, 1896-1949. The Philadelphia story : a new comedy / by Philip Barry. Ohio State University Libraries
creatorOf Barry, Philip, 1896-1949. White wings : a comedy / by Philip Barry. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Theater and Entertainment Scrapbooks, 1883-1947 Cleveland Public Library
referencedIn Baker, George Pierce, 1866-1935. Papers of George Pierce Baker, 1882-1926 (inclusive), 1890-1926 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn University of Connecticut, Office of Public Information. Records, 1918-2000 Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Center.
referencedIn Vol. XLV (ff. 347). 10 Feb.-Mar. 1813.includes:ff.1,171, 261 Charlotte Lennox, wife of Charles, 4th Duke of Richmond and Lennox: Correspondence with Sir R. Peel: 1813-1841. ff. 3, 4 Richard Wharton, Joint-Secretary to the Treasury: Letters to Sir R. ... British Library
creatorOf Grand Theatre Collection (University of Guelph). Holiday / by Philip Barry ; directed by Michael Shamata, 1993 - reviews and articles. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
creatorOf Barry, Philip, 1896-1949. Best of Broadway-- "The Philadelphia story" / by Philip Barry ; adapted for television by Philip Barry, Jr. Bowling Green State University, BGSU Libraries
referencedIn Katharine Hepburn papers, 1854-1997, 1928-1994 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
creatorOf Akeley, Mary L. Jobe, b. 1886. Emma Mills memorial collection, ca. 1930-ca. 1970. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Elmer Rice letters from various correspondents, 1915-1967. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
creatorOf Foolish Notion : a Comedy : production script, 1945 University of Delaware Library - Special Collections
referencedIn Theatre Arts Monthly, collection of portraits, ca., ca., 1924-1939 (bulk), 1916-1964 (inclusive). Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Alfred Bendiner caricatures and related papers, 1929-1992 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
creatorOf Barry, Philip, 1896-1949. The Philip Barry papers, 1930-1984 (bulk 1930-1949) Georgetown University, Joseph Mark Lauinger Memorial Library
referencedIn Egri, Ted, 1913-. Portraits of playwrights, 19-- New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf CentreStage Theatre Archives (University of Guelph). The Philadelphia Story / by Philip Barry ; directed by Edward Gilbert, 1982 - house program. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
creatorOf Theatre Guild. Theatre Guild technical drawings and other production materials, circa 1925-1953. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Barry, Philip, 1896-1949. Miscellaneous uncataloged materials. Indiana University
creatorOf Shaw Festival Collection (University of Guelph). High Society / music and lyrics by Cole Poter, book by Arthur Kopit, additional lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, based on the play "The Philadelphia Story" by Philip Barry ; directed by Kelly Robinson, choreographed by Paul Sportelli, 2006 - video. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
referencedIn Records of Brown Brothers Harriman, 1696-1973, 1995 (bulk, 1820-1968) New-York Historical Society
creatorOf Vol. XXXVIII (ff. 160). Jan.-May 1840.includes:f. 1 Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Marten, 1st Dragoons: Letter to Sir C.J. Napier,: 1840.ff. 3-30 passim Field-Marshal Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross, GCB: Letters to Sir C.J. Napier: 1840.f. 5 Captain Duncan... British Library
referencedIn Vol. XXIV A (ff. 162). 1665-July 1666.Valentine Savage, of Chester; Deputy Clerk of CP and Court of Wards, Ireland, 1644: Correspondence, etc., with R. Southwell, the elder: 1666-1670.James Dogherty, steward to Sir P Perceval, 2nd Baronet: Correspond... British Library
referencedIn New Yorker records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn George Pierce Baker papers, 1878-1958 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn Myers family papers, 1908-1986 (inclusive) Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Barry, Philip, 1896-1949. Philip Barry papers, ca. 1920-1950. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Hopwood Awards Collection, 1930- University of Michigan
referencedIn Records of Brown Brothers Harriman, 1696-1973, 1995 (bulk, 1820-1968) New-York Historical Society
creatorOf Philip Barry papers, 1917-1950 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Baker, George Pierce, 1866-1935. George Pierce Baker papers, 1878-1958 (inclusive). Yale University Library
creatorOf Kendall, Messmore, 1872-1959,. Playscript collection, 1925-1948. Ohio State University Libraries
referencedIn University of Connecticut, Board of Trustees Records, undated, 1881- Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Center.
referencedIn Robert E. Sherwood papers, 1917-1968 (inclusive), 1934-1955 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Philip Barry collection, [ca. 1949-ongoing]. Museum of Performance & Design
referencedIn Theatre Guild technical drawings and other production materials, circa 1925-1953 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
referencedIn Vol. LXX (ff. 342). Dec. 1815.includes:ff. 1, 144 Charles Henry Coote, 2nd Baron Castle Coote: Correspondence with Sir R. Peel: 1812-1818.f. 2 John Preston, Baron Tara: Letter to Sir R. Peel: 1815.f. 4 Colonel Augustine FitzGerald, 1st Baronet ... British Library
creatorOf Barry, Philip, 1896-1949. Letter : Long Island, New York, to [Gerald] Hamm, 1944 August 29. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
creatorOf Hepburn, Katharine, 1907-2003. Katharine Hepburn papers, 1854-1997 (bulk 1928-1994). New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf CentreStage Theatre Archives. The Philadelphia Story / by Philip Barry ; technical drawings by Val Strazovec, 1982. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
creatorOf Barry, Philip, 1896-1949. Best of Broadway-- "The Philadelphia story" / by Philip Barry ; adapted for television by Philip Barry, Jr. Bowling Green State University, BGSU Libraries
referencedIn Robert Benney research materials, 1926-1978 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
referencedIn Brown Brothers, Harriman & Co. Records of Brown Brothers Harriman, 1696-1973, 1995 (bulk 1820-1968). New-York Historical Society Library
creatorOf Stewart, Donald Ogden, 1894-1980. The Philadelphia story : [screenplay / by Donald Ogden Stewart]. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
referencedIn Burns M. Kattenberg collection on contortion and other papers, 1890-1976. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Lillian Gish papers, 1909-1992 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
creatorOf Barry, Philip, 1896-1949. Plays, ca. 1920-ca. 1936. Houghton Library
referencedIn Plays, ca. 1920. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Baker, George Pierce, 1866-1935. person
associatedWith Barry, Phillip, 1896-1949 person
associatedWith Bendiner, Alfred person
associatedWith Benney, Robert, 1904-2001 person
associatedWith Bowen, Roy H., 1912- person
associatedWith Brandt & Brandt. Dramatic Department. corporateBody
associatedWith Brown Brothers, Harriman & Co. corporateBody
associatedWith CentreStage Theatre Archives. corporateBody
associatedWith CentreStage Theatre Archives (University of Guelph) corporateBody
associatedWith Cleveland Public Library Literature Department corporateBody
associatedWith Egri, Ted, 1913- person
associatedWith Gish, Lillian, 1893-1993 person
associatedWith Grand Theatre Collection (University of Guelph) corporateBody
associatedWith Hamm, Gerald, person
associatedWith Hayes, Helen, 1900-1993 person
associatedWith Hepburn, Katharine, 1907-2003. person
associatedWith Kattenberg, Burns M., 1901-1974 person
associatedWith Kendall, Messmore, 1872-1959, person
associatedWith Mielziner, Jo, 1901-1976 person
associatedWith Myers family. family
associatedWith Myers family. family
associatedWith New Yorker Magazine, Inc corporateBody
associatedWith Rice, Elmer, 1892-1967, person
associatedWith Shaw Festival Collection (University of Guelph) corporateBody
correspondedWith Sherwood, Robert E. (Robert Emmet), 1896-1955 person
associatedWith Shubert Theatre (Organization : New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Stewart, Donald Ogden, 1894-1980. person
associatedWith Stratford Festival Collection. corporateBody
associatedWith Theatre Guild. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Connecticut. Board of Trustees corporateBody
associatedWith University of Connecticut. Office of Public Infomation corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Blackburn, Lancashire
Mallow, Cork
United States
Colne, Lancashire
Nells, Meath
Canada, North America
Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire
Lancashire, England
Ogdensburg, U.S.A
Flintshire, Wales
Cork, Ireland
Carlisle, Cumberland
Subject
American literature
Theater
Theater
Theater
Authors, American
American drama
Dramatists, American
Dramatists, American
Humorous plays
Playwriting
Occupation
Authors
Dramatists
Playwrights
Activity

Person

Birth 1896-06-18

Death 1949-12-03

Americans

English

Information

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Ark ID: w6m624fq

SNAC ID: 41118632