Doris Rankin

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Doris Rankin (1880-1946) was an American film actress and the daughter of actor McKee Rankin and actress Kitty Blanchard. She was married to actor Lionel Barrymore from 1904-1923.

Rankin began her career with several roles with her father's company, her best remembered part being as an Italian white slave in The White Slaver". Prior to this she performed in a number of sketches with her father and Barrymore. When Barrymore retired from theatrical work in 1906, Rankin did so as well. The couple lived for an extended period in Paris, France. Barrymore studied music and painting while he was there. Doris bore Lionel two daughters, Ethel(born in 1909) and Mary(born 1910). Both girls died in infancy though Mary lived a number of months. Lionel was deeply affected by the loss of his two daughters and never truly got over it. Most likely the girls' deaths played a part in the eventual end of Lionel and Doris's marriage.

In 1925 Rankin played in the vaudeville production of Harry Wagstaff Gribble's How Do You Know?.

Rankin's film debut came as Mrs. Shanks in The Copperhead (1920) with her husband in the title role. The Copperhead had been a great success for Lionel and Doris as a play on the Broadway stage. She followed this role with performances in The Devil's Garden (1920), The Great Adventure (1921), Jim The Penman (1921), and Lena Rivers (1925). She continued in motion pictures into the era of sound films. Her last credited role came in Society Smugglers (1939).

Rankin was given a divorce from Barrymore in December 1922. Barrymore married Irene Fenwick in Rome, Italy the following June.

In November 1931 Rankin was operated on for a thyroid ailment at the Park East Hospital in New York City. The operation was of a non-malignant type.

Doris Rankin died in Washington, DC in 1946.

[edit] References

  • Los Angeles Times, Hedda Hopper's Hollywood, June 17, 1940, Page 12.
  • New York Times, Who Is Doris Rankin?, May 19, 1918, Page 54.
  • New York Times, Lionel Barrymore Divorced In 14 Days; Name of Corespondent Is Not Disclosed, December 22, 1922, Page 1.
  • New York Times, Lionel Barrymore To Marry In Rome, June 7, 1923, Page 4.
  • New York Times, Who's Who On The Stage, October 11, 1925, Page X3.
  • New York Times, Doris Rankin Out of Danger, November 4, 1931, Page 30.