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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.

John Barrymore, as quoted by Gene Fowler

Philosophy

The story behind the card

John Barrymore (1882–1942), nicknamed “the Great Profile”, was one of the most celebrated American actors of his day: his Hamlet on Broadway in 1922 and in London in 1925 led critics to call him the greatest living American tragedian, and he later starred in films such as Grand Hotel (1932). The line comes from Good Night, Sweet Prince, the biography his friend Gene Fowler wrote after his death, where it is introduced with “Barrymore once said”. Fowler took the title from Horatio's farewell to the dying Hamlet.

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John Barrymore, Gene Fowler'ın aktarımıyla

“Büyük Profil” lakaplı John Barrymore (1882–1942), döneminin en ünlü Amerikalı oyuncularındandı. Eleştirmenler, 1922'de Broadway'de ve 1925'te Londra'da oynadığı Hamlet'ten sonra onu yaşayan en büyük Amerikalı trajedi oyuncusu saydı. Barrymore ardından Grand Hotel (1932) gibi filmlerde başrol oynadı. Ölümünden sonra yakın dostu Gene Fowler onun hayatını Good Night, Sweet Prince (İyi Geceler, Tatlı Prens) adlı kitapta anlattı. Söz orada “Barrymore bir keresinde şöyle demişti” diye aktarılır. Fowler kitabın adını, Horatio'nun ölmekte olan Hamlet'e veda sözlerinden almıştır.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: John Barrymore
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