Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Drew were an American comedy team on stage and screen. The team initially consisted of Sidney Drew (August 28, 1863 – April 9, 1919) and his first wife Gladys Rankin (October 8, 1870 – January 9, 1914). After Gladys died in 1914, Sidney Drew married Lucille McVey (1890–1925), and the two performed as Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew.

Biography

Sidney Drew or ''Mr. Sidney Drew'' as he was usually billed, was an uncle of actors Lionel, Ethel and John Barrymore. Drew's origins have been the subject of speculation. His mother Mrs. Louisa Drew said she adopted him not long after the death of her husband John Drew Sr. in 1862. Researchers have speculated that Sidney was Mrs. Drew's biological child from a love affair. It was noticed that she disappeared for some time to the country before returning to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

with baby Sidney. John Barrymore always said Sidney looked too much like Grandmother Louisa to be anyone else's child. In his stage career, Drew was a light-hearted leading man along with his wife, Gladys Rankin, the first ''Mrs. Sidney Drew''. She was the daughter of McKee Rankin and Kitty Blanchard, sister of Phyllis Rankin and half-sister of Doris Rankin. The couple would give birth to Sidney Rankin Drew in 1891. In 1896, the pair introduced legitimate drama to the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

stage. They entered films as a

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

with the old Kalem Company in 1911, but achieved greater success after their switch to Vitagraph in 1913. Gladys Rankin Drew died later that year from undisclosed causes. Drew was briefly paired with Clara Kimball Young, with whom Drew starred in the two-reel melodrama satire ''Goodness Gracious; or, Movies as they Shouldn't Be'' (1914) directed by Clara's husband James Young. He was remarried to Lucille McVey, born in Sedalia, Missouri, a Vitagraph scriptwriter who briefly went under the name Jane Morrow. Drew added his new wife to his one-reel comedies, acknowledging McVey as both a writer and co-director. As a comedy team, known as Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Drew, the team perfected the situation comedy style that the team of John Bunny and Flora Finch started. Their style of comedy was usually gentle

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

on married life, but also poked fun at the world of

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

. Drew took sole credit as director for two five-reel features at Vitagraph, the groundbreaking cross-gender comedy '' A Florida Enchantment'' (1914), in which Edith Storey played the leading female role, and the drama ''Playing Dead'' (1915), the Drews' only attempt at a "serious" film. In 1916, the popular team was lured to Richard A. Rowland and Louis B. Mayer's newly founded Metro company, where they continued to dominate in the field of marital comedy. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Drew's son, actor-director S. Rankin Drew, was killed in action. Drew never recovered from the loss. The team left Metro for personal appearances but was signed to V.B.K. Drew died suddenly on April 9, 1919, and was interred in Mount Vernon Cemetery in Philadelphia. Lucille McVey Drew died in 1925 from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

at the age of 35.

Awards

* Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew have a joint star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame presumably refers to the second Mrs. Drew, Lucille Drew.

Selected filmography

*'' Jerry's Mother-In-Law'' (1913) *'' Beauty Unadorned'' (1913) *'' Too Many Husbands'' (1914) *'' A Florida Enchantment'' (1914) *'' Boobley's Baby'' (1915) *'' Fox Trot Finesse'' (1915) (Short) *'' Diplomatic Henry'' (1915) (Short) *''Help'' (1916) (Short) *''Taking a Rest'' (1916) (Short) *''His Fourth Tooth'' (1916) (Short) * '' Pay Day'' (1918) *''Romance and Rings'' (1919) (Short) *''Bunkered'' (1919) (Short) *''The Stimulating Mrs. Barton'' (1920) *'' Cousin Kate'' (1921) (Directed by Mrs. Sidney Drew)

References

External links

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line sketch
of Gladys Rankin and Sidney Drew {{DEFAULTSORT:Drew, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney American comedy duos Married couples