the list of 9 for august 7, 2007:
NINE THREE-GENERATION FILM FAMILIES
Nepotism. It's always been a part of show biz. Back when actors were poor, children of travelingactors would often be expected to carry on the "family business." Now that movie people makemillions, the allure for their offspring, who grew up in a world of wealth, fame and privilege, tomake it big themselves is obvious. And, of course, the opportunities are there. Just talk todaddy's agent. Still, it's quite rare to see three generations of movie stars andfilmmakers. These are the nine that I found:

  1. The Barrymores. There have been so many Barrymores in showbusiness that it's hard to keep them straight. Here's how it works: Ethel, Lionel and JohnBarrymore were all siblings, big stars of stage and screen. You remember Lionel as mean Mr.Potter in It's a Wonderful Life. Ethel won an Oscar for the film None But the LonelyHeart and was nominated three more times. John never won an Oscar, but he was a big star inthe 30's, playing leading roles in Dinner at Eight and Twentieth Century, among over50 others. He sired actors Diana Barrymore and John Drew Barrymore. Diana died tragically. JohnDrew never made it big, though he acted frequently. And of course the family line continues withJohn Drew's daughter, our own Drew Barrymore.

  2. The Hustons. This family tree is a little less difficultto define: Patriarch Walter was a big character actor, winning an Oscar for The Treasure ofthe Sierra Madre - directed by his son, John. John got his show biz start at around the sametime as his father, and went on to great success as a director as well as an actor. His daughterAnjelica is a famous actress, of course, and she won her Oscar under dad's direction forPrizzi's Honor. John's son Danny is also an accomplished actor and has directed a couple offeatures as well.

  3. The Fondas. First we start with Henry Fonda, one of thegreatest screen actors of all time. His daughter Jane did fairly well for herself too, I'm told. Hisson Peter was less successful, but still managed to have quite a career (Easy Rider) - aswell as a daughter of his own, Bridget, who certainly had her own brush with stardom.

  4. The Ritters. Tex Ritter was a major country singer in hisday, and also played cowboys - usually named "Tex" - in over 70 films. His son John became a bigstar in the 70's sitcom "Three's Company" and starred in many theatrical features. John's sonJason is finding his own star slowly rising, appearing on the TV series "Joan of Arcadia" andseveral independent features.

  5. The Coppolas. This is almost cheating, for Carmine Coppola- Francis's dad - only got film work (as a composer) thanks to his famous son. Too bad he can'tclaim the legendary Godfather theme as his own. (That was Nino Rota's music.) As forFrancis, well, he managed to get work for nearly the whole family: His sister Talia Shire, his sonRoman, his nephews Nicolas (Coppola) Cage and Jason Schwartzman (Talia's son), and of course hisbeloved daughter Sofia.

  6. The Carradines. John Carradine starred in over 300 filmsin his long career. That's right: 300 films. A lot of garbage, but some great work too(Captains Courageous, The Ten Commandments, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The CourtJester). Anyway, his sons Robert, Keith and David each met with success in his own right (andeach has appeared in his share of junk, too). Who's the third generation? Keith's daughter,actress Martha Plimpton, that's who.

  7. The Dorleacs. The French have their share of show bizfamilies, too. Actor Maurice Dorleac was the patriarch of this clan. You might have heard of hismore famous daughter, Catherine Deneuve? Who in turn had a daughter with famed Italian actorMarcello Mastroianni: Chiara Mastroianni is a big star in Europe. Her half-brother Christian Vadim(son of Deneuve and director Roger Vadim) has also acted in a large number of Frenchproductions.

  8. The Kohners. Who? Well, Paul Kohner was a successfulproducer in Germany. He married Mexican actress Lupita Tovar (who is still alive at this writing,at the age of 96). Their daughter Susan Kohner was nominated for an Oscar as a light-skinnedAfrican American in Douglas Sirk's celebrated weepie Imitation of Life. She married agentJohn Weitz and had two boys with him: Chris and Paul Weitz, whose work as writers, directors andproducers include American Pie, About a Boy, The Golden Compass and In Good Company.

  9. The Redgraves. Almost as sprawling a family as theBarrymores, the lineage goes something like this: It started with famed English stage actor RoyRedgrave, who starred in a handful of silents before dying in 1922. Roy begat Michael Redgrave, amajor British actor who starred in over 60 films. Michael had three actor children: Vanessa, Lynnand Corin, all of whom went on to great success. Keeping track? We're already at threegenerations. Well, Vanessa's daughters Joely Richardson and Natasha Richardson have also starred inmany films. Corin's daughter Jemma Redgrave has also appeared in a number of British films. Four generations deep, one expects the Redgraves to just go on and on.

Copyright © Mark Tapio Kines 2011