Maurice Barrymore

(1847-1905), English-born actor. Father of John, Lionel and Ethel Barrymore

Maurice Barrymore once took his young children to the zoo. While he was busy expounding on theh llamas, young John was fascinated by the large birds in the adjacent and very dirty aviary. He kept badgering his father to come and tell them about the pelicans, cormorants, and similar exotic creatures. "Please," persisted John, "What kind of birds are they?" Maurice peered at the cage and the festoons of bird droppings. "Presumably, " he said, "they are birds of passage."