John Bryan was born Bradfield Bryan Leavitt in Denver, Colorado, on
November 16, 1905.
His father was William Homer Leavitt (1871-1951), a well-known American
portrait painter. His mother was Ruth Bryan (1885-1954), the daughter
of
William Jennings Bryan
(1860-1925; politician, presidential candidate, and Secretary of
State).
After his parents' bitterly fought divorce, Bradfield was placed in the
care of his grandfather for several years, and he began using the name
John Bryan. His mother remarried and made a political career of her own
as a Florida Congresswoman and ambassador to Denmark.
John developed an interest in poetry and published three slim volumes.
In the 1930s, he became a Shakespearean stage actor before making four
Hollywood films:
A Tale of Two Cities (1935),
Camille (1936),
The Garden of Allah (1936),
and
Romeo and Juliet (1936).
He died of barbiturate poisoning under somewhat mysterious
circumstances on January 2, 1943, in New York City.