Totem pole stolen by Drew Barrymore's grandfather finally being returned

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Actor John Barrymore stole a totem pole from an Alaskan village in 1931 and displayed it in the garden of his California estate
The totem pole was used for burials and there reportedly were remains of a man inside when Barrymore erected it at his home
After Barrymore died, actor Vincent Price bought it to use as decoration
He donated it in 1981 to Honolulu Museum of Art and they are now returning it to the Alaskan Tlingit people at a ceremony

By Associated Press and Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 14:12 EST, 22 October 2015 | Updated: 16:47 EST, 22 October 2015

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A stolen totem pole that went from the garden decor of two golden age Hollywood actors to the basement of a Hawaii museum will be returned Thursday to Alaska tribal members.

Screen legend John Barrymore was traveling the Alaska coast by yacht and directed crew members to take the totem pole from an unoccupied village in 1931, said University of Alaska Anchorage professor Steve Langdon, who has long researched the object. They sawed it in three pieces.

Barrymore, star of such films as 'Grand Hotel' and grandfather of actress Drew Barrymore, displayed the pole in the garden of his California estate.

Langdon learned the totem pole was used for burials, and he said there were remains of a man inside when Barrymore had it erected at his home.

Screen legend John Barrymore (left) stole a totem pole in 1931 while traveling in Alaska and displayed it in his garden. Actor Vincent Price (right) bought the pole after Barrymore died

The photo above shows a Tlingit totem pole with a clan house in the background at the Totem Bight State Historical Park in Ketchikan, Southeast Alaska. A different pole is being returned to tribal members Thursday

Langdon does not know what happened to the remains after they were removed from the pole.

After Barrymore's death, actor Vincent Price, known for horror flicks such as 'House of Wax,' and his wife bought the item and also used it as a yard decoration.

The couple donated it to the Honolulu Museum of Art in 1981.

Museum officials will give the pole back to the Tlingit (KLINK'-it) people at a ceremony Thursday.

The pole was among more than 100 that once stood in the old village of Tuxecan on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, which was inhabited by the Tlingit people, the museum said in a news release.

Of the original Tuxecan poles, only two remain, both in Klawock, the southeast village of 80 people where the tribe moved, according to the museum.