Laurence Olivier

Acting

Born May 22, 1907

From Dorking, Surrey, England, UK

Died Jul 11, 1989

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson, Peggy Ashcroft and John Gielgud, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles. Late in his career, he had considerable success in television roles. His family had no theatrical connections, but Olivier's father, a clergyman, decided that his son should become an actor. After attending a drama school in London, Olivier learned his craft in a succession of acting jobs during the late 1920s. In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Coward's Private Lives, and he appeared in his first film. In 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Ashcroft, and by the end of the decade he was an established star. In the 1940s, together with Richardson and John Burrell, Olivier was the co-director of the Old Vic, building it into a highly respected company. There his most celebrated roles included Shakespeare's Richard III and Sophocles's Oedipus. In the 1950s Olivier was an independent actor-manager, but his stage career was in the doldrums until he joined the avant garde English Stage Company in 1957 to play the title role in The Entertainer, a part he later played on film. From 1963 to 1973 he was the founding director of Britain's National Theatre, running a resident company that fostered many future stars. His own parts there included the title role in Othello (1965) and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1970). Among Olivier's films are Wuthering Heights (1939), Rebecca (1940), and a trilogy of Shakespeare films as actor-director: Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), and Richard III (1955). His later films included The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), Sleuth (1972), Marathon Man (1976), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). His television appearances included an adaptation of The Moon and Sixpence (1960), Long Day's Journey into Night (1973), Love Among the Ruins (1975), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1976), Brideshead Revisited (1981) and King Lear (1983). Olivier's honours included a knighthood (1947), a life peerage (1970) and the Order of Merit (1981). For his on-screen work he received four Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, five Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. The National Theatre's largest auditorium is named in his honour, and he is commemorated in the Laurence Olivier Awards, given annually by the Society of London Theatre. He was married three times, to the actresses Jill Esmond from 1930 to 1940, Vivien Leigh from 1940 to 1960, and Joan Plowright from 1961 until his death.

Laurence Olivier

Known For

Spartacus

Rebecca

A Bridge Too Far

Clash of the Titans

Wuthering Heights

Romeo and Juliet

Marathon Man

The Bounty

Sleuth

Battle of Britain

Filmography — Acting

Spartacus

Rebecca

A Bridge Too Far

Clash of the Titans

Wuthering Heights

Romeo and Juliet

Marathon Man

The Bounty

Sleuth

Battle of Britain

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Dracula

Hamlet

Pride and Prejudice

Nicholas and Alexandra

Khartoum

The Boys from Brazil

Henry V

Night of 100 Stars II

49th Parallel

Richard III

A Little Romance

This Happy Breed

Oh! What a Lovely War

The Jazz Singer

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

Inchon

The Prince and the Showgirl

Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony

That Hamilton Woman

The Betsy

War Requiem

The Jigsaw Man

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

The Divorce of Lady X

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

Nothing Like a Dame

Othello

Bunny Lake Is Missing

The Shoes of the Fisherman

The Entertainer

Discovering Hamlet

Q Planes

The Devil's Disciple

Wild Geese II

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

The Power and the Glory

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

Carrie

Hollywood: Style Center of the World

The Magic Box

Male of the Species

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

King Lear

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

As You Like It

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

The Legend of Marilyn Monroe

The Filth and the Fury

Fire Over England

Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

Sir John Mills' Moving Memories

The Yellow Ticket

Three Sisters

Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond

Uncle Vanya

Westward Passage