Laurence Olivier
Acting
- Born:
- 1907-05-22
- Died:
- 1989-07-11
- Place of birth:
- Dorking, Surrey, England, UK
Biography
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.
Known For
Filmography
Charmed Lives: A Family Romance
Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
The Bannfoot Ferry
Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent
Churchill and the Movie Mogul
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
Nothing Like a Dame
The Vivien Leigh Archive at the V&A
The Greats: Vivien Leigh
Jornal Português (1938-1951)
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
Talking Pictures
Marilyn Monroe: In The Movies
Marilyn despite herself
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Discovering Hamlet
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
The Making of 'Rebecca'
Marilyn, dernières séances
Revisiting Brideshead
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
The Prince, The Showgirl and Me
The Body of Marilyn Monroe
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
Sir John Mills' Moving Memories
Vivien Leigh: A Delicate Balance
The Filth and the Fury
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell
Korda: I Don't Grow on Trees: Part One
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond
War Requiem
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Gregory Peck: His Own Man
Eve and Marilyn
Lost Empires
Directed by William Wyler
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
Peter the Great
Marilyn Monroe
Wild Geese II
Night of 100 Stars II
To Be Hamlet
The Last Days of Pompeii
The Bounty
A Voyage Round My Father
The Ebony Tower
A Talent for Murder
The Jigsaw Man
Wagner
Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson
King Lear
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Laurence Olivier: A Life
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
Brideshead Revisited
Clash of the Titans
Inchon
At the Haunted End of the Day
The Jazz Singer
Dracula
A Little Romance
The Boys from Brazil
The Betsy
Daphne Laureola
The South Bank Show
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Come Back, Little Sheba
A Bridge Too Far
Jesus of Nazareth
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Laurence Olivier Presents
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Gentleman Tramp
Marathon Man
The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People
Love Among the Ruins
The Collection
The Rehearsal
The World at War
The Merchant of Venice
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Sleuth
Lady Caroline Lamb
Nicholas and Alexandra
Great Performances
Tree of Life
Three Sisters
David Copperfield
Battle of Britain
The Dance of Death
Oh! What a Lovely War
Male of the Species
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Male of the Species
The Shoes of the Fisherman
The Dick Cavett Show
Romeo and Juliet
Omnibus
The Carol Burnett Show
Great Acting: Laurence Olivier
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe
ABC Stage 67
Khartoum
Othello
Bunny Lake Is Missing
Uncle Vanya
The Power and the Glory
Term of Trial
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
The Mike Douglas Show
Spartacus
The Entertainer
The Moon and Sixpence
The Devil's Disciple
The Prince and the Showgirl
Tony Awards
Richard III
The Beggar's Opera
A Queen Is Crowned
The Oscars
The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci
Carrie
The Magic Box
Rebecca
Hamlet
The Ed Sullivan Show
British Pathé: Vivien Leigh & Laurence Olivier
Henry V
This Happy Breed
Golden Globe Awards
The Volunteer
The Demi-Paradise
Malta G.C.
49th Parallel
That Hamilton Woman
Words for Battle
Private Lives
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Pride and Prejudice
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
21 Days
Rebecca
Wuthering Heights
Q Planes
The Divorce of Lady X
Fire Over England
As You Like It
Moscow Nights
No Funny Business
Perfect Understanding
Westward Passage
The Conquest of the Air
The Yellow Ticket
Friends and Lovers
Potiphar's Wife
Too Many Crooks
The Temporary Widow