Laurence Olivier

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

150

Gender

Male

Birthday

1907-05-22

Day of death

1989-07-11 (82 years old)

Place of Birth

Dorking, Surrey, England, UK

Laurence Olivier

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

  • The Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • 28 Years Later

    28 Years Later

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Great Performances

    Great Performances

  • Great Performances

    Great Performances

  • The Carol Burnett Show

    The Carol Burnett Show

  • The Dick Cavett Show

    The Dick Cavett Show

  • Omnibus

    Omnibus

  • Henry V

    Henry V

  • The Beggar's Opera

    The Beggar's Opera

  • The Oscars

    The Oscars

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

    Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

  • Jesus of Nazareth

    Jesus of Nazareth

  • Spartacus

    Spartacus

  • Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

    Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

  • War Requiem

    War Requiem

  • Moscow Nights

    Moscow Nights

  • Q Planes

    Q Planes

  • Richard III

    Richard III

  • Dracula

    Dracula

  • A Bridge Too Far

    A Bridge Too Far

  • Clash of the Titans

    Clash of the Titans

  • Hamlet

    Hamlet

  • King Lear

    King Lear

  • The Betsy

    The Betsy

  • David Copperfield

    David Copperfield

  • Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

    Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

  • Brideshead Revisited

    Brideshead Revisited

  • The Rehearsal

    The Rehearsal

  • Romeo and Juliet

    Romeo and Juliet

  • Daphne Laureola

    Daphne Laureola

  • Carrie

    Carrie

  • The World at War

    The World at War

  • The Bounty

    The Bounty

  • Othello

    Othello

  • Three Sisters

    Three Sisters

  • Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

    Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

  • A Talent for Murder

    A Talent for Murder

  • Long Day's Journey Into Night

    Long Day's Journey Into Night

  • ABC Stage 67

    ABC Stage 67

  • ABC Stage 67

    ABC Stage 67

  • Revisiting Brideshead

    Revisiting Brideshead

  • Khartoum

    Khartoum

  • Rebecca

    Rebecca

  • The Volunteer

    The Volunteer

  • The Entertainer

    The Entertainer

  • Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent

    Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent

  • Talking Pictures

    Talking Pictures

  • Wuthering Heights

    Wuthering Heights

  • Battle of Britain

    Battle of Britain

  • The Shoes of the Fisherman

    The Shoes of the Fisherman

  • Nothing Like a Dame

    Nothing Like a Dame

  • Inchon

    Inchon

  • The Jazz Singer

    The Jazz Singer

  • The Boys from Brazil

    The Boys from Brazil

  • Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony

    Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony

  • The Demi-Paradise

    The Demi-Paradise

  • The Prince and the Showgirl

    The Prince and the Showgirl

  • Bunny Lake Is Missing

    Bunny Lake Is Missing

  • Westward Passage

    Westward Passage

  • The Filth and the Fury

    The Filth and the Fury

  • The Last Days of Pompeii

    The Last Days of Pompeii

  • Malta G.C.

    Malta G.C.

  • The Dance of Death

    The Dance of Death

  • The Magic Box

    The Magic Box

  • Lady Caroline Lamb

    Lady Caroline Lamb

  • Nicholas and Alexandra

    Nicholas and Alexandra

  • The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

    The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

  • Korda: I Don't Grow on Trees: Part One

    Korda: I Don't Grow on Trees: Part One

  • Term of Trial

    Term of Trial

  • This Happy Breed

    This Happy Breed

  • Love Among the Ruins

    Love Among the Ruins

  • Marathon Man

    Marathon Man

  • Peter the Great

    Peter the Great

  • As You Like It

    As You Like It

  • Sleuth

    Sleuth

  • The Conquest of the Air

    The Conquest of the Air

  • Oh! What a Lovely War

    Oh! What a Lovely War

  • At the Haunted End of the Day

    At the Haunted End of the Day

  • A Queen Is Crowned

    A Queen Is Crowned

  • Hollywood: Style Center of the World

    Hollywood: Style Center of the World

  • Come Back, Little Sheba

    Come Back, Little Sheba

  • Fire Over England

    Fire Over England

  • The Temporary Widow

    The Temporary Widow

  • A Little Romance

    A Little Romance

  • The Devil's Disciple

    The Devil's Disciple

  • Wild Geese II

    Wild Geese II

  • Laurence Olivier Presents

    Laurence Olivier Presents

  • Laurence Olivier Presents

    Laurence Olivier Presents

  • Laurence Olivier Presents

    Laurence Olivier Presents

  • Laurence Olivier Presents

    Laurence Olivier Presents

  • The Legend of Marilyn Monroe

    The Legend of Marilyn Monroe

  • Jornal Português (1938-1951)

    Jornal Português (1938-1951)

  • Pride and Prejudice

    Pride and Prejudice

  • 21 Days Together

    21 Days Together

  • Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood

    Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood

  • Gregory Peck: His Own Man

    Gregory Peck: His Own Man

  • The Power and the Glory

    The Power and the Glory

  • Wagner

    Wagner

  • A Voyage Round My Father

    A Voyage Round My Father

  • The Yellow Ticket

    The Yellow Ticket

  • The Jigsaw Man

    The Jigsaw Man

  • Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

    Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

  • Saturday, Sunday, Monday

    Saturday, Sunday, Monday

  • No Funny Business

    No Funny Business

  • The Merchant of Venice

    The Merchant of Venice

  • Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond

    Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond

  • Directed by William Wyler

    Directed by William Wyler

  • The Divorce of Lady X

    The Divorce of Lady X

  • Too Many Crooks

    Too Many Crooks

  • That Hamilton Woman

    That Hamilton Woman

  • The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci

    The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci

  • Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration

    Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration

  • To Be Hamlet

    To Be Hamlet

  • The Bannfoot Ferry

    The Bannfoot Ferry

  • The Moon and Sixpence

    The Moon and Sixpence

  • Sir John Mills' Moving Memories

    Sir John Mills' Moving Memories

  • Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

    Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

  • Friends and Lovers

    Friends and Lovers

  • The Gentleman Tramp

    The Gentleman Tramp

  • Laurence Olivier: a life

    Laurence Olivier: a life

  • 49th Parallel

    49th Parallel

  • Iconic Couples of Hollywood

    Iconic Couples of Hollywood

  • The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

    The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

  • The Ebony Tower

    The Ebony Tower

  • Lost Empires

    Lost Empires

  • Potiphar's Wife

    Potiphar's Wife

  • Discovering Hamlet

    Discovering Hamlet

  • Uncle Vanya

    Uncle Vanya

  • The Collection

    The Collection

  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

    Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

  • Male of the Species

    Male of the Species

  • Night of 100 Stars II

    Night of 100 Stars II

  • Olivier Talks About Othello

    Olivier Talks About Othello

  • Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

    Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

  • Words for Battle

    Words for Battle

  • Male of the Species

    Male of the Species

  • Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson

    Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson

  • Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe

    Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe

  • Perfect Understanding

    Perfect Understanding

  • Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love

    Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love

  • The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People

    The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People

  • Great Acting: Laurence Olivier

    Great Acting: Laurence Olivier

  • Rebecca

    Rebecca

  • Tree of Life

    Tree of Life

  • Private lives

    Private lives