Laurence Olivier
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
148
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
Great Performances
Great Performances
The Carol Burnett Show
Tony Awards
Tony Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards
The Dick Cavett Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Oscars
Omnibus
Jesus of Nazareth
Spartacus
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
A Bridge Too Far
Brideshead Revisited
ABC Stage 67
ABC Stage 67
Term of Trial
Clash of the Titans
The Bounty
Henry V
Moscow Nights
The Volunteer
War Requiem
The Magic Box
A Talent for Murder
Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
Marathon Man
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Dracula
Discovering Hamlet
Hamlet
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
David Copperfield
Fire Over England
Romeo and Juliet
Battle of Britain
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Revisiting Brideshead
Wuthering Heights
Q Planes
The Filth and the Fury
The Conquest of the Air
Bunny Lake Is Missing
Talking Pictures
To Be Hamlet
The World at War
Three Sisters
The Shoes of the Fisherman
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
Richard III
Rebecca
Love Among the Ruins
The Dance of Death
Jornal Português (1938-1951)
The Bannfoot Ferry
A Queen Is Crowned
King Lear
The Jigsaw Man
The Temporary Widow
The Betsy
Directed by William Wyler
Nothing Like a Dame
Wild Geese II
Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
The Merchant of Venice
Oh! What a Lovely War
The Last Days of Pompeii
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
The Power and the Glory
A Voyage Round My Father
Peter the Great
Nicholas and Alexandra
Carrie
The Moon and Sixpence
The Demi-Paradise
A Little Romance
Khartoum
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Jazz Singer
Laurence Olivier Presents
Laurence Olivier Presents
Laurence Olivier Presents
Laurence Olivier Presents
The Entertainer
The Prince and the Showgirl
Lady Caroline Lamb
The Rehearsal
Sir John Mills' Moving Memories
The Boys from Brazil
Long Day's Journey Into Night
That Hamilton Woman
Come Back, Little Sheba
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Wagner
Pride and Prejudice
The Ebony Tower
The Yellow Ticket
Othello
21 Days Together
Lost Empires
Too Many Crooks
Laurence Olivier: a life
The Beggar's Opera
This Happy Breed
The Collection
Male of the Species
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
No Funny Business
Daphne Laureola
Sleuth
Inchon
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
The Devil's Disciple
As You Like It
At the Haunted End of the Day
Friends and Lovers
The Divorce of Lady X
The Gentleman Tramp
Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond
Night of 100 Stars II
49th Parallel
Private lives
Westward Passage
Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson
Potiphar's Wife
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Words for Battle
Rebecca
Male of the Species
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Uncle Vanya
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
Perfect Understanding
Great Acting: Laurence Olivier
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People
Olivier Talks About Othello
Gregory Peck: His Own Man
Tree of Life
Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent
The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci
Malta G.C.
