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Laurence Olivier

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            Laurence Olivier
   Born 22 May 1907
        Dorking, Surrey, England
   Died 11 July 1989
        Steyning, West Sussex, England

   Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier of Brighton, OM ( 22 May 1907– 11
   July 1989) was an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and four-time Emmy
   winning English actor, director, and producer. He was regarded by many
   as the greatest English speaking actor of the 20th century.

   Olivier's career stretched over several decades, prolific both on stage
   and in film. In both media, he played a wide variety of roles, from
   Shakespeare's Othello to a Nazi dentist in Marathon Man and Sir Toby
   Belch. A High Church clergyman's son who found fame on the West End
   stage, Olivier became determined to master Shakespeare, and in turn he
   became one of the foremost interpreters of the bard in the 20th
   century. In later years, Olivier became torn by guilt over having left
   his second wife Vivien Leigh, and so he immersed himself in his work.
   Olivier played over 120 stage roles, including: Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet,
   Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice. He appeared in nearly sixty
   films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's
   Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake is
   Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh! What a Lovely War, Joseph L.
   Mankiewicz's Sleuth, John Schlesinger's Marathon Man and his own
   Hamlet.

Early life

   Olivier was born in 1907 in Dorking, Surrey. He was raised in a severe,
   strict, and religious household, ruled over by his father, Gerard Kerr
   Olivier, an Anglican priest.Young Laurence took solace in the care of
   his mother, Agnes, and was grief-stricken when she died (at 48) when he
   was only 12. He was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, and, at 15,
   played Katherine in his school's production of The Taming of the Shrew,
   to rave reviews. After his brother, Richard, left for India, it was his
   father who decided that Laurence — or "Kim", as the family called him —
   would become an actor.

Early career

   Olivier then attended the Central School of Dramatic Art at the age of
   17. In 1926, he joined The Birmingham Repertory Company. At first he
   was given only paltry tasks at the theatre, such as being the
   bell-ringer; however, his roles eventually became more significant, and
   in 1937 he was playing roles such as Hamlet and Macbeth. Throughout his
   career he insisted that his acting was pure technique, and he was
   contemptuous of contemporaries who adopted the 'Method' popularized by
   Lee Strasberg. Olivier met and married Jill Esmond, an actress in 1930
   and had one son, Tarquin, born in 1936.

   Olivier was not happy in his first marriage from the beginning,
   however. Repressed, as he came to see it, by his religious upbringing,
   Olivier recounted in his autobiography the disappointments of his
   wedding night, culminating in his failure to perform sexually. He
   renounced religion forever and soon came to resent his wife, though the
   marriage would last for ten years.

   He made his film debut in The Temporary Widow, and played his first
   leading role on film in The Yellow Ticket; however, he held film in
   little regard. His stage breakthroughs were in Noel Coward's Private
   Lives in 1930, and in Romeo and Juliet in 1935, alternating the roles
   of Romeo and Mercutio with John Gielgud. Olivier did not agree with
   Gielgud's style of acting Shakespeare, and was irritated by the fact
   that Gielgud was getting better reviews than he was. He continued to
   hold his scorn for film, and though he constantly worked for Alexander
   Korda, he still felt most at home on the stage. He made his first
   Shakespeare film, As You Like It, with Paul Czinner, however, Olivier
   disliked it, thinking that Shakespeare did not work well on film.
   Olivier then saw a production of The Mask of Virtue, and one thing in
   particular interested him about it: Vivien Leigh.

Vivien Leigh

   Olivier with his future second wife, Vivien Leigh, in Fire Over England
   (1937)
   Enlarge
   Olivier with his future second wife, Vivien Leigh, in Fire Over England
   (1937)

   Olivier congratulated Leigh on her performance, and a friendship began.
   Olivier took her to lunch one day, and the friendship developed.
   Alexander Korda cast the two as leads in Fire Over England, and when
   the film was finished, the two began an affair. They appeared in two
   other films together, 21 Days, and Korda's epic, That Hamilton Woman,
   with Olivier as Lord Nelson. They wanted to marry, but both Leigh's
   husband and Olivier's wife at the time, Jill Esmond, at first, refused
   to divorce them. Finally divorced, they married on 31 August 1940, at
   the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, California, with Katharine
   Hepburn as maid of honour.

   Olivier and Leigh planned to star in a run of Romeo and Juliet in New
   York. It was an extravagant production, and was a commercial failure.
   However, back in England, Olivier became the co-manager of the Old Vic
   Theatre, along with his good friend Ralph Richardson, and John Burrell.

Wuthering Heights

   Olivier continued to hold his contempt for films, claiming they were
   "just a quick way to earn money." He got his break in Hollywood when
   cast as Heathcliff in Samuel Goldwyn's production of Wuthering Heights.
   Olivier worked with Merle Oberon for the second time (the first had
   been in The Divorce of Lady X), however, despite their relative
   tolerance for each other on the first film, sparks flew on Wuthering
   Heights, presumably due to the fact that he had wanted Leigh for the
   role, and she had been rejected.

   Director William Wyler disagreed with Olivier on many things regarding
   his performance, in particular, the fact that he would keep yelling, a
   technique that was needed for the theatre, but not for film, and forced
   Olivier to alter his style. Olivier later admitted that this was for
   the better, and his performance in the film earned him his first Oscar
   nomination. But he was still unhappy and still felt most at home on the
   stage. This success led to more leading roles for Olivier, including
   Maxim de Winter in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, and Mr. Darcy in MGM's
   Pride and Prejudice.

War

   When World War II broke out, Olivier intended to join the Air Force,
   but was still contractually obliged to other parties. He apparently
   disliked actors such as Charles Laughton and Sir Cedric Hardwicke, who
   would hold charity cricket matches to help the war effort. Olivier took
   flying lessons, and racked up over 200 hours. After two years of
   service, he became a lieutenant in the Fleet Air Arm but never saw
   combat.

   When Olivier returned to London, and to the stage, the populace noticed
   a change in him. Olivier's only explanation was: "Maybe it's just that
   I've got older."

Shakespeare Trilogy

   After gaining widespread popularity in the film medium, Olivier was
   approached by several investors (namely Filippo Del Giudice, Alexander
   Korda and J. Arthur Rank), to create several Shakesperean films, based
   on stage productions of each respective play. Olivier tried his hand at
   directing, and as a result, created three highly successful films:
   Henry V, Hamlet and Richard III.

Henry V

   Olivier made his directorial debut with a film of Shakespeare's Henry
   V. At first, he did not believe he was up to the task, instead trying
   to offer it to William Wyler, Carol Reed, and Terence Young. The film
   was shot in Ireland (due to the fact that it was neutral), with the
   Irish plains having to double for the fields of Agincourt. During the
   shooting of one of the battle scenes, a horse collided with a camera
   that Olivier was attending. Olivier had had his eye to the viewfinder,
   and when the horse impacted, the camera smashed into him, cutting his
   lip, and leaving a scar that would be prominent in later roles.

   The film opened to rave reviews, despite Olivier's initial reluctance.
   It was the first widely successful Shakespeare film, and was considered
   a work of art by many. The film received Oscar nominations for Best
   Picture and Best Actor, but the Academy, in Olivier's opinion, did not
   feel comfortable in giving out all of their major awards to a
   foreigner, so they gave him a special Honorary Award. Olivier
   disregarded the award as a "fob-off".

Hamlet

   Olivier followed up on his success with an adaptation of Hamlet. He had
   played this role more often than he had Henry, and was more familiar
   with the melancholy Dane. However, Olivier was not all that comfortable
   with the role of Hamlet, as it was more introverted, as opposed to the
   extroverts that he was famous for. The running time of Hamlet (1948)
   was not allowed to exceed two-and-a-half hours, and as a result Olivier
   cut almost half of Shakespeare's text, and was severely criticized for
   doing so by purists, most notably Ethel Barrymore. Barrymore stated
   that Olivier's adaptation was nowhere near as faithful to the original
   text as her brother John's stage production from 1922. Ironically,
   Barrymore had to present the Best Picture Oscar that year, and was
   apparently visibly shaken when she read "Hamlet".

   The film ended up being another resounding critical and commercial
   success both in Britain and abroad, and won Olivier the Best Picture
   and Best Actor awards at the 1948 Academy Awards. This was the first
   British film to win Best Picture, and the only time that Olivier would
   win Best Actor, a category he would be nominated in five more times
   before his death. Olivier also became the first person to direct
   himself in an Oscar-winning performance, a feat not repeated until
   Roberto Benigni directed himself to Best Actor in 1999 for Life is
   Beautiful. Also, Olivier is still today the only actor ever to receive
   an Oscar for 'acting' Shakespeare. Olivier, however, did not walk away
   with the Best Director Oscar that year, preventing what would have
   pratically been a clean sweep of all the major awards the film was
   nominated for.

Richard III

   Olivier's third major Shakespeare project as director and star was
   Richard III. Alexander Korda initially approached Olivier to reprise on
   film the role he had played to acclaim at the Old Vic in the 1940s.
   This role had been lauded as Olivier's greatest (until his 1955 stage
   production of Macbeth), and is widely considered to be his greatest
   screen performance. During the filming of the battle scenes in Spain,
   one of the archers actually shot Olivier in the ankle, causing him to
   limp. Fortunately, the limp was required for the part, so Olivier had
   already been limping for the parts of the film already shot.

   Although the film was critically well received, it was a financial
   failure. Korda sold the rights to the American television network NBC,
   and the film became the first to be aired on television and released in
   theatres simultaneously. Many deduce that from the enormous ratings
   that the NBC transmissions received, more people saw Richard III in
   that single showing than all the people who had seen it beforehand.

Macbeth

   Macbeth was supposed to have been Olivier's next Shakespeare film.
   However, due to Richard III's dismal box-office performance, along with
   the deaths of Alexander Korda and Mike Todd, the film would never be
   made. Olivier cited this as his biggest disappointment, as his Macbeth
   had been praised as one of the all-time great performances.

The Entertainer

   Since the end of World War II, apart from his Shakespeare trilogy,
   Olivier had made only sporadic film appearances. Towards the end of the
   1950s, British theatre was changing with the rise of the " Angry Young
   Men". John Osborne, author of Look Back in Anger wrote a play for
   Olivier titled The Entertainer, centred on a washed-up stage comedian
   called Archie Rice. As Olivier later stated, "I am Archie Rice. I am
   not Hamlet." During rehearsals of The Entertainer, Olivier met Joan
   Plowright. He left Vivien Leigh for Plowright, a decision that
   apparently gave him a sense of guilt for the rest of his life. Olivier
   married Plowright on St. Patrick's Day, 1961. Leigh died in 1967.

National Theatre

   Olivier was one of the founders of the National Theatre. He became the
   founding director; however, his career at the National ended, in his
   view, in betrayal and tragedy.

Othello

   For Othello, Olivier underwent a transformation, requiring extensive
   study and heavy weightlifting, in order to get the physique needed for
   the Moor of Venice. It is said that he bellowed at a herd of cows for
   an hour to get the deep voice that was required. In 1965, John Dexter's
   production of the play was filmed, and secured Olivier his 6th Oscar
   Nomination for Best Actor.

Three Sisters

   Olivier's final film as director was the 1970 film Three Sisters, based
   on the Chekhov play of the same name, and the National Theatre
   production. It was, in Olivier's opinion, his best work as director.

Later career

   Olivier had left his romantic screen persona and became a character
   actor, appearing more frequently in films. He was unrecognisable as
   Othello in the film adaptation of the National Theatre play. After
   being gradually forced out of his role as director of the Royal
   National Theatre, Olivier became concerned that he had not done enough
   to provide for his family after he died. As a result, between 1973 and
   1986 when his health gave out, he did many films and TV specials on a
   "pay cheque" basis on the condition that he would not have to promote
   the film on release. Some of these later films he even despised, such
   as the notorious flop Inchon.

   In 1967 Olivier underwent radiation treatment for prostate cancer, and
   was also hospitalised with pneumonia. For the remainder of his life, he
   would suffer from many different health problems, including bronchitis,
   amnesia and pleurisy. In 1974 he was diagnosed with a degenerative
   muscle disorder, and nearly died the following year, but he battled
   through the next decade, earning money in case of financial disaster.

   One of Olivier's enduring achievements involved neither stage nor
   screentime. In 1974, UK Thames Television released The World at War, an
   exhaustive 26-part documentary on the Second World War to which
   Olivier, with some reluctance, lent his voice. His narration serves as
   the voice of God, surveying with deep lament the devastation as it
   unfolds.

   When presenting the Oscars in 1985, he absent-mindedly presented the
   Best Picture winner of the year by simply stepping up to the microphone
   and saying "Amadeus". He had grown forgetful, and had forgotten to read
   out the nominees first.

   He died in Steyning, West Sussex, England, from cancer in 1989, at the
   age of 82. Lord Olivier is interred in Poets' Corner in Westminster
   Abbey, London, only the second actor (the first was David Garrick) to
   be accorded that honour.

Bisexuality claims

   Since Olivier's death, several biographers have produced books about
   him, several of which bring up the claim that Olivier was bisexual.
   Joan Plowright said:


   Laurence Olivier

        I have always resented the comments that it was I who was the
       homewrecker of Larry's marriage to Vivien Leigh. Danny Kaye was
                    attached to Larry far earlier than I.


   Laurence Olivier

   referring to biographer Donald Spoto's claim that Kaye and Olivier were
   lovers. According to Sir Noel Coward, sexually speaking, Olivier had "a
   puppy-like acquiescence to all experiences." Terry Coleman's authorised
   biography of Olivier suggests a relationship between Olivier and an
   older actor, Henry Ainley, based on correspondence from Ainley to
   Olivier. Olivier's son Tarquin disputed this as 'unforgivable garbage'.
   and sought to suppress them, leading Dame Joan Plowright to privately
   state that "a man who had been to Eton and in the Guards might be
   expected to be a little more broad-minded".

   In August 2006, on the radio program Desert Island Discs, Plowright
   responded to the question of Oliver's alleged bisexuality by stating:
   "If a man is touched by genius, he is not an ordinary person. He
   doesn't lead an ordinary life. He has extremes of behaviour which you
   understand and you just find a way not to be swept overboard by his
   demons. You kind of stand apart. You continue your own work and your
   absorption in the family. And those other things finally don't matter."
   .

Honours

   Olivier was the founding director of the Chichester Festival Theatre
   (1962–1966) and of the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain
   (1962–1973) for which he received his life peerage. He was knighted in
   1947, and created a life peer in 1970 (the first actor to be accorded
   this distinction) as Baron Olivier, of Brighton in the County of
   Sussex. He was admitted to the Order of Merit in 1981. The Laurence
   Olivier Awards, organised by The Society of London Theatre, were
   renamed in his honour in 1984. Though he was a Life Peer and one of the
   most respected personalities in the industry, Olivier insisted that one
   should address him as "Larry", and he simply would not listen to anyone
   addressing him with honorifics such as "Lord", and "Sir".

   Fifteen years after his death, Olivier once again received star billing
   in a movie. Through the use of computer graphics, footage of him as a
   young man was integrated into the 2004 film Sky Captain and the World
   of Tomorrow in which Olivier "played" the villain.

Awards

   For a complete list of Olivier's award wins and nominations, see
   Laurence Olivier list of awards & nominations

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