Laurence Olivier
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- May 22, 1907
- Died
- July 11, 1989 (aged 82)
- Birthplace
- 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
Photos
Filmography
Charmed Lives: A Family Romance
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Bannfoot Ferry
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year
TV · 1 ep
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Churchill and the Movie Mogul
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Nothing Like a Dame
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Vivien Leigh Archive at the V&A
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Greats: Vivien Leigh
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Jornal Português (1938-1951)
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Talking Pictures
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Marilyn Monroe: In The Movies
Movie
Marilyn despite herself
Movie
Discovering Hamlet
Movie · as Hamlet (archive footage)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Marilyn, dernières séances
Movie · as Self(archive footage)
The Making of 'Rebecca'
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Revisiting Brideshead
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Movie · as Dr. Totenkopf (archive footage)
The Prince, The Showgirl and Me
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Body of Marilyn Monroe
Movie · as archive footage
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Sir John Mills' Moving Memories
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Filth and the Fury
Movie · as Richard III (archive footage)
Vivien Leigh: A Delicate Balance
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Korda: I Don't Grow on Trees: Part One
Movie · as Self
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Movie · as Superintendent Newhouse (archive footage) (uncredited)
Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
War Requiem
Movie · as The Old Soldier
Gregory Peck: His Own Man
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Eve and Marilyn
Movie · as Self (archive photo)
Directed by William Wyler
Movie · as Self
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend
Movie · as archive footage
Marilyn Monroe
Movie · as archive footage
Lost Empires
TV · as Harry Burrard · 7 eps
Peter the Great
TV · as King William III of Orange · 4 eps
To Be Hamlet
Movie · as Self
Wild Geese II
Movie · as Rudolf Hess
Night of 100 Stars II
Movie · as Self
The Bounty
Movie · as Admiral Hood
A Voyage Round My Father
Movie · as Clifford Mortimer
The Ebony Tower
Movie · as Henry Breasley
The Last Days of Pompeii
TV · as Gaius · 3 eps
The Jigsaw Man
Movie · as Adm. Sir Gerald Scaith
King Lear
Movie · as King Lear
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Movie · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
A Talent for Murder
Movie · as Dr. Anthony Wainwright
Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson
Movie · as Joe Halpern
Wagner
TV · as Pfeuffer · 10 eps
Laurence Olivier: A Life
Movie · as Self
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
Movie · as Self
Clash of the Titans
Movie · as Zeus
Inchon
Movie · as Gen. Douglas MacArthur
At the Haunted End of the Day
Movie · as Self
Brideshead Revisited
TV · as Alexander Flyte · 2 eps
The Jazz Singer
Movie · as Cantor Rabinovitch
A Little Romance
Movie · as Julius
Dracula
Movie · as Prof. Abraham Van Helsing
The Boys from Brazil
Movie · as Ezra Lieberman
The Betsy
Movie · as Loren Hardeman
Daphne Laureola
Movie · as Sir Joseph
Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Movie · as Antonio
The South Bank Show
TV · 2 eps
A Bridge Too Far
Movie · as Dr. Jan Spaander
Come Back, Little Sheba
Movie · as Doc Delaney
Jesus of Nazareth
TV · as Nicodemus · 4 eps
Marathon Man
Movie · as Dr. Christian Szell
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Movie · as Professor James Moriarty
Love Among the Ruins
Movie · as Sir Arthur Glanville-Jones
The Gentleman Tramp
Movie · as Narrator
The Collection
Movie · as Harry
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Movie · as Big Daddy
The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People
Movie · as Self
Laurence Olivier Presents
TV · as Big Daddy, Antonio, Doc Delaney, Sir Joseph · 1 ep
The Rehearsal
Movie · as Self
The Merchant of Venice
Movie · as Shylock
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Movie · as James Tyrone Sr.
The World at War
TV · as Narrator · 26 eps
Sleuth
Movie · as Andrew Wyke
Lady Caroline Lamb
Movie · as Duke of Wellington
Nicholas and Alexandra
Movie · as Count Witte
Tree of Life
Movie · as Narrator
Great Performances
TV · as Harry, Self · 1 ep
Three Sisters
Movie · as Dr. Ivan Chebutikin
Oh! What a Lovely War
Movie · as Field Marshal Sir John French
Battle of Britain
Movie · as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding
The Dance of Death
Movie · as Edgar
David Copperfield
Movie · as Mr. Creakle
Male of the Species
Movie · as Presenter
Male of the Species
TV · as Self - Presenter · 3 eps
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
TV · as Narrator, James Tyrone Sr. · 2 eps
The Shoes of the Fisherman
Movie · as Piotr Ilyich Kamenev
Romeo and Juliet
Movie · as Narrator/Lord Montague (voice) (uncredited)
The Dick Cavett Show
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
The Carol Burnett Show
TV · as Self - Audience Member · 1 ep
Omnibus
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Khartoum
Movie · as Mahdi
Great Acting: Laurence Olivier
Movie · as Self - Interviewee
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe
Movie
ABC Stage 67
TV · as Self, Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Bunny Lake Is Missing
Movie · as Newhouse
Othello
Movie · as Othello
The Power and the Glory
Movie · as Priest
Uncle Vanya
Movie · as Dr. Astrov
Term of Trial
Movie · as Graham Weir
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Movie · as Self - Maxim de Winter (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Mike Douglas Show
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Spartacus
Movie · as Marcus Licinius Crassus
The Entertainer
Movie · as Archie Rice
The Devil's Disciple
Movie · as Gen. Burgoyne
The Moon and Sixpence
Movie · as Charles Strickland
The Prince and the Showgirl
Movie · as The Regent
Tony Awards
TV · as Self - Recipient · 1 ep
Richard III
Movie · as Richard III
The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci
Movie · as Narrator
The Beggar's Opera
Movie · as MacHeath
A Queen Is Crowned
Movie · as Narrator
The Oscars
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Carrie
Movie · as George Hurstwood
The Magic Box
Movie · as Police Constable 94-B
Rebecca
Movie · as Maxim de winter
Hamlet
Movie · as Hamlet - Prince of Denmark / Voice of Ghost
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
British Pathé: Vivien Leigh & Laurence Olivier
Movie · as Self
Henry V
Movie · as King Henry
This Happy Breed
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
The Volunteer
Movie · as Self
Golden Globe Awards
TV · as Self - Nominee, Self - Cecil B. DeMille Award Recipient · 2 eps
The Demi-Paradise
Movie · as Ivan Kouznetsoff
Malta G.C.
Movie · as Narrator
49th Parallel
Movie · as Johnnie, the Trapper
That Hamilton Woman
Movie · as Lord Horatio Nelson
Words for Battle
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Rebecca
Movie · as Maxim de Winter
Pride and Prejudice
Movie · as Mr. Darcy
21 Days
Movie · as Larry Durrant
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Movie · as Self
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Movie · as Self
Private Lives
Movie · as Elyot Chase
Wuthering Heights
Movie · as Heathcliff
Q Planes
Movie · as Tony McVane
The Divorce of Lady X
Movie · as Everard Logan
Fire Over England
Movie · as Michael Ingolby
As You Like It
Movie · as Orlando
Moscow Nights
Movie · as Captain Ivan Ignatoff
Perfect Understanding
Movie · as Nicholas Randall
No Funny Business
Movie · as Clive Dering
Westward Passage
Movie · as Nicholas 'Nick' Allen
The Yellow Ticket
Movie · as Julian Rolfe
The Conquest of the Air
Movie · as Vincent Lunardi
Friends and Lovers
Movie · as Lieutenant Ned Nichols
Potiphar's Wife
Movie · as Straker
The Temporary Widow
Movie · as Peter Bille
Too Many Crooks
Movie · as The Boy