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Laurence Olivier Laurence Olivier could speak William Shakespeare's lines as naturally as if he were "actually thinking them", said English playwright Charles Bennett, who met Olivier in 1927. Laurence Kerr Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England, to Agnes Louise (Crookenden) and Gerard Kerr Olivier, a High Anglican priest. His surname came from a great-greatgrandfather who was of French Huguenot origin. One of Olivier's earliest successes as a Shakespearean actor on the London stage came in 1935 when he played "Romeo" and "Mercutio" in alternate performances of "Romeo and Juliet" with John Gielgud. A young Englishwoman just beginning her career on the stage fell in love with Olivier's Romeo. In 1937, she was "Ophelia" to his "Hamlet" in a special performance at Kronborg Castle, Elsinore (Helsingør), Denmark. In 1940, she became his second wife after both returned from making films in America that were major box office hits of 1939. His film was Wuthering Heights (1939), her film was Gone with the Wind (1939). Vivien Leigh and Olivier were screen lovers in Fire Over England (1937), 21 Days Together (1940) and That Hamilton Woman (1941).
There was almost a fourth film together in 1944 when Olivier and Leigh traveled to Scotland with Charles C. Bennett to research the reallife story of a Scottish girl accused of murdering her French lover. Bennett recalled that Olivier researched the story "with all the thoroughness of Sherlock Holmes" and "we unearthed evidence, never known or produced at the trial, that would most certainly have sent the young lady to the gallows". The film project was then abandoned. During their two-decade marriage, Olivier and Leigh appeared on the stage in England and America and made films whenever they really needed to make some money. In 1951, Olivier was working on a screen adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's novel "Sister Carrie" (Carrie (1952)) while Leigh was completing work on the film version of the Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). She won her second Oscar for bringing "Blanche DuBois" to the screen. Carrie (1952) was a film that Olivier never talked about. George Hurstwood, a middle-aged married man from Chicago who tricked a young woman into leaving a younger man about to marry her, became a New York street person in the novel. Olivier played him as a somewhat nicer person who didn't fall quite as low. A PBS documentary on Olivier's career broadcast in 1987 covered his first sojourn in Hollywood in the early 1930s with his first wife, Jill Esmond, and noted that her star was higher than his at that time. On film, he was upstaged by his second wife, too, even though the list of films he made is four times as long as hers.
More than half of his film credits come after The Entertainer (1960), which started out as a play in London in 1957. When the play moved across the Atlantic to Broadway in 1958, the role of "Archie Rice"'s daughter was taken over by Joan Plowright, who was also in the film. They married soon after the release of The Entertainer (1960). The Olivier Theatre, the largest theatre in the new National Theatre complex on the south bank of the Thames, opened on 4 October 1976 with Albert Finney playing Christopher Marlowe's "Tamburlaine The Great", directed by Peter Hall. The Queen officially opened the National Theatre on October 25. Years later, Michael Caine met his former co-star at the theatre named after him, and asked him if he could get in for free. No, he could not, answered Olivier, but he told Caine that he would work on it.
Wanted desperately to stage "Guys and Dolls" in the early 1970s, as he dreamed of playing Sky Masterson, but after stringing him along for several years, the board of governors of the National Theatre vetoed any chance of a production. After years of being hamstrung by the board, Olivier resigned as artistic director in 1973 without being able to name his successor. The governors appointed Peter Hall, founder of the National Theatre's great rival, the Royal Shakespeare Company, as director to replace Olivier. The move is widely seen as an insult to Olivier, who had given up an incalculable fortune in potential earnings in the commercial theater and in motion pictures to make his dream of a National Theatre a reality. However, he was honored by having the largest auditorium in the under-construction National Theatre building named after him. "Guys and Dolls" was eventually staged by the National Theatre in 1982.
Was chosen to play Antonio in Queen Christina (1933) but was rejected by Greta Garbo after an initial meeting at the studio. The role later went to Garbo's former lover John Gilbert, whose career had hit bottom after the advent of sound. In his autobiography "Confessions of an Actor", Olivier says that he understands why she behaved the way she did, but in Felix Barker's 1953 "The Oliviers - A Biography", it was plain that Olivier and his career were hurt by being rejected by the biggest star in Hollywood. Olivier had had to sail from England to America, and then sail back, all under the harsh glare of the Hollywood publicity machine.
His oldest son Tarquin Olivier was 10 months old when Olivier left his mother, actress Jill Esmond, for Vivien Leigh in 1937. Despite Olivier virtually ignoring him after marrying Joan Plowright in 1961, Tarquin was extremely forgiving in his 1993 memoir "My Father Laurence Olivier". Tarquin contends that the rumors about his father were becoming more outrageous with each new biography and dismissed the stories that Olivier had had affairs with Danny Kaye and Kenneth Tynan as "unforgivable garbage". His oldest son by Jill Esmond, Tarquin Olivier, says in his 1993 memoir "My Father Laurence Olivier" that he was shocked when meeting his father in California in the early 1980s that he was dissatisfied with his career and felt something of a failure. Olivier belittled his own achievements and held up the career of Cary Grant as the paradigm of greatness. Grant, who had a fortune estimated at $70 million by Look Magazine in its February 23, 1971, issue (an amount equivalent to $300 million in 2003 dollars), was the person who presented Olivier with his career achievement Oscar in 1979. The two were acquaintances, never friends.
According to Olivier in his autobiography "Confessions of an Actor", when he went to Hollywood in the early 1930s as the "next Ronald Colman", one studio wanted to change his name to "Larry Oliver". He often wondered what his career would have been like if he kept that lessdistinguished name, whether his career would have been as sorry as the name. According to producer Robert Evans, he could not obtain insurance for Olivier to appear in Marathon Man (1976). He went ahead with Olivier despite the obstacle. Evans and the rest of the production members, particularly Dustin Hoffman, were quite charmed by the man Hoffman called "Sir". Several years earlier, Evans -- as chief of production at Paramount -- had given the go-ahead to offer Olivier the role of Don Corleone in The Godfather (1972), but Olivier was unable to accept the role due to illness.
In his 1983 autobiography "Confessions of an Actor", Olivier writes that upon meeting Marilyn Monroe preparatory to the commencement of production of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), he was convinced he was going to fall in love with her. During production, Olivier bore the brunt of Marilyn's famous indiscipline and wound up despising her. However, he admits that she was wonderful in the film, the best thing in it, her performance overshadowing his own, and that the final result was worth the aggravation. Lifelong friends with Ralph Richardson, whom he met and befriended in London as a young acting student during the 1920s, he was dismayed that Richardson expected to play Buckingham in his film of Shakespeare's Richard III (1955). Olivier wanted Orson Welles, another friend, to play the role but could not deny his oldest friend. In his autobiography, Olivier says he wishes he had disappointed Richardson and cast Welles instead as he would have brought an extra element to the screen, an intelligence that would have gone well with the plot element of conspiracy.
Orson Welles wrote his novel Confidential Report (1955) during an extended stay with Olivier and his wife Vivien Leigh. Welles was appearing at Olivier's St. James theater in London at the time in his fabled production of Around the World in 80 Days (1956), which had been produced by Mike Todd in New York. Todd, who later made the film without Welles's participation, had offered to produce a film version of "Macbeth" to be directed by and starring Olivier, but he died in 1958 before the plans could be finalized. In her autobiography "Limelight and After", Claire Bloom claims that her lover Olivier merely went through the motions during their affair in the mid-1950s. She thought Olivier seduced her as that was what a great actor was supposed to do. Was gradually forced out of his position as head of the National Theatre by the board of directors after the board vetoed a production of Rolf Hochhuth's 1968 play "Soldaten" ("Soldiers"). The controversial play, championed by National Theatre dramaturge Kenneth Tynan, implied that Winston Churchill had arranged the death of General Wladyslaw Sikorski, prime minister
of the Polish government-in-exile, and the fire-bombing of civilians during World War II. Olivier, who revered Churchill, backed his dramaturge, but Tynan was sacked and Olivier's position was undermined, thus compromising the independence of the National Theatre. After unsuccessfully canvassing Albert Finney, Olivier tried to interest Richard Burton in taking over the National Theatre after his imminent retirement from the post. Burton declined, seeing the great Olivier forced out of his beloved theater that he had built over two decades and for which he had become the first actor peer. Turned down the role of Humbert in Lolita (1962). He originally agreed with Stanley Kubrick, his director on Spartacus (1960), to appear in his film of Vladimir Nabokov's controversial classic, but dropped out on the advice of his agent. Ironically, Kubrick shared the same agent. Appeared with John Gielgud in "Romeo and Juliet" (1935) in which he and Gielgud alternated the roles of Romeo and Mercutio. Gielgud got the better reviews in the lead of Romeo, which spurred Olivier on to become a better actor.
1958: Was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "The Entertainer", a role he recreated in an Oscar-nominated performance in the film version of the same name, The Entertainer (1960). This was his only nomination for a Tony, an award he never won. Olivier delivered one of the more eccentric acceptance speeches in 1979, upon receiving an Oscar statuette for Lifetime Achievement. His rundown of thanked Academy bigwigs, colleagues and friends included kudos to "my very noble and approved good masters", a quote from Shakespeare's "Othello", Act I, Scene 3, line 77. (Olivier had received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role in 1966, losing out to Lee Marvin.) Characterizing the acceptance speech, John J. O'Connor of the 'New York Times' wrote, "Olivier lapsed into a curiously rambling, slightly sticky, extended metaphor about stars and firmaments.".
Modelled the accent for his character of George Hurstwood, an American living in turn-of-thelast-century Chicago in Carrie (1952), on Spencer Tracy. His great-great-grandfather, Daniel Stephen Olivier, was from a French Huguenot family; they fled from France to England around the 17th century, as they were Protestants, who were being persecuted by the majority Catholics. When he went to Hollywood in the early 1930s, studio executives wanted him to change his name to "Larry Oliver". He said that later on in his highly successful career, he would muse with his friends about what might have become of him, what kind of career he would have had, if he had changed his name to "Larry Oliver", as that name connoted a different type of actor. Actually, there was an American actor with that name who appeared six times on Broadway between 1930 and 1965, most notably in Garson Kanin's "Born Yesterday". The "real" Larry Oliver repeated his Broadway performance as the politician Norval Hedges in the 1950 movie version of the play, (Born Yesterday (1950)), his only film appearance (a senator on Broadway, Larry Oliver's character had been demoted to a Congressman for the film, but he was again bumped up to the Senate in the 1956 "Hallmark Hall of Fame" teleplay).
Generally considered the greatest Macbeth of the 20th century for his second stage portrayal of the role in the 1950s, he had hoped to bring "The Scottish Play" to the big screen in the late 1950s, but the failure of his movie Richard III (1955) to make back its money frustrated his plans. Producer Mike Todd, Elizabeth Taylor's third husband, told Olivier in 1958 that he likely would produce the film with Olivier as Macbeth and Olivier's real-life wife Vivien Leigh as his Lady, but that hope died in the plane crash that claimed Todd's life. Thus, the infamous "Macbeth curse" prevented the greatest actor of the 20th century from realizing his dream. Movie critic Pauline Kael, who considered Olivier the "wittiest actor" in film history, considered it a tragedy and said that it showed that there was something fundamentally wrong with the commercial filmmaking industry, that it could deny such a great talent a chance to make such a potentially significant film. Olivier never directed another Shakespearean film after the "failure" of "Richard III".
Glorious Facts About Sir Laurence Olivier, King Of The Stage Sir Laurence Olivier was a figure like no other. People often refer to him as the greatest actor of his generation—if not of all time—but behind the scenes, he struggled desperately with painful secrets that followed him throughout his life, all the way to his tragic end.
1.He Eschewed The Family Tradition While Laurence Olivier grew up to be a dazzling stage presence, he came from a long line of clergyman—but he wasn’t as much of an odd duck in his family as you might think. His father Gerard always had a flair for the dramatic and considered a career as a stage actor before trying his hand at teaching and then, eventually, becoming a priest in the Anglican church. The church was a huge part of Laurence’s life as a child as well—but not for the reasons you’d expect.
2. He Saw What He Wanted To Do Each week as his father lead his congregation in church, Laurence sat there, quietly absorbing it all…but he wasn’t interested in the substance of the worship. What interested him was the style—his father’s performance. Gerard would go from quiet reverence to booming admonition, even slipping in a joke in between, with the greatest of ease. Laurence wanted to do the same thing, albeit in a different venue. But that doesn’t mean that he necessarily got along with his father.
3. They Had An Icy Relationship Laurence’s father Gerard was a bit unconventional in his beliefs, and as a result, he had trouble finding a permanent posting that would provide a steady home and routine for his family. While he was close with his mother, Laurence felt that there was a cold distance between him and his father—and the reason why was heartbreaking. Laurence believed that since he already had an older brother and sister, his father thought of him as needless—nothing but an extra mouth to feed. On top of that, Gerard had a fiery temper that terrified Laurence and his siblings. Laurence began to look for a way out, and before long, he found one.
4. His Whole Life Changed Laurence wasn’t a star pupil, but he did gain admission to the All Saints choir school, where he began to find his own voice and perform in productions of Shakespeare plays. Students at the school went home one weekend a month, and on one of Laurence’s trips home in 1920, he got devastating news. After a period of ill health, doctors had discovered that his mother Agnes was suffering from a brain tumor. That March, during Laurence’s visit home, Agnes pulled him close and whispered “Goodbye, my darling.” He returned to school—not knowing that it would be the last time he ever saw her.
5. He Lost His Biggest Ally For years, Agnes had made up for her husband’s cruel attitude to his youngest son by doting on Laurence and making him the clear favorite of the family in her eyes. Sadly, just two weeks after she’d said her sweet words of farewell to her son, Agnes died. Laurence was only 12 years old, and the loss was earth-shattering. He found some comfort spending time with less dysfunctional branches of the family—but at school, where he spent most of his time, there was little reprieve.
6. His School Was A Hotbed For Debauchery Laurence graduated from All Saints and began attending St. Edward’s School, where he focused on school plays to the detriment of pretty much everything else, including his classes. But there were also other, much more scandalous sources of distraction. Laurence was underweight, delicate, and often took on the female parts in plays, which meant that he was very popular with the other boys. These types of inappropriate shenanigans weren’t uncommon in boys’ schools at the time and Olivier freely admitted to them later in life—but, as we’ll see, that didn’t mean he was always so open with his private life…
7. His Father Told Him Exactly What To Do Despite his stage successes at school, Laurence Olivier still had no idea what he was going to do for money when he graduated—and he had to think quick. His older brother had gone to India to strike out on his own, and Laurence considered following him. Yet when he told his father about it, he was in for a surprise. Gerard Olivier told his son he wouldn’t be going to India, and that he was instead destined for the stage. And that wasn’t all—Gerard had a plan, too.
8. He Followed In His Sister’s Footsteps Laurence’s older sister Sybille was already a student at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art. That was where Gerard wanted Laurence to go…but there was one caveat. He was cutting his son off, and expected him to get by on a scholarship. Luckily for Laurence, the school was desperate for male students, and everything went according to plan. When school wasn’t in session, he acted with touring companies— and it was on one of these sojourns that his life changed completely.
9. He Fell In Love Laurence Olivier had barely a penny to his name and, according to basically everyone he met back then, he definitely looked the part of the starving artist. Unfortunately, this all worked against him in the romantic department. Still, when he met actress Jill Esmond, the daughter of two famous actors, he was determined to get her to see past his bedraggled façade. While she liked him, she didn’t exactly make it easy for him…
10. He Made A Drastic Decision Olivier fell for Esmond when they appeared in a play together. In the third week of the production, he proposed. Her reaction was brutal. Not only did she say no, but he found out that she was also taking off for a part on Broadway. Still, Olivier wasn’t going to let a little thing like the Atlantic Ocean get between them. He followed her to New York. Olivier was there to build his career—but he also had other motives.
11. She Had Reservations At this point, Laurence Olivier was 21 years old and his only experience in the bedroom had been with other boys at school. He was absolutely desperate to get married and see what the fairer sex had to offer, so his campaign to convince Esmond to be his wife continued in New York. While she accepted a ring from him, she continued to say how unsure she was about the whole “marriage” thing. Was this a terrible omen? You bet.
12. He Had To Take Care Of His Sister When Olivier returned to England to wait for Esmond to finish her run in the States, he made a disturbing discovery. His sister Sybille was both a newlywed and a new mother—and it appeared she was losing her mind. She’d have frequent screaming fits and had even tried to give the baby to a group of nuns. Olivier helped to have her committed. The experience was horrible—and his “fiancee’s” reaction was even worse.
13. She Changed Her Mind When Esmond wrote back to Olivier after he broke the news about his sister, she told him that it was his problem, not hers. Ouch. Still, she wasn’t entirely without compassion. After a lonely December in the US, she tearfully told Olivier over a long-distance call in the wee hours of the New Year that she was coming back to him. Did she get totally sidetracked by a sunny vacation on the way home? Yes. But she also, eventually, kept her promise to him.
14. Their Honeymoon Period Was Short Finally, in June of 1930, Laurence Olivier and Jill Esmond tied the knot. After the struggle that preceded it—nearly two years apart, family and money troubles—it seemed like a fairy tale. In reality, it was more of a nightmare. It took mere weeks for them to realize they’d made a terrible mistake, but by then, it was too late. Following the tradition of many men before and after him, Olivier hid from the sad reality of his broken relationship by throwing himself into work.
14. Their Honeymoon Period Was Short Finally, in June of 1930, Laurence Olivier and Jill Esmond tied the knot. After the struggle that preceded it—nearly two years apart, family and money troubles—it seemed like a fairy tale. In reality, it was more of a nightmare. It took mere weeks for them to realize they’d made a terrible mistake, but by then, it was too late. Following the tradition of many men before and after him, Olivier hid from the sad reality of his broken relationship by throwing himself into work.
15. He Met His Mentor At the time, Noel Coward was one of the hottest playwrights—and social figures—in London. When he caught Laurence Olivier on stage, he was blown away by the actor’s talent and cast him in his play Private Lives. It was a smashing success, and became Olivier’s big break. On top of that, Coward became both a close friend and a mentor to Olivier. When the time came to take the play to New York, they needed to find a new leading lady, so they made the convenient choice to take Esmond with them. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the three.