Sir Laurence Kerr Olivier,
Baron Olivier of Brighton, (
May 22,
1907 -
July 11,
1989) was an English actor and director.
- Olivier was born May 22, 1907 in Dorking, Surrey, England and died on July 11, 1989 in Steyning[?], West Sussex, England
- Hailed by many as the greatest actor of the 20th century
- attended the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art
- stage breakthrough was in Noel Coward's Private Lives[?] (1930), and in Romeo and Juliet (1935) alternating the roles of Romeo and Mercutio with John Gielgud
- film breakthrough was portrayal of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (1939)
- 10 Oscar nominations - Won best actor/picture Hamlet (1949), and two honorary Oscars (1947, 1979)
- founding director (1962-1973) of the National Theatre of Great Britain
- married three times -- Jill Esmond[?], by whom one son, Vivien Leigh, by whom no children, Joan Plowright[?], by whom one son and two daughters.
- not notably faithful in those marriages: Joan Plowright said "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."
- knighted in 1947, in 1970 elevated to a life peerage
Sir Laurence Olivier is interred in Westminster Abbey, London, England.