Laurence Olivier
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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Laurence Olivier, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Credits
- 2024 · The Bannfoot Ferry as Self (archive footage)
- 2023 · Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story as Self (archive footage)
- 2021 · Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony as Self (archive footage)
- 2020 · Vivien Leigh, autant en emporte le vent as Self (archive footage)
- 2018 · Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
- 2018 · Nothing Like a Dame as Self (archive footage)
- 2015 · Iconic Couples as Self (archive footage)
- 2014 · And the Oscar Goes To... as Self (archive footage)
- 2013 · Talking Pictures as Self (archive footage)
- 2011 · Discovering Hamlet as Hamlet (archive footage)
- 2010 · Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff as Self (archive footage)
- 2005 · Jornal Português (1938-1951) as Self (archive footage)
- 2005 · Revisiting Brideshead as Self (archive footage)
- 2004 · Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow as Dr. Totenkopf (archive footage)
- 2002 · The Kid Stays in the Picture as Self (archive footage)
- 2001 · Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love as Self (archive footage)
- 2000 · Sir John Mills' Moving Memories as Self (archive footage)
- 2000 · The Filth and the Fury as Richard III (archive footage)
- 1999 · Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
- 1992 · The South Bank Show: Noël Coward as Self (archival footage)
- 1991 · Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker as Superintendent Newhouse (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1990 · Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond as Self (archive footage)
- 1989 · War Requiem as The Old Soldier
- 1988 · The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind as Self (archive footage)
- 1988 · Gregory Peck: His Own Man as Self (archive footage)
- 1986 · Lost Empires as Harry Burrard
- 1986 · Directed by William Wyler as Self
- 1986 · Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend as Self (from The Prince and the Showgirl [1957]) (archive footage)
- 1986 · Peter the Great as King William III of Orange
- 1985 · Wild Geese II as Rudolf Hess
- 1985 · Night of 100 Stars II as Self
- 1985 · To Be Hamlet as Self
- 1984 · The Last Days of Pompeii as Gaius
- 1984 · The Bounty as Admiral Hood
- 1984 · A Voyage Round My Father as Clifford Mortimer
- 1984 · The Ebony Tower as Henry Breasley
- 1983 · A Talent for Murder as Dr. Anthony Wainwright
- 1983 · The Jigsaw Man as Adm. Sir Gerald Scaith
- 1983 · Wagner as Pfeuffer
- 1983 · Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson as Joe Halpern
- 1983 · King Lear as King Lear
- 1983 · Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1981 · Brideshead Revisited as Alexander Flyte, Lord Marchmain
- 1981 · Clash of the Titans as Zeus
- 1981 · Inchon as Gen. Douglas MacArthur
- 1981 · At the Haunted End of the Day as Self
- 1980 · The Jazz Singer as Cantor Rabinovitch
- 1979 · Dracula as Prof. Abraham Van Helsing
- 1979 · A Little Romance as Julius
- 1978 · The Boys from Brazil as Ezra Lieberman
- 1978 · The Betsy as Loren Hardeman
- 1978 · Daphne Laureola as Sir Joseph
- 1978 · Saturday, Sunday, Monday as Antonio
- 1977 · Come Back, Little Sheba as Doc Delaney
- 1977 · A Bridge Too Far as Dr. Jan Spaander
- 1977 · Jesus of Nazareth as Nicodemus
- 1977 · Jesus Of Nazareth as Nicodemus
- 1976 · Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as Big Daddy
- 1976 · Laurence Olivier Presents as Big Daddy
- 1976 · Laurence Olivier Presents as Doc Delaney
- 1976 · Laurence Olivier Presents as Antonio
- 1976 · Laurence Olivier Presents as Sir Joseph
- 1976 · The Seven-Per-Cent Solution as Professor James Moriarty
- 1976 · The Gentleman Tramp as Narrator
- 1976 · Marathon Man as Szell
- 1976 · The Magic of Hollywood... Is the Magic of People as Self
- 1976 · The Collection as Harry
- 1975 · Love Among the Ruins as Sir Arthur Glanville-Jones
- 1974 · The Rehearsal as Self
- 1973 · The World at War as Narrator
- 1973 · The Merchant of Venice as Shylock
- 1973 · Long Day's Journey Into Night as James Tyrone Sr.
- 1972 · Sleuth as Andrew Wyke
- 1972 · Lady Caroline Lamb as Duke of Wellington
- 1971 · Nicholas and Alexandra as Count Witte
- 1971 · Great Performances as Harry
- 1971 · Great Performances as Self
- 1970 · Three Sisters as Dr. Ivan Chebutikin
- 1969 · David Copperfield as Mr. Creakle
- 1969 · Battle of Britain as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding
- 1969 · Oh! What a Lovely War as Field Marshal Sir John French
- 1969 · Male of the Species as Self - Presenter
- 1969 · Male of the Species as Presenter
- 1969 · The Dance of Death as Edgar
- 1968 · The Shoes of the Fisherman as Piotr Ilyich Kamenev
- 1968 · The Dick Cavett Show as Self - Guest
- 1968 · Romeo and Juliet as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- 1967 · Omnibus as Self (archive footage)
- 1967 · The Carol Burnett Show as Self - Audience Member
- 1966 · Great Acting: Laurence Olivier as Self - Interviewee
- 1966 · ABC Stage 67 as Self
- 1966 · Khartoum as Mahdi
- 1965 · Othello as Othello
- 1965 · Bunny Lake Is Missing as Supt. Newhouse
- 1965 · Olivier Talks About Othello as Self - Host
- 1963 · Uncle Vanya as Dr. Astrov
- 1963 · The Power and the Glory as Priest
- 1962 · Term of Trial as Graham Weir
- 1961 · Hollywood: The Selznick Years as Maxim de Winter (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1961 · The Mike Douglas Show as Self
- 1960 · Spartacus as Marcus Licinius Crassus
- 1960 · The Entertainer as Archie Rice
- 1959 · The Moon and Sixpence as Charles Strickland
- 1959 · The Devil's Disciple as Gen. Burgoyne
- 1957 · The Prince and the Showgirl as The Regent
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Recipient
- 1955 · Richard III as Richard III
- 1953 · The Beggar's Opera as MacHeath
- 1953 · A Queen Is Crowned as Narrator
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1953 · The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci as Narrator
- 1952 · Carrie as George Hurstwood
- 1952 · The Magic Box as Police Constable 94-B
- 1948 · Hamlet as Hamlet - Prince of Denmark / Voice of Ghost
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- 1944 · Henry V as King Henry
- 1944 · This Happy Breed as Narrator (voice)
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Winner
- 1944 · The Volunteer as Self
- 1943 · The Demi-Paradise as Ivan Kouznetsoff
- 1942 · Malta G.C. as Narrator
- 1941 · 49th Parallel as Johnnie, the Trapper
- 1941 · That Hamilton Woman as Lord Horatio Nelson
- 1941 · Words for Battle as Narrator (voice)
- 1940 · Cavalcade of the Academy Awards as Self
- 1940 · Pride and Prejudice as Mr. Darcy
- 1940 · Hollywood: Style Center of the World as Self
- 1940 · Rebecca as Maxim de Winter
- 1940 · 21 Days Together as Larry Durrant
- 1939 · Wuthering Heights as Heathcliff
- 1939 · Q Planes as Tony McVane
- 1938 · The Divorce of Lady X as Everard Logan
- 1937 · Fire Over England as Michael Ingolby
- 1936 · The Conquest of the Air as Vincent Lunardi
- 1936 · As You Like It as Orlando
- 1935 · Moscow Nights as Captain Ivan Ignatoff
- 1933 · No Funny Business as Clive Dering
- 1933 · Perfect Understanding as Nicholas Randall
- 1932 · Westward Passage as Nicholas 'Nick' Allen
- 1931 · The Yellow Ticket as Julian Rolfe
- 1931 · Friends and Lovers as Lieutenant Ned Nichols
- 1931 · Potiphar's Wife as Straker
- 1930 · Too Many Crooks as The Boy
- 1930 · The Temporary Widow as Peter Bille