OLIVIER Sir Laurence
Laurence Kerr Olivier.
Date of birth
: May 22, 1907, Dorking, Surrey,
England.
Date of death : July 11, 1989, Steyning, West Sussex, England ().
Address Notley Abbey (with Vivien Leigh).
Profession actor.
Story
Son of a cleric.
His first wife was Jill Esmond (January 26, 1908-July 28, 1990)(,
).
They were married from 1930 to 1940 ().
They had a son Simon Tarquin (born on August 21, 1936)(;
).
He then married Viven Leigh (November 5, 1913-July 8, 1967) from 1947 to 1960.
They didn't have any children.
His last wife was Joan Plowright (born on October 28, 1929). They married on March 1961
They had 3 children Richard (born on December 3, 1961), Tamsin Agnes Margaret (born on January 10, 1963)
and Julianne Rose Kate (born on July 27, 1966)(;
).
Often considered as the cinema and theater actor the most accomplished of the 20th Century.
His performance in the main Shakespearian parts in movies won him several Academy Awards : "Henry V" (1945), "Hamlet"
(1948).
For "Hamlet" he even obtained the award for the three duties : actor, director and producer.
His nomination to the Academy Awards for "Richard III" (1956) and "Othello" (1965) consecrated, in a certain way and definitely, the way he adapted the Shakespeare theater to cinema.On the both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, he was considered as a star of the stage and a genius of the direction. He was an important personality of the public life and a great figure of the stage.
He became knight of the crown in 1947 and was ennobled by the Queen in 1970, with the title of first baron Olivier of Brighton.In 1949 he directed, in London, "A Streetcar Named Desire".
In 1950, in the USA, he shot "Carrie" with William Wyler.
In 1951, he played "Cleopatra" on stage, in London, with his wife Vivien Leigh .
In 1953 he staged, in London, "The Sleeping Prince" of Terence Rattigan. He played the leading role with his wife, Vivien Leigh.
The first movie scheduled by Marilyn's associate, Milton Greene,
and their newly production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions,
was "The Prince
and the Showgirl"
(1957). This work was supposed to skillfully put face-to-face those two
personalities. Marilyn overcomed an important step, which consisted in
performing a serious part, allowing her to prove that she could stand
beside this actor with such a great talent.
In 1956 Olivier released a movie in England, he had directed himself, "Richard III".
On February 6, 1956, performance of "The Diary of Anne Frank" with Susan Strasberg at the New York Cort
When he arrived on February 7,
1956 at Marilyn's apartment, in Sutton Place, with his agent Cecil
Tennant and the playwright Terence Rattigan, she made them wait one hour and a half. It was their first meeting.
During the press conference they gave at the Terrace Room of the Plaza
Hotel, on February 9, 1956, the two actors mutually congratulate themselves.
Press conference
seated
at the balcony
Picture session
with Marilyn
with Terence Rattigan
Letter to Marilyn after his stay in New York, dated February 15, 1956
The Millers arrived in England on July 14, 1956 and held a press conference at the London airport with the Oliviers
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
On July 15, 1956, the day after their arriving in England, Marilyn and Arthur Miller held, at the London Savoy Hotel, a new press conference to announce the beginning of the shooting of "The Prince and the Showgirl".
seated
Press conference, July 16, 1956
Pictures during the shooting ,
;
,
,
The courtesy exchanges ended as soon as the shooting began. Marilyn's commitment to the Strasberg method and her playing were completely out of place with Olivier's ideas.
Arthur Miller was in the delicate position of a go-between, between the two actors.
After having lost Olivier's trust, nothing could convince Marilyn that he wasn't her sworn enemy.
In his autobiography, Miller put forward the following interpretation : as the shooting went on, Marilyn ended considering Oliver as a rival trying to achieve to oust her. Olivier, for his part, had to put up with the presence of Paula Strasberg, from who Marilyn followed the advices much more than Olivier's ones. She ended thinking he didn't want to do the movie and was only there to earn money.
Although the general opinion said that in "The Prince and the Showgirl" she played one of her best performances in a comedy, the critics were mixed.
at the theater
On November 22, 1956, leaving of the Millers
,
,
He didn't direct any movie before "Three Sisters", 16 years later.
He wasn't much impressed by this visit.
In 1977, Golden Globe ceremony
In 1979 on the set of "Clash of the Titans", in England
Bibliography
"Confessions of an Actor", Laurence Olivier, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1982. Trad. fr.
«Confessions d'un acteur » Paris, Ramsay, 1988.
Website