Information AboutLaurence Olivier |
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Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM ( 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989 ) was an Academy Award -winning English Actor and Director , regarded by many critics as the greatest actor of the 20th century. EARLY CAREER Olivier was born in Dorking , Surrey . He was educated at St Edward's School , Oxford and he attended the Central School Of Speech And Drama . It was his father, Gerard Kerr Olivier, an Anglican priest, who decided that Laurence — or Kim as the family called him — would become an actor. His stage breakthroughs were in Noel Coward 's '' Private Lives '' in 1930, and in '' Romeo And Juliet '' in 1935, alternating the roles of Romeo and Mercutio with John Gielgud . His film breakthrough was his portrayal of Heathcliff in the 1939 film, '' Wuthering Heights '', which co-starred Merle Oberon and Geraldine Fitzgerald . LATER CAREER Olivier narrated the famous '' The World At War '' miniseries on BBC Television , an extensive documentary of the Second World War . His understated performance was well received critically and the series continues to air regularly in many markets around the world. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, ''The World at War'' was placed 19th. PRIVATE LIFE , in '' Fire Over England '' (1937)]] Olivier's biographer Donald Spoto described his first wife Jill Esmond as "a diffident lesbian." They were married in 1930 and had one son, Tarquin, in 1936. They were divorced on 29 January 1940 . By 1938, he had embarked on a torrid affair with Vivien Leigh , who was also married. Finally divorced by their respective spouses, they married on 31 August 1940 , at the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, California , with Katharine Hepburn as Maid Of Honour . They were divorced on 2 December 1960 . Olivier married his third wife, Joan Plowright , on St. Patrick's Day , 1961. Esmond named Leigh as Co-respondent in her divorce on grounds of adultery. Leigh named Plowright as co-respondent in her divorce, also on grounds of adultery. 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," referring to biographer Donald Spoto's claim that Kaye and Olivier were lovers . He was reportedly also intimate with playwright Noel Coward. Terry Coleman's authorised biography of Olivier suggests a relationship between Olivier and an older actor, Henry Ainley , based on correspondence from Ainley to Olivier, although some of Olivier's family dispute this interpretation. In his book '''' = Olivier, R. (1996) ''Melting the Stone: A Journey Around My Father''. Spring Publications. ISBN 0882143700., Olivier and Plowright's son, Richard, described his father as being more interested in his work than in his children, and would become depressed when he didn't have a job. AWARDS
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