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Notable Family Members: spouse Joan Plowright. Laurence Olivier (born May 22, 1907, Dorking, Surrey, England—died July 11, 1989, near London, England) was a towering figure of the British stage and screen, acclaimed in his lifetime as the greatest English-speaking actor of the 20th century.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- He Eschewed The Family Tradition
- He Saw What He Wanted to Do
- They Had An Icy Relationship
- His Whole Life Changed
- He Lost His Biggest Ally
- His School Was A Hotbed For Debauchery
- His Father Told Him Exactly What to Do
- He Followed in His Sister’S Footsteps
- He Fell in Love
- He Made A Drastic Decision
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 ...
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. Laurenc...
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...
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...
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 spend...
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...
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 w...
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 accord...
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 be...
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 Yo...
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.
- Actor, Producer, Director
- July 11, 1989
- May 22, 1907
Sep 21, 2024 · After much publicity, Olivier was chosen by M-G-M in 1933 to star in his first Hollywood film opposite Greta Garbo in “Queen Christina,” but after a meeting, she rejected him (in favor of her former lover, silent-screen legend John Gilbert. The rejection not only stunned but embarrassed Olivier.
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.
- January 1, 1
- Dorking, Surrey, England, UK
- January 1, 1
- Steyning, West Sussex, England, UK
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier OM (/ ˈ l ɒr ə n s ˈ k ɜːr ə ˈ l ɪ v i eɪ / LORR-ənss KUR ə-LIV-ee-ay; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director.
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Apr 14, 2021 · Laurence Olivier was one of the most acclaimed actors of the 20th century, known for his roles in numerous Shakespeare productions on stage and screen.
