Laurence Olivier - Sir Laurence after 1947, Lord Laurence after 1970
has been variously lauded as the greatest Shakespearean interpreter
of the 20th century. Olivier made his first public appearance at the
age of 9, playing Brutus in an All Saint's Production of Julius Caesar.
Olivier enrolled at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic
Art, where one of his instructors was Claude Rains. That same year,
he made his professional London debut in The Suliot Officer. He made
his film debut in the German-produced A Temporary Widow (1929), and
the following year married actress Jill Esmond, moving with her to America
when Private Lives opened on Broadway.
Signed to a Hollywood contract by RKO in 1931, Olivier failed to make
much of an impression on screen, disenchanted with the movies he vowed
to remain on stage. He graduated to full-fledged stardom in 1935, when
he was cast as Romeo in John Gielgud's
London production of Romeo and Juliet. Olivier made his first Shakespearean
film, playing Orlando in Paul Czinner's production of As You Like It
(1936). Now a popular movie leading man, Olivier starred in such entertainment's
as Fire Over England
(1937), The Divorce of Lady X (1938), Q
Planes (1939) and 21 Days (1940). He returned to Hollywood to star
as Heathcliff in Sam Goldwyn's glossy production of Wuthering Heights
(1939), earning the first of eleven Academy Award nominations. He followed
this with leading roles in Alfred
Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940), Pride and Prejudice (1940) and Korda's
That Hamilton Woman (1941), co-starring in the latter with his second
wife, Vivien Leigh. His most conspicuous
contribution to the war effort was his joyously jingoistic film production
of Henry V (1944)
which he produced, directed and starred in.
In 1947, the year knighthood was bestowed upon him, Olivier served
up another celluloid Shakespeare, producing, directing and starring
in Hamlet (1948).
The 1950s was a transitional decade for Olivier; while he had his share
of successes - his movie singing debut in The Beggar's Opera (1953),
his production of
Richard III (1955) - he also suffered a great many setbacks, both
personal and professional. Olivier deliberately sought out such challenging,
image-busting roles as the ruthless, bisexual Crassus in Spartacus (1960)
and the fanatical Mahdi in Khartoum (1966). He also achieved a measure
of stability in his private life in 1961 when he married actress Joan
Plowright. During this period, he was far more comfortable before the
cameras than in the theatre, suffering as he was from a mysterious bout
of stage fright. He also committed two more directorial efforts to film,
Othello (1965) and Dance of Death (1969), both of which were disappointingly
stagebound. In 1970, he became Lord Olivier and assumed his seat in
the House of Lords the following year. Four years later, suffering from
a life-threatening illness, he made his last stage appearance. From
1974 until his death, he seemingly took whatever film job was offered
him, some like Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Sleuth
(1972) and John Schlesinger's Marathon Man
(1976) proved worthy of the ageing actor.
