LAURENCE OLIVIER BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Laurence Olivier was born on May 22nd, 1907 in Dorking, Surrey England in the United Kingdom with the birth name Laurence Kerr Olivier.  His parents were very strict and his father, Gerard Kerr Olivier was a priest and in 1918 when his father became employed as the new church minister at St. Mary's Church in Letchworth, Hertfordshire the whole family relocated.
 
Olivier attended the choir school of All Saints' Margaret Street in London.  He became involved in the school productions at the age of nine and at age thirteen he went to study at St. Edwards School in Oxford appearing in more school productions.  

When he was seventeen years old he went on to continue his studies at the Central School of Speech and Drama and by 1926 he became a member of the Birmingham Repertory Company.  He started out with small jobs at the theater but was soon given the opportunity to work on the stage as an actor.  His first role was in portraying Hamlet in the production of, "Macbeth" (1927) and he then was offered a chance to appear in the Apollo theatre's first production of, "Journey's End".  This was just the beginning of a long and quite successful career.
 
His stage breakthrough role was in, "Private Lives" (1930) and soon after his film debut was in, "The Temporary Widow" (1930), followed by his first lead role in the film, "The Yellow Ticket" (1931).  One of his earliest successes as a Shakespearean actor was on the London stage playing the characters or Romeo and Mercutio in alternating performances of, "Romeo and Juliet" (1935).  His first prominent role on Broadway was in, "No Time For Comedy" (1939)  
 
He had married Vivien Leigh and they were working together on a number of stage productions as well as film work.  One of his well known films was in, "Wuthering Heights" (1939) and they worked together as lovers on the film, "Fire Over England" (1937), "21 Days Together" (1940) and "That Hamilton Woman" (1941).  The couple would appear on films and on stage in America as well as England throughout their 20 year marriage.
 
Olivier was ranked #46 in Empire (UK) Magazine's, "Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time", voted the 20th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly and he is also one of only two actors who actually directed himself in a film to win Best Actor in, "The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fifth with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France (1944).
 
When World War II broke out, Olivier was planning to join the Royal Air Force but due to other obligations that he was signed in a contract to do, he never was drafted into the service.  Instead he worked on three stage productions, "Peer Gynt", "Arms and the Man" and "Richard III". and also filmed, "Henry V" (1944).    

By 1948, Olivier was a Board member for the Old Vic Theatre and along with his wife, Leigh together they traveled Australia and New Zealand to help raise funds for the theatre.  They were very successful financially but the tour did take a toll on both of their physical health. 
 
As time progressed the two continued to travel and work in the theatre all over the country.  Their marriage was beginning to fall apart and by 1958, Leigh ended up having an affair with another actor by the name of Jack Merivale.  By 1960, Olivier and Leigh divorced and he moved on to his third marriage.
 
Olivier now put full focus into his professional life and began appearing more on the big screen.  He received two Academy Award nominations for his role in the films, "Sleuth" (1972) and "Marathon Man" (1976).  He also chose to do a number of television appearances such as, "Brideshead Revisited" (1981) and in 1982 the stage play, "The Voyage Around My Father".  One of his last film roles was when he was seventy seven years old in the film, "Wild Geese II" (1985) and his absolute final performance was in 1988 in the film, "War Requiem" at the age of eighty one.  
 
In total he married three times throughout his life.  First to Jill Esmond from 1930 through 1940 and together they had one child.  His second marriage was to Viven Leigh from August 31st, 1940 through January 6th, 1961.  His third and final marriage was to Joan Plowright from 1961 through his death, having three children together.  Olivier passed away on July 11th, 1989 in Steyning, West Sussex in England from complications from a muscular disorder. 

Filmography

1989 War Requiem 
1987 The Ebony Tower 
1986 Lost Empires 
1986 Peter the Great 
1985 Wild Geese II 
1984 The Jigsaw Man 
1984 The Last Days of Pompeii 
1984 The Bounty
1984 A Voyage Round My Father
1984 A Talent for Murder 
1983 Wagner
1983 Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson 
1983 King Lear 
1981 Brideshead Revisited
1981 Clash of the Titans 
1981 Inchon 
1980 The Jazz Singer
1979 Dracula
1979 A Little Romance 
1978 The Boys from Brazil 
1978 The Betsy 
1978 Daphne Laureola 
1978 Saturday, Sunday, Monday 
1977 Come Back, Little Sheba 
1977 A Bridge Too Far 
1977 Jesus of Nazareth 
1976 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 
1976 The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
1976 Marathon Man
1975 Love Among the Ruins 
1974 The Rehearsal 
1973 The Merchant of Venice
1973 ITV Saturday Night Theatre 
1973 Lady Caroline Lamb 
1972 Sleuth
1971 Nicholas and Alexandra 
1970 Three Sisters
1969 David Copperfield 
1969 Battle of Britain
1969 The Dance of Death 
1969 Oh! What a Lovely War
1969 Male of the Species 
1968 The Shoes of the Fisherman
1968 Romeo and Juliet
1967 NET Playhouse 
1966 Khartoum  
1965 Othello 
1965 Bunny Lake Is Missing 
1963 Uncle Vanya 
1962 Term of Trial 
1961 The Power and the Glory 
1960 Spartacus 
1960 The Entertainer 
1959 The Moon and Sixpence
1959 The Devil's Disciple
1958 ITV Play of the Week  
1957 The Prince and the Showgirl 
1955 Richard III  
1953 The Beggar's Opera 
1952 Carrie
1952 The Magic Box 
1948 Hamlet
1944 The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fifth with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France 
1944 This Happy Breed 
1943 Adventure for Two 
1941 49th Parallel 
1941 That Hamilton Woman 
1940 Pride and Prejudice 
1940 Rebecca
1940 21 Days Together 
1939 Wuthering Heights
1939 Clouds Over Europe 
1938 The Divorce of Lady X 
1937 Fire Over England 
1936 Conquest of the Air 
1936 As You Like It 
1935 I Stand Condemned 
1933 No Funny Business
1933 Perfect Understanding 
1932 Westward Passage 
1931 The Yellow Ticket 
1931 Friends and Lovers 
1931 Potiphar's Wife 
1930 The Temporary Widow 
1930 Too Many Crooks