Olivier, Laurence, Baron Olivier

Olivier, Laurence (Kerr), Baron Olivier (of Brighton)

(born May 22, 1907, Dorking, Surrey, Eng.—died July 11, 1989, near London) British actor, director, and producer. He began his professional career in 1926 and joined the Old Vic company in 1937, playing many major Shakespearean roles. With Ralph Richardson he codirected the Old Vic (1944–50), and he acted in some of its greatest productions, including Richard III, Henry IV, and Oedipus Rex. He was knighted in 1947. From 1950 he directed and acted under his own management; his notable productions included Antony and Cleopatra and The Entertainer (1957). He was the founding director of the National Theatre (1962–73), one of whose theatres is now named for him. In 1970 he was created a life peer, the first actor ever to be so honoured. His many films include Wuthering Heights (1939), Rebecca (1940), Hamlet (1948, Academy Award), The Entertainer (1960), and Othello (1965). He was married to the actresses Vivien Leigh and (from 1961) Joan Plowright (b. 1929).