Laurence Olivier
The Lord Olivier | |
|---|---|
 Olivier in 1972 | |
| Born | Laurence Kerr Olivier 22 May 1907 |
| Died | 11 July 1989 (aged 82) |
| Cause of death | Kidney failure and cancer |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1925–1988 |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 4 |
| Awards | Full list |
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century.[1] He was the youngest actor to be knighted and the first to be raised to the peerage.[2] Olivier married English actresses Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh and Joan Plowright.
Actor Spencer Tracy said that Olivier was 'the greatest actor in the English-speaking world'.[3] In 1999, the American Film Institute named Olivier among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, at number 14 on the list.
Olivier had many awards: twelve Oscar nominations, with two wins (for Best Actor and Best Picture for the 1948 film Hamlet), plus two honorary awards including a statuette and certificate. He was awarded five Emmy Awards. He was a three-time Golden Globe and BAFTA winner. In 1976 he received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, a lifetime achievement award.
Olivier's ashes are buried in Westminster Abbey.
References
- ↑ Hodgdon, Barbara. Shakespeare Quarterly, "From the Editor", Fall, 2002
- ↑ "Picks and Pans: Pages; Midnight Sweets". People Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ↑ Tracy quoted in By Myself and Then Some by Lauren Bacall (Harper Paperbacks 2006), pp. 214-15.