Laurence Olivier

Born May 22, 1907, in Dorking, Surrey, Laurence Kerr Olivier was the son of Gerard Olivier, a Church of England priest, and Agnes Crookenden Olivier. After training at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, he joined the Birmingham Repertory Company and went on to become a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He performed with the Old Vic before returning as co-director in 1944. He founded and served as the first artistic director of the National Theater of Britain.

He married three times, each time to an actress: first Jill Esmond, who bore his son Tarquin Olivier; then Vivien Leigh; and finally Joan Plowright, with whom he had three children.

Film credits include "Spartacus," "A Bridge Too Far," "Romeo and Juliet," "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution," "Clash of the Titans," "Rebecca," "The Bounty," "Marathon Man," "Pride and Prejudice," "The Boys from Brazil," "The Prince and the Showgirl," "Sleuth," "A Little Romance," "Wuthering Heights," and "Dracula." Among his television credits: "Great Performances," "American Masters," "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Mike Douglas Show," "Arena," "King Lear," "Wagner," "ITV Play of the Week," "David Copperfield," and "Love Among the Ruins."

His Oscar honors include an Honorary Award in 1947 for "The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fifth with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France," Best Actor in a Leading Role for "Hamlet" in 1949, and a lifetime achievement Honorary Award in 1979. He won four Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor (Lead or Support) for "The Moon and Sixpence" in 1960, Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for "Long Day's Journey Into Night" in 1973, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy for "Love Among the Ruins" in 1975, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for "Brideshead Revisited" in 1982. A fifth Primetime Emmy followed in 1984, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special, for "King Lear." He received a star on the Walk of Fame in 1960.

Knighted in 1947, he was raised to life peerage in 1970. His 1982 autobiography bore the title "Confessions of an Actor," followed by "On Acting" in 1986. Broadway theater marquees were dimmed in his honor on July 12, 1989.