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Laurence Olivier was born in Surrey, England in 1907. He discovered acting as a child, and played Shakespearean roles as a teen. He starred in Private Lives on the stage in 1930, and that made him a star. In 1937 he starred in Fire Over England with Vivien Leigh, and after the film was finished, they started having an affair, even though both were married. In 1939 she starred in Gone With the Wind and he in Wuthering Heights, and after those two great triumphs, they both divorced their spouses and were married. Wuthering Heights was Olivier's greatest film role. Prior to this movie, he had one major failing as a movie actor, which was that he acted as if he was on the stage, which detracted from his appearances because he appears to be over-acting when delivering his lines. He approached the role of Heathcliff in the same way, and producer Sam Goldwyn threatened to fire him after filming began, but legendary director William Wyler was able to convince him to tone down his performance, and it surely ranks as one of the finest ever captured on film (there is a moment when he returns a rich man, and he says to Catherine that he has forgotten to congratulate her on her marriage, and he adds, "I have often thought of it", and I have never heard a line better delivered!). Olivier spent some time as a pilot in the Reserves during WWII, and in 1944, he and Ralph Richardson formed a new Old Vic Theatre Company, where he had many triumphs on the stage, in both Shakespeare and more modern plays. In 1945 Olivier directed and starred in a film version of Henry V (nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for this film, and he won an honorary Oscar for outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director for the film), and in 1948 he directed and starred in a film version of Hamlet, and he won the Best Actor Oscar, and the movie was nominated for Best Picture. That same year he and Leigh went on a 6 month trip performing in Australia and New Zealand, and it was at that time their marriage began to completely break down, although they remained together (both personally and professionally) for quite some time. They divorced in 1961, and Olivier married actress Joan Plowright, with whom he soon had three children. In 1955, Olivier filmed the last of his three great Shakespearean films, Richard III (nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for this film), and over the rest of his life he alternated between the stage and many memorable appearances in movies, including The Prince and the Showgirl (opposite Marilyn Monroe), Spartacus, Othello, and many more. As he aged he successfully transitioned to older character roles, and one of his very finest was as the Nazi dentist Szell in Marathon Man (nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for this film). AND Vivien Leigh was an English actress from the 1930s to the 1960s. She is of course best remembered for playing Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With The Wind (winner of the Best Actress Academy Award for this film). Some of her other movies include: A Streetcar Named Desire (winner of the Best Actress Academy Award for this film), Waterloo Bridge, and Fire Over England. She was married for many years to Laurence Olivier. They first met when they were making a movie together, and were married to other people, later divorcing their respective spouses and marrying each other. Unfortunately, Leigh struggled with bipolar disorder, as well as two miscarriages, and she and Olivier eventually divorced in 1961. Leigh passed away in 1967 at the age of 53 from tuberculosis.

Important Added Info: Note that we don't know much of anything about this still. If anyone does, please e-mail us and we will post it here. Also note that this English news photo has been trimmed and it now measures 7 1/2" x 10" [19 x 25 cm].

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