Here is the next installment of the Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier Q&A sessions. The quality of the questions keeps going up, so keep sending them in! As always, I hope it’s informative and that you learned something!
To have your questions answered in the next video, please ask them at the vivandlarry.com formspring!
Mark and I are back to answer your questions about Larry Olivier and Vivien Leigh. These are getting to be so much fun, and I’m loving the intelligence and depth to your questions! You may have to turn up the volume on your computer for this one–I’ve noticed my laptop mic doesn’t pick up sound as well wen we put it on the floor.
If you have any questions about either Vivien or Larry, please leave them in the formspring queue, and we’ll get to them in the next video!
Larry has had a profound effect on the acting world, particularly the British theatre, which was always his first love. His big break came in 1930 when Noel Coward cast him as Victor Prynne in Private Lives. In the mid-30’s he joined the Old Vic Company under Lillian Bayliss and gained a lot of attention for bringing a raw physical presence to Shakespeare, and he contrasted with John Gielgud who was strictly classical in his acting. He became a matinee idol in late 30s/early 40s Hollywood films. His good looks, romantic films, and new high profile marriage to Vivien Leigh would make him a superstar.
Larry’s real rise to fame on stage and in British cinema occurred during WWII. His acting and directing of Henry V transformed Shakespeare for the screen and gave a strong patriotic voice to wartime Britain. Meanwhile, he and Ralph Richardson were appointed directors of the Old Vic, and people were so excited to see Larry perform in person that they’d camp out on the street for a seat. Richard III, King Lear, and Oedipus were three of the plays performed during this time that gained him renowned critical adoration as an actor.
In 1948, he and Vivien Leigh were appointed actor-ambassadors, and led the Old Vic on a 9-month acting tour of Australia and New Zealand. It was a huge success and helped solidify the legend of The Oliviers. In 1949, Larry became the first actor to direct himself to a Best Actor Oscar with Hamlet.
The 1950s brought a string of plays and films for Larry including his film version of Richard III, but it was John Osborne’s The Entertainer in 1958 that would take his career and his life in an entirely new direction. By this time, his marriage to Vivien had all but broken up for good. In 1961 he married his co-star Joan Plowright and set off to establish Britain’s National Theatre. Widely regarded as the best actor of his generation, Larry gave powerful performances in plays ranging from Othello to Long Day’s Journey Into Night, thrilling audiences and inspiring a new generation of great actors including Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi, and Michael Gambon. He turned again to films when his health limited him on stage, and still turned out amazing performances, being nominated for Oscars for Marathon Man and The Boys from Brazil. Cary Grant presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award in 1979.
Larry passed away in 1989 at the age of 82, but has left behind a legacy of films and notoriety, especially in Britain. The Olivier Theatre, part of the National Theatre, was named after him. As were the Olivier Awards (Britain’s equivalent of the Tonys). Larry was a legend in his own time, and remains so for many in his profession today.
I personally never got a chance to see Larry on stage (I was but 5 when he died), but I love his films. I think he was an actor who grew into his skin in front of the camera. In the early days he did not appreciate the film medium, and it showed in his stagey performances, but he was remarkable later on. Some of my favorites include Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, Hamlet, Richard III, and Carrie.
Happy birthday, Larry! Thanks for being awesome!
Here’s the next vlog installment; you guys always ask amazing questions! Hopefully the answers in these videos are informative! As always, if there was something I answered incorrectly, or wasn’t sure about, and you know the answer, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment.
If you would like your questions about Vivien Leigh and/or Laurence Olivier answered in a video post, check out the vivandlarry formspring and ask away!
classic film events photography
Last night, Cinespia kicked off their annual summer season of cemetery screenings by showing Victor Fleming’s beloved classic, The Wizard of Oz. A group of friends and I had planned to go up and make a night of it–we had our picnic baskets packed, blankets loaded up, etc. and got on the road early to beat LA traffic. Operation Wizard of Oz at Hollywood Forever turned out to be an epic failure! We got up there with plenty of time to spare. Gates opened at 7, movie started at 8:30. So we decided to check out this vegan taco place on Melrose—their tacos were amazing. Then we sat in traffic on Santa Monica for about 30 mins. Everyone and their mother was trying to go to the screening. People were turning back blocks from the gates. People walking along the street told us it was hopeless and that the line was around the block. They weren’t kidding. The standing line was literally about a 1/2 mile long. There was no way we’d make it in. I’ve been to Cinespia a few times and I’ve never seen the line that long. We determined that it was probably a combination of the film and the fact that it was opening night for the season.
So, we ditched it for plan B: Griffith Observatory. Then half-way there we ditched that for plan C: movie at the Arclight. But when we got there and saw there were no seats for Robin Hood and it was $16 a ticket, we said “screw this,” and drove back home to drink wine and watch Pan’s Labyrinth. FAIL, LA.
But we did pass by the Church of Scientology—not the recruitment center on Hollywood Blvd, the actual celebrity mecca on Sunset. It looks like a big indigo prison/fortress. I bet they torture their cult victims inside. Once you’re in, you never leave.
Our misadventure did provide some opportunities for photography, though. I’m on a Photo 365 quest to take at least one photo every day for an entire year in order to improve my photography skills. Luckily, LA is quite an interesting town to photograph. Here are some of the shots I got last night.
Downtown LA
The Hollywood sign from atop the Arclight parking structure
“carnitas” from Pure Luck on Melrose