Olivier

This lengthy authorized biography- authorized by Olivier's third wife, Joan Plowright- must certainly be the definitive work about the great actor and his world. And yet I still find Sir Laurence somewhat of an enigma. even after plowing through this lengthy book. There is so much information presented, often really trivial stuff, that it is easy to get waylaid.I found that the love letters written by Olivier and Leigh to each other were embarrassing and I felt like an eavesdropper who had no business reading those letters. However author Coleman pretty much bares the souls of the players on the Olivier stage and you may not like what you see.Olivier himself was rather like a chameleon who often changed his colors. That may have been the actor in him as he was always in real life as well as on the stage playing a part. There is no doubt he was a womanizer, however, and he cheated during all three marriages. He was relentlessly driven throughout his whole life to become the best actor in the world as well as the best producer and director. The author mentions that Olivier often embroidered stories about himself - however, he was not a liar, but again the actor, with showmanship written on every chromosome. Because of Olivier's embellishments, it's difficult, Coleman points out, to get a proper handle on Olivier's personality as well as crucial events in his life. The real Olivier will not please stand up.Olivier was severely ill during much of the last twenty years of his life, enduring kidney problems, pleurisy, a thrombosis in his leg but he bulldozed on, his ambition forcing his body to fall in line.His tempestuous relationship with Vivien Leigh is the stuff that dreams are made of- sort of. Author Coleman lays out the dynamics of their famous twenty plus year love affair. Those dynamics are a bit excruciating. As Noel Coward remarked toward the end of their marriage:"Their life together is really hideous...they are eminent, successful,envied and adored, and most wretchedly unhappy."Manic depression is a ghastly disorder and much more about it is known today but one standard treatment is still electric shock therapy. Vivien underwent the shock treatment several times which effected her memory, making it hard for her to memorize her lines. During a manic episode she could appear crazy. Poor David Niven, who witnessed one of her worst breakdowns, helped all he could but remarked in his memoirs that he had come to hate her.As an actress, Vivien could not scale the heights achieved by Olivier. Considered a narrow range talent, Vivien nevertheless was perhaps the greater star, which brought friction into their marriage. Narrow range or not, Vivien won Oscars for her two greatest roles, that of Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois. Ironically both characters are Southern but Scarlett was a survivor while Blanche could not cope with reality. When called "Scarlett O'Hara" by a nurse, Vivien shot back "No! I am Blanche DuBois!" She was right.There are many fascinating scenes and episodes in the book, including Olivier's disgust with Marilyn Monroe while they were filming "The Prince and the Showgirl." Marilyn's unprofessional behavior drove Olivier up the wall. But when Marilyn faced the camera, an extraordinary metamorphosis took place, Her "showgirl" is simply delicious and she stole the show from Olivier, hands down.Olivier showed great forbearance of Vivien's deteriorating health and the marriage took years to finally become unraveled. But when Olivier moves on to Joan Plowright and Vivien to Peter Finch and others, the reader feels somewhat let down. The apple tree, the singing and the gold disappear and you're kind of left hollow. Olivier achieves as much happiness as his condescending character can, and Vivien, of course, died many years before Olivier did. This comprehensive study doesn't quite plumb the depths of Laurence Olivier, but the complex story is a fine tapestry, and you may even shed a tear here and there.

Well, I was hoping for more insight into who Sir Larry was, but sadly this book seemed a bit more focused on accuracy of details. The reading is sometimes stiff, boring, of little interest to me. I realize the National Theatre is/was important in his life, but certainly other elements of his amazing life would have been of greater interest. Perhaps I'll try his biography and see how that compares. I bought this book based on other's reviews, and for the most part enjoyed the journey. I would say the last third of the book becomes bogged down and didn't keep my interest. Coleman seems most interested in keeping the facts straight, which is great, but I am a soul seeker, and walked away longing to know Larry even better than Coleman would let me. Loved the photos, award listings in back, all his productions-great stuff there.

Before his death in 1989, Laurence Olivier wrote one of the more entertaining autobiographies on being a master thespian, 1985's "Confessions of an Actor". There was a pervasive modesty in his tone that came across at times as rather disingenuous. Now sixteen years after his death, we are finally provided the authorized biography of the world's leading Shakespearean actor. Whether he was the greatest actor of the last century is more debatable and one that author Terry Coleman doesn't really address in terms of the actor's gallery of performances. Instead, culling from Olivier's personal papers, Coleman paints an exhaustive portrait of an impersonal, driven man who was ruthlessly determined to become the greatest actor who ever lived.Born the son of a clergyman in 1907, Olivier had an unhappy childhood and became passionate about acting in school. He did not touch Shakespeare until fellow actor John Gielgud asked him to trade roles with him in an Old Vic production of "Romeo and Juliet". This was his turning point and by 1937, Olivier was doing Hamlet, Henry V and Twelfth Night at the Old Vic. He was also wildly in love with the 24-year-old Vivien Leigh, and their two-plus-decade relationship is the stuff of legend. Coleman meticulously examines all the dynamics between the condescending Olivier and the mercurial, self-destructive Leigh, even though Coleman obviously has no love reserved for Leigh. Despite her legendary successes as Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois, Olivier was far more of an actor, and their professional competitiveness - actually more on his side than hers - was the crux of their marriage.To the end of her days, Leigh had a narrow range, while Olivier knew no challenge beyond him. She, however, was arguably the greater star, and bitterness and jealously seeped into their relationship, especially when they worked together onstage in the 1950's, and he tortured her with his perfectionism. Olivier left Leigh for actress Joan Plowright in 1960, and while this provided some stability in his life with three children, Coleman is quick to point out that Olivier was not significantly changed temperamentally. What did change were Olivier's priorities - he established the National Theater in England and started accepting parts in putrid movies like "The Betsy" and "Inchon" to support his children. Toward the end of his life, he focused his legacy on the stage even though he developed debilitating stage fright.Coleman's book is fascinating, but the one drawback is that he doesn't provide a career retrospective worthy of his subject. Personal insights aside (and he does get into Oliver's purported bisexuality), the author doesn't really capture the greatness of the actor in his journalistic-style writing. Writing about such a flamboyant figure like Olivier seems like a radical departure for Coleman, who has written books on Horatio Nelson and English emigration to America. He has even seen Olivier onstage but surprisingly does not share his impressions in the book. For someone like me who has enjoyed Olivier's performances in films such as "Wuthering Heights", "Rebecca" and "Sleuth", it's a bit of a disappointment. Regardless, there are plenty of penetrating insights into this complex man, and it's well worth reading for those alone.