Laurence Olivier

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1975. First Printing . Hard Back. Near Fine/Fair. 6" x 9. 433 Pages Indexed. Blue boards with silver spine lettering. Front corners very lightly bumped and show minor wear. No marks, stamps or names. Dust jacket price 10.95 is unclipped and is a bit tattered with a one inch closed tear at the spine head and chipping on the edges. Olivier is the most honored actor in history, a peer of the realm, the author of scores of definitive performances, the actor-director-producer of the three greatest Shakespearean films, the guiding spirit of Britain's National Theater. Yet fifty years ago he was merely a stage-struck young parson's son, possessed of average looks, uncertain ambition and indifferent professional promise. By what alchemy was he transformed first into an international matinee idol and then into the undisputed king of actors? In search of the answer to this question, John Cottrell traces Olivier's life from his earliest years to his current (1975) unparalleled fame. We see Olivier's lean years as a drama student, his rising years in Hollywood, and his triumphant seasons as a Shakespearean actor at the Old Vic. Here are all the stories from rehearsals to reviews ---- behind the making of his most brilliant plays and films ---- Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, Henry V, Richard III, Hamlet, Othello, Sleuth, and so many more. Here also is the private side of Olivier --- the man who shuns fanfare, the one-time husband of Vivien Leigh, the man who is basically English to the core in his values, his attitudes, his interests.