name	Laurence Olivier Award
description	Best in London theatre
presenter	The Society of London Theatre
country
year	1976
website	}}

The Laurence Olivier Award (or simply the Olivier Award) is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London. The Olivier Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honor in British theatre and are considered to be the theatre industry equivalent of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for television and film; in terms of theatre, they are the British equivalent of Broadway's Tony Awards.

History

Commonly referred to simply as the ''Olivier Awards'', awards are presented annually across a range of categories covering plays, musicals, dance, opera and affiliate theatre. The majority of the awards are presented for the high profile commercial productions seen in the large theatres of London's West End, which is commonly known as ''Theatreland''.

The awards were first established in 1976 as ''The Society of West End Theatre Awards'', however in 1984, the renowned British actor Lord Olivier gave consent for the awards to be renamed in his honour and they became known as the ''Laurence Olivier Awards''. The awards are managed and financed by The Society of London Theatre and the awards ceremony is produced by West End producer Adam Spillage.

In Broadway theatre, the equivalent of the Olivier Award is the Tony Award and a number of the world's longest-running and most successful shows have received award nominations for both West End theatre and Broadway productions, with a number of leading actors, directors, choreographers and designers receiving award nominations on both sides of the Atlantic.

Judging

The Awards are judged by four separate panels for theatre, opera, dance, and Affiliate.

The majority of the Olivier Awards are presented in the theatre categories, which cover plays and musicals. The theatre categories are judged by the theatre panel, which has five anonymous specialist members who are chosen for their specialist knowledge and professional experience in addition to eight members of the theatre going public, four of whom judge plays, and four musicals.

The Opera, Dance and Affiliate panels each consist of three anonymous professional members, each judging their specialist area of expertise. Each panel also includes two members of the theatre going public. The Affiliate Panel judges productions in theatres represented by Affiliate members of the Society of London Theatre. The Affiliate category consists of smaller theatres that do not hold full SOLT membership and are often off-West End, for example the Lyric, Hammersmith, the Hampstead Theatre and repertory theatres such as the Old Vic, Young Vic and Royal Court Theatres. Two separate auditoria within the same theatre building may hold different memberships, such as in the case of the Royal Court Theatre.

Any new production that opens between January 1 and December 31 in a theatre represented in membership of the Society of London Theatre is eligible for entry for the Olivier Awards if it has run for a minimum of 30 performances. After a nomination has been received, it then has to be seconded by members of the Society and if it is successful, it is then seen by the relevant judging panel.

For awards in the Theatre categories, nominations are decided by a postal ballot of all members of the Theatre Panel and all members of the Society of London Theatre. For Affiliate, Opera and Dance categories, the nominations are decided only by members of the relevant panel, by way of a secret ballot.

Ceremony

Presenters

In 2005 and 2006 the Award Ceremony was hosted by Richard Wilson who, in 2007, co-presented with Sue Johnston. In 2008, it was hosted by Richard E. Grant, followed by James Nesbitt in 2009 and Anthony Head in 2010. Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton were hosts for 2011. The previous seven ceremonies were hosted by Clive Anderson, while earlier hosts include Angela Lansbury, Barry Norman, Peter Barkworth, Anthony Hopkins, Sue Lawley, Diana Rigg, Edward Fox, Tim Rice, Gary Wilmot, Jane Asher, Tom Conti, Denis Quilley and Angela Rippon.

Notable people who have presented an individual Award include Diana, Princess of Wales, Eddie Izzard, Kevin Spacey and Sir Tom Stoppard and, in 2007, Laurence Olivier's son, Richard.

Venues

The venue most associated with the Awards is Grosvenor House Hotel, which has housed the after-show reception nine times and hosted the whole event on four further occasions. As well as at the Grosvenor, the presentations have been held at: Victoria Palace, Lyceum, National Theatre Olivier, Albery (now Noel Coward), Shaftesbury, London Palladium , Dominion, Royalty, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Café Royal, Piccadilly, and The Park Lane Hilton.

The 2011 Ceremony was held on 13 March 2011 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Broadcast

For the first time, the BBC broadcast live coverage of the 2011 ceremony, including the "Red carpet" arrivals, awards results, and reactions. Paul Gambaccini presented a program on Radio 2 with live coverage and interviews.

Award categories

Drama

Best New Play

Best New Comedy

Best Revival

Best Actor

Best Actress

Best Performance in a Supporting Role

Best Newcomer in a Play

Musical

Best New Musical

Best Musical Revival

Best Actor in a Musical

Best Actress in a Musical

Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Production

Best Director

Best Theatre Choreographer

Best Costume Design

Best Set Design

Best Lighting Design

Best Sound Design

Dance/Opera

Best New Dance Production

Outstanding Achievement in Dance

Best New Opera Production

Outstanding Achievement in Opera

Other

Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre

Society of London Theatre Special Award

Most Promising Performer

Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment

Best Company Performance

Retired

Actor of the Year in a New Play

Actor of the Year in a Revival

Actress of the Year in a New Play

Actress of the Year in a Revival

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Director of a Play

Director of a Musical

Best Performance in a Musical

Best Comedy Performance

Best Set Designer

Audience Award for Most Popular Show

Outstanding Achievement in a Musical

Award record winners

People

SEVEN Judi Dench (actress)

William Dudley (designer)

Andrew Lloyd Webber (composer; Lloyd Webber won four individual Olivier Awards for composing, and three shows that he has produced have won awards)

SIX

Ian McKellen (actor)

Alan Bennett (actor/writer)

Richard Eyre (director)

Stephen Sondheim (composer)

FIVE

Matthew Bourne (choreographer/director)

Declan Donnellan (director)

Mark Henderson (lighting designer)

Mark Thompson (designer)

FOUR

Michael Bryant (actor)

Darcey Bussell (dancer)

Michael Frayn (writer)

Michael Gambon (actor)

Tim Goodchild (designer)

Clare Higgins (actor)

Alex Jennings (actor)

Sam Mendes (director)

John Napier (designer)

Trevor Nunn (director)

Philip Quast (actor)

Willy Russell (writer)

Simon Russell Beale (actor)

Frances de la Tour (actress)

Shows

SIX

''Nicholas Nickleby'' (1980)

FIVE

''Guys and Dolls'' (1982)

''Sunday in the Park with George'' (2007)

FOUR

''Hairspray'' (2007)

''All My Sons'' (2001)

''Billy Elliot - The Musical'' (2006)

''Hedda Gabler'' (2006)

''Oklahoma!'' (1999)

''Stanley'' (1997)

''She Loves Me'' (1995)

''Sweeney Todd'' (1994)

''Machinal'' (1994)

''An Inspector Calls'' (1993)

''Carousel'' (1993)

''Jerry Springer the Opera'' (2003)

''Spring Awakening'' (2010)

''Hairspray'' received a record-setting 11 nominations.

See also

West End theatre

Evening Standard Award

Tony Award

Drama Desk Award

List of Tony Award and Olivier Award winning musicals

References

External links

Complete list of nominees and winners

Olivier Awards news

Category:Stagecraft Category:Awards established in 1976 Category:English awards * Category:Theatre awards

ca:Premis Laurence Olivier de:Laurence Olivier Award el:Βραβεία Ολίβιε es:Premio Laurence Olivier fr:Laurence Olivier Awards it:Laurence Olivier Awards mr:लॉरेन्स ऑलिव्हिये पुरस्कार nl:Laurence Olivier Award ja:ローレンス・オリヴィエ賞 pt:Laurence Olivier Award tr:Laurence Olivier Ödülleri

name	Bruce Arthur Norris
birth date	February 19, 1924
birth place	Chicago, IL, USA
death date	January 01, 1986
death place	Stoney Brook, NY, USA
death cause	Liver failure
occupation	Sports team owner
spouse	1 Naoma Donnelley2) Patricia Anne Shephard3) Armene Lamson Clark
parents	James E. Norris
relations	James D. Norris
boards	Detroit Red Wings

Title	Honors
Award1	Hockey Hall of Fame (1969)
Award2	Lester Patrick Trophy (1976) }}

Bruce Arthur Norris (February 19, 1924 – January 1, 1986) was owner of the Detroit Red Wings from 1955 to 1982, and was also chairman of the National Hockey League's Board of Governors. He was the son of James E. Norris and half-brother of James D. Norris. Members of the Norris family owned the Red Wings for almost fifty years before selling the franchise to Mike Ilitch in 1982. In his first year as sole owner of the team, the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 1955. Norris was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969, joining his father and brother.

Bruce Norris served as an Ensign with the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Bruce Norris married Naoma Donnelley on June 28, 1947. The couple divorced in 1949. He remarried in 1958 to Patricia Anne Shephard. That marriage ended in divorce and in 1967 he married the former Mrs. Armene Lamson Clark of Seattle. They divorced in 1970.

In 1957, Mr. Norris ordered the trade of Ted Lindsay from the Red Wings to Chicago because of Mr. Lindsay's efforts to form the National Hockey League Players Association. His role in the union-busting efforts are dramatized in the TV movie, Net Worth.

In 1976, Bruce Norris was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.

Bruce Norris died at age 61 on January 1, 1986 at Stony Brook University hospital in Stony Brook, Long Island, New York.

External links

Norris' name on the Stanley Cup

January 2, 1986 ''New York Times'' obituary

Category:1924 births Category:1986 deaths Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:Detroit Red Wings owners Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Category:Lester Patrick Trophy recipients Category:National Hockey League executives Category:National Hockey League owners Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Stanley Cup champions

es:Bruce Norris fr:Bruce Norris (hockey sur glace)

honorific prefix	The Right Honourable
name	The Lord Olivier
honorific suffix	OM
birth date	May 22, 1907
birth place	Dorking, Surrey,United Kingdom
death date	July 11, 1989
death place	Steyning, West Sussex,United Kingdom
years active	1926–88
occupation	Actor, director, producer, screenwriter
spouse	Jill Esmond (1930–40; divorced)Vivien Leigh (1940–60; divorced)Joan Plowright (1961–89; his death)
children	2 sons, 2 daughters
relatives	Sydney Olivier (uncle, deceased)Noel Olivier (cousin, deceased)
website	http://www.laurenceolivier.com/ }}

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier of Brighton, OM (; 22 May 1907 11 July 1989) was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright.

Olivier played a wide variety of roles on stage and screen from Greek tragedy, Shakespeare and Restoration comedy to modern American and British drama. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. He is regarded by some to be the greatest actor of the 20th century, in the same category as David Garrick, Richard Burbage, Edmund Kean and Henry Irving in their own centuries. Olivier's AMPAS acknowledgments are considerable: fourteen Oscar nominations, with two awards (for Best Actor and Best Picture for the 1948 film ''Hamlet''), and two honorary awards including a statuette and certificate. He was also awarded five Emmy awards from the nine nominations he received. Additionally, he was a three-time Golden Globe and BAFTA winner.

Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' and Sir Toby Belch in ''Twelfth Night'' to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in ''Marathon Man'' and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in ''The Boys from Brazil.'' A High church clergyman's son who found fame on the West End stage, Olivier became determined early on to master Shakespeare, and eventually came to be regarded as one of the foremost Shakespeare interpreters of the 20th century. He continued to act until the year before his death in 1989. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles: Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in ''The Entertainer''. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's ''Wuthering Heights'', Alfred Hitchcock's ''Rebecca'', Stanley Kubrick's ''Spartacus'', Otto Preminger's ''Bunny Lake Is Missing'', Richard Attenborough's ''Oh! What a Lovely War'', and ''A Bridge Too Far'', Joseph L. Mankiewicz's ''Sleuth'', John Schlesinger's ''Marathon Man'', Daniel Petrie's ''The Betsy'', Desmond Davis' ''Clash of the Titans'', and his own ''Henry V'', ''Hamlet'', and ''Richard III''. He also preserved his ''Othello'' on film, with its stage cast virtually intact. For television, he starred in ''The Moon and Sixpence'', ''John Gabriel Borkman'', ''Long Day's Journey into Night'', ''Brideshead Revisited'', ''The Merchant of Venice'', ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'', and ''King Lear'', among others.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Olivier among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, at number 14 on the list.

Early life

Olivier was born on 22 May 1907 in Dorking, Surrey, England. He was raised in a severe, strict, and religious household, ruled over by his father, Gerard Kerr Olivier (1869–1939), a High Anglican priest whose father was Henry Arnold Olivier, a rector. Olivier took solace in the care of his mother, Agnes Louis (née Crookenden; 1871–1920, and herself the younger sister of High Anglican vicar George Pelham Crookenden), and was grief-stricken when she died (at 48) when he was only 12. Gerard Dacres "Dickie" (1904–1958) and Sybille (1901–1989) were his two older siblings. His uncle was Sydney Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier, a career civil servant and Fabian who ended up as a Governor of Jamaica and as Secretary of State for India in the first government of Ramsay MacDonald.

In 1918 his father became the new church minister at St. Mary's Church, Letchworth, Hertfordshire and the family lived at the Old Rectory, now part of St Christopher School. He was educated at the choir school of All Saints', Margaret Street, London. He played Brutus in his school's production of "Julius Caesar" at the age of 9, where Ellen Terry noted he was "already a great actor". At 13 he went to St Edward's School, Oxford again appearing in school drama productions: he was a "bold" Katherine in ''The Taming of the Shrew'' (selected for a schools' drama festival at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford) and Puck in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', played "very well, to everyone's disgust", as Olivier noted in his diary. After his brother, Dickie, left for India, it was his father who decided that Laurence—or "Kim", as the family called him—would become an actor.

Early career

Olivier, 17 years old, attended the Central School of Speech and Drama, tutored by Elsie Fogerty. In 1926, he joined The Birmingham Repertory Company. At first he was given only minor tasks at the theatre, such as bell-ringing; however, his roles eventually became more significant, and in 1927 he was playing Hamlet and Macbeth. In 1928, he was cast to play Captain Stanhope in the Apollo theatre's first production of ''Journey's End'', a play which would expand his career. He always insisted that his acting was pure technique, and he was contemptuous of contemporaries who adopted method acting popularised by Lee Strasberg. Olivier married Jill Esmond, a rising young actress, on 25 July 1930; their only son, Simon Tarquin was born on 21 August 1936. Olivier was, however, from the beginning not happy in his first marriage. Repressed, as he came to see it, by his religious upbringing, Olivier recounted in his autobiography the disappointments of his wedding night, culminating in his failure to perform sexually. He temporarily renounced religion and soon came to resent his wife, though the marriage would last for ten years. Despite this supposed resentment, Olivier remained in congenial contact with Esmond until his death (as documented by their son Tarquin in his book ''My Father Laurence Olivier''), accompanying her to Tarquin’s wedding in January 1965.

He made his film debut in ''The Temporary Widow'' and played his first leading role on film in ''The Yellow Ticket''; however, he held the film in little regard. His stage breakthrough was in Noël Coward's ''Private Lives'' in 1930, followed by Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1935, alternating the roles of Romeo and Mercutio with John Gielgud. Olivier did not agree with Gielgud's style of acting Shakespeare and was irritated by the fact that Gielgud was getting better reviews than he was. His tension towards Gielgud came to a head in 1940, when Olivier approached London impresario Binkie Beaumont about financing him in a repertory of the four great Shakespearean tragedies of ''Hamlet'', ''Othello'', ''Macbeth'' and ''King Lear''. However, Beaumont would only agree to the plan if Olivier and Gielgud alternated in the roles of Hamlet/Laertes, Othello/Iago, Macbeth/Macduff, and Lear/Gloucester and that Gielgud direct at least one of the productions, a proposition Olivier bluntly declined.

In 1939, Olivier starred in a production of ''No Time for Comedy'', by S.N. Behrman in a Katharine Cornell with them both in leading roles. It was his first prominent role on Broadway.

The engagement as Romeo resulted in an invitation by Lilian Baylis to be the star at the Old Vic in 1937/38. Olivier's tenure had mixed artistic results, with his performances as Hamlet and Iago drawing a negative response from critics and his first attempt at Macbeth receiving mixed reviews. But his appearances as Henry V, Coriolanus, and Sir Toby Belch in ''Twelfth Night'' were triumphs, and his popularity with Old Vic audiences left Olivier as one of the major Shakespearean actors in England by the season's end.

Olivier continued to hold his scorn for film, and though he constantly worked for Alexander Korda, he still felt most at home on the stage. He made his first Shakespeare film, ''As You Like It'', with Paul Czinner, however, Olivier disliked it, thinking that Shakespeare did not work well on film.

Laurence Olivier saw Vivien Leigh in ''The Mask of Virtue'' in 1936, and a friendship developed after he congratulated her on her performance. While playing lovers in the film ''Fire Over England'' (1937), Olivier and Leigh developed a strong attraction, and after filming was completed, they began an affair. Leigh played Ophelia to Olivier's Hamlet in an Old Vic Theatre production, and Olivier later recalled an incident during which her mood rapidly changed as she was quietly preparing to go on-stage. Without apparent provocation, she began screaming at him, before suddenly becoming silent and staring into space. She was able to perform without mishap, and by the following day, she had returned to normal with no recollection of the event. It was the first time Olivier witnessed such behaviour from her.

The move to Hollywood

Olivier travelled to Hollywood to begin filming ''Wuthering Heights'' as Heathcliff. Leigh followed soon after, partly to be with him, but also to pursue her dream of playing Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939). Olivier found the filming of ''Wuthering Heights'' to be difficult but it proved to be a turning point for him, both in his success in the United States, which had eluded him until then, but also in his attitude to film, which he had regarded as an inferior medium to theatre. The film's producer, Samuel Goldwyn was highly dissatisfied with Olivier's overstated performance after several weeks of filming and threatened to dismiss him. Olivier had grown to regard the film's female lead, Merle Oberon, as an amateur; however, when he stated his opinion to Goldwyn, he was reminded that Oberon was the star of the film and already a well-known name in American cinema. Olivier was told that he was dispensable and that he was required to be more tolerant of Oberon. Olivier recalled that he took Goldwyn's words to heart, but after some consideration realised that he was correct; he began to moderate his performance to fit the more intimate film medium and began to appreciate the possibilities it offered.

The film was a hit and Olivier was praised for his performance, with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Leigh won the Academy Award for Best Actress for ''Gone with the Wind'', and the couple suddenly found themselves to be major celebrities throughout the world. They wanted to marry, but at first both Leigh's husband and Olivier's wife at the time, Jill Esmond, refused to divorce them. Finally divorced, they were married in simple ceremony on 31 August 1940 with only Katharine Hepburn and Garson Kanin as witnesses. Olivier's American film career flourished with highly regarded performances in ''Rebecca'' and ''Pride and Prejudice'' (both 1940).

Olivier and Leigh starred in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in New York City. It was an extravagant production, but a commercial failure. Brooks Atkinson for ''The New York Times'' wrote, "Although Miss Leigh and Mr Olivier are handsome young people they hardly act their parts at all." The couple had invested almost their entire savings into the project, and its failure was a financial disaster for them.

They filmed ''That Hamilton Woman'' (1941) with Olivier as Horatio Nelson and Leigh as Emma Hamilton. With Britain engaged in World War II, the Oliviers returned to England, and in 1944 tuberculosis was diagnosed in Leigh's left lung, but after spending several weeks in hospital, she appeared to be cured. In the spring, she was filming ''Caesar and Cleopatra'' (1945) when she discovered she was pregnant, but suffered a miscarriage. She fell into a deep depression which reached its nadir when she turned on Olivier, verbally and physically attacking him until she fell to the floor sobbing. This was the first of many major breakdowns related to manic-depression, or bipolar mood disorder. Olivier came to recognise the symptoms of an impending episode—several days of hyperactivity followed by a period of depression and an explosive breakdown, after which Leigh would have no memory of the event, but would be acutely embarrassed and remorseful.

War

When World War II broke out, Olivier intended to join the Royal Air Force, but was still contractually obliged to other parties. He apparently disliked actors such as Charles Laughton and Cedric Hardwicke, who would hold charity cricket matches to help the war effort. Olivier took flying lessons, and racked up over 200 hours. After two years of service, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Olivier RNVR, as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm but was never called to see action.

In 1944 he and fellow actor Ralph Richardson were released from their naval commitments to form a new Old Vic Theatre Company at the New Theatre (later the Albery, now the Noël Coward Theatre) with a nightly repertory of three plays, initially Henrik Ibsen's ''Peer Gynt'', Bernard Shaw's ''Arms and the Man'' and Shakespeare's ''Richard III'', rehearsed over 10 weeks to the accompaniment of German V1 'doodlebugs'. The enterprise, with John Burrell as manager, eventually extended to five acclaimed seasons ending in 1949, after a prestigious 1948 tour of Australia and New Zealand.

The second New Theatre season opened with Olivier playing both Harry Hotspur and Justice Shallow to Richardson's Falstaff in ''Henry IV'', ''Parts 1 and 2'', in what is now seen as a high point of English classical theatre. The magic continued with one of Olivier's most famous endeavours, the double bill of Sophocles' ''Oedipus'' and Sheridan's ''The Critic'', with Olivier's transition from Greek tragedy to high comedy in a single evening becoming a thing of legend. He followed this triumph with one of his favourite roles, Astrov in ''Uncle Vanya''.

Kenneth Tynan was to write (in ''He Who Plays the King'', 1950): "The Old Vic was now at its height: the watershed had been reached and one of those rare moments in the theatre had arrived when drama paused, took stock of all that it had learnt since Irving, and then produced a monument in celebration. It is surprising when one considers it, that English acting should have reached up and seized a laurel crown in the middle of a war."

In 1944, Olivier filmed ''Henry V'', which—in view of the patriotic nature of the story of the English victory—was viewed as a psychological contribution to the British war effort.

In 1945 Olivier and Richardson were made honorary Lieutenants with ENSA, and did a six-week tour of Europe for the army, performing ''Arms and the Man'', ''Peer Gynt'' and ''Richard III'' for the troops, followed by a visit to the Comédie-Française in Paris, the first time a foreign company had been invited to play on its famous stage. When Olivier returned to London the populace noticed a change in him. Olivier's only explanation was: "Maybe it's just that I've got older."

A 2007 biography of Olivier, ''Lord Larry: The Secret Life of Laurence Olivier'' by Michael Munn, claims that Olivier was recruited to be an undercover agent inside the United States for the British government by film producer and MI5 operative Alexander Korda on the instructions of Winston Churchill. Munn's main source was Hollywood producer Jesse Lasky, who believed that "Larry...was drumming up support, and doing it with the British Government's sanction".

According to an article in ''The Telegraph'', David Niven, a good friend of Olivier's, is said to have told Michael Munn, "What was dangerous for his country was that (Olivier) could have been accused of being an agent. So this was a danger for Larry because he could have been arrested. And what was worse, if German agents had realised what Larry was doing, they would, I am sure, have gone after him."

Post-war years

In 1947 Olivier was made a Knight Bachelor and by 1948 he was on the Board of Directors for the Old Vic Theatre, and he and Leigh embarked on a tour of Australia and New Zealand to raise funds for the theatre. During their six-month tour, Olivier performed ''Richard III'' and also performed with Leigh in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's''The School for Scandal'' and Thornton Wilder's ''The Skin of Our Teeth''. The tour was an outstanding success, and although Leigh was plagued with insomnia and allowed her understudy to replace her for a week while she was ill, she generally withstood the demands placed upon her, with Olivier noting her ability to "charm the press". Members of the company later recalled several quarrels between the couple, with the most dramatic of these occurring in Christchurch when Leigh refused to go on stage. Olivier slapped her face, and Leigh slapped him in return and swore at him before she made her way to the stage. By the end of the tour, both were exhausted and ill, and Olivier told a journalist, "You may not know it, but you are talking to a couple of walking corpses." Later he would comment that he "lost Vivien" in Australia. The success of the tour encouraged the Oliviers to make their first West End appearance together, performing the same works with one addition, ''Antigone'', included at Leigh's insistence because she wished to play a role in a tragedy.

Leigh next sought the role of Blanche DuBois in the West End stage production of Tennessee Williams's ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', and was cast after Williams and the play's producer, Irene Mayer Selznick, saw her in ''The School for Scandal'' and ''Antigone'', and Olivier was contracted to direct. Leigh would go on to star as Blanche in the 1951 film version of ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', earning her second Academy Award for Best Actress.

In 1951, Leigh and Olivier performed two plays about Cleopatra, William Shakespeare's ''Antony and Cleopatra'' and George Bernard Shaw's ''Caesar and Cleopatra'', alternating the play each night and winning good reviews. They took the productions to New York, where they performed a season at the Ziegfeld Theatre into 1952. The reviews there were also mostly positive, but the critic Kenneth Tynan angered them when he suggested that Leigh's was a mediocre talent which forced Olivier to compromise his own. Tynan's diatribe almost precipitated another collapse; Leigh, terrified of failure and intent on achieving greatness, dwelt on his comments, while ignoring the positive reviews of other critics.

In January 1953, Leigh travelled to Ceylon to film ''Elephant Walk'' with Peter Finch. Shortly after filming commenced, she suffered a breakdown, and Paramount Pictures replaced her with Elizabeth Taylor. Olivier returned her to their home in England, where between periods of incoherence, Leigh told him that she was in love with Finch, and had been having an affair with him. She gradually recovered over a period of several months. As a result of this episode, many of the Oliviers' friends learned of her problems. David Niven said she had been "quite, quite mad", and in his diary, Noël Coward expressed surprise that "things had been bad and getting worse since 1948 or thereabouts."

Leigh recovered sufficiently to play ''The Sleeping Prince'' with Olivier in 1953, and in 1955 they performed a season at Stratford-upon-Avon in Shakespeare's ''Twelfth Night'', ''Macbeth'' and ''Titus Andronicus''. They played to capacity houses and attracted generally good reviews, Leigh's health seemingly stable. Noël Coward was enjoying success with the play ''South Sea Bubble'', with Leigh in the lead role, but she became pregnant and withdrew from the production. Several weeks later, she miscarried and entered a period of depression that lasted for months. She joined Olivier for a European tour with ''Titus Andronicus'', but the tour was marred by Leigh's frequent outbursts against Olivier and other members of the company. After their return to London, her former husband Leigh Holman, who continued to exert a strong influence over her, stayed with the Oliviers and helped calm her.

In 1958, considering her marriage to be over, Leigh began a relationship with the actor Jack Merivale, who knew of Leigh's medical condition and assured Olivier he would care for her. She achieved a success in 1959 with the Noël Coward comedy ''Look After Lulu'', with ''The Times'' critic describing her as "beautiful, delectably cool and matter of fact, she is mistress of every situation."

In December 1960 she and Olivier divorced, and Olivier married the actress Joan Plowright, with whom he later had three children: Richard Kerr (b. 1961), Tamsin Agnes Margaret (b. 1963), and Julie-Kate (b. 1966).

In his autobiography he discussed the years of problems they had experienced because of Leigh's illness, writing, "Throughout her possession by that uncannily evil monster, manic depression, with its deadly ever-tightening spirals, she retained her own individual canniness—an ability to disguise her true mental condition from almost all except me, for whom she could hardly be expected to take the trouble."

Shakespeare trilogy

After gaining widespread popularity in the film medium, Olivier was approached by several investors (namely Filippo Del Giudice, Alexander Korda and J. Arthur Rank), to create several Shakespearean films, based on stage productions of each respective play. Olivier tried his hand at directing, and as a result, created three highly successful films: ''Henry V'', ''Hamlet'', and ''Richard III''.

''Henry V''

During the Second World War, Olivier made his directorial debut with a film of Shakespeare's ''Henry V''. At first, he did not believe he was up to the task, instead trying to offer it to William Wyler, Carol Reed, and Terence Young. The film was shot in Ireland (because it was a neutral country), with the Irish plains serving for the fields of Agincourt and the Irish army providing extras for the battle scenes. During the shooting of one of the battle scenes, a horse collided with a camera that Olivier was operating. Olivier had had his eye to the viewfinder; and, when the horse crashed into his position, the camera smashed into him, cutting his lip and leaving a scar that would be visible in later roles.

The film opened to rave reviews; it was the first widely successful Shakespeare film, and was considered a work of art. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor, but the Academy, in Olivier's opinion, did not feel comfortable in giving out all of their major awards to a foreigner, so they gave him a special Honorary Award. Olivier disregarded the award as a "fob-off".

''Hamlet''

Olivier followed up on his success with an adaptation of ''Hamlet''. He had played this role more often than he had Henry, and was more familiar with the melancholy Dane. However, Olivier was not particularly comfortable with the introverted role of Hamlet, as opposed to the extroverts that he was famous for portraying. The running time of ''Hamlet'' (1948) was not allowed to exceed 153 minutes, and as a result Olivier cut almost half of Shakespeare's text, excising Rosencrantz and Guildernstern completely. He was severely criticised for doing so by purists, most notably Ethel Barrymore; Barrymore stated that the adaptation was not nearly as faithful to the original text as her brother John's stage production from 1922. Ironically, Ethel presented the Best Picture Oscar that year—and was visibly shaken when she read,"Hamlet".

The film became another resounding critical and commercial success in Britain and abroad, winning Olivier Best Picture and Best Actor at the 1948 Academy Awards. It was the first British film to win Best Picture, and Olivier's only Best Actor win, a category for which he would be nominated five more times before his death. Olivier also became the first person to direct himself in an Oscar-winning performance, a feat not repeated until Roberto Benigni directed himself to Best Actor of 1998 for ''Life Is Beautiful''. Also, Olivier remains the only actor to receive an Oscar for a Shakespearean role. Olivier, however, did not win the Best Director Oscar that year.

''Richard III''

Olivier's third major Shakespeare project as director and star was ''Richard III.'' Alexander Korda initially approached Olivier to reprise on film the role he had played to acclaim at the Old Vic in the 1940s. This role had been lauded as Olivier's greatest (rivalled only by his 1955 stage production of ''Macbeth'' and his performance as the music hall performer Archie Rice in ''The Entertainer''), and is arguably his greatest screen performance. During the filming of the battle scenes in Spain, one of the archers actually shot Olivier in the ankle, causing him to limp. Fortunately, the limp was required for the part, so Olivier had already been limping for the parts of the film already shot.

The film was critically well received (Olivier would be nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award for the fifth time). Korda sold the rights to the American television network NBC, and the film became the first to be aired on television and released in theatres simultaneously. Many deduce that from the enormous ratings that the NBC transmissions received, more people saw ''Richard III'' in that single showing than all the people who had seen it on stage in the play's history.

''The Entertainer''

After World War II, apart from his Shakespeare trilogy, Olivier had made only sporadic film appearances. In the second half of the 1950s, British theatre was changing with the rise of the "Angry Young Men". John Osborne, author of ''Look Back in Anger'', wrote a play for Olivier entitled ''The Entertainer'', centred on a washed-up stage comedian called Archie Rice, which opened at the Royal Court on 10 April 1957. As Olivier later stated, "I am Archie Rice. I am not Hamlet."

During rehearsals of ''The Entertainer'', Olivier met Joan Plowright, who took over the role of Jean Rice from Dorothy Tutin when Tony Richardson's Royal Court production transferred to the Palace Theatre in September 1957. Later, in 1960, Tony Richardson also directed the screen version with Olivier and Plowright repeating their stage roles. Olivier received his fifth Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for ''The Entertainer.''

Olivier married Plowright on St. Patrick's Day, 1961.

National Theatre

Olivier was one of the founders, and the inaugural director, of the National Theatre. He became first NT Director at the Old Vic before the South Bank building was constructed with his opening production of ''Hamlet'' in October 1963.

During his directorship he appeared in twelve plays (taking over roles in three) and directed nine, enjoying particularly remarkable personal successes for his performances in ''Othello'' (1964), ''The Dance of Death'' (1967) and ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' (1971). Reportedly, some felt that his tenure as the director of the NT was marred by his jealousy towards other performers when he manoeuvred to block famous names like John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson from appearing there, although young actors like Michael Gambon, Robert Lang, Maggie Smith, Sheila Reid, Christopher Timothy, Alan Bates, Frank Finlay, Derek Jacobi and Anthony Hopkins (both of whom understudied Olivier) made their names there during the period. Olivier's career at the National ended, in his view, in betrayal when the theatre's governorship decided to replace him with Peter Hall in 1973 without consulting him on the choice and not informing him of the decision until several months after it had been made.

''Othello''

Olivier underwent a transformation, requiring extensive study and heavy weightlifting, to get the physique needed for the Moor of Venice. It is said that he bellowed at a herd of cows for an hour to get the deep voice that was required. John Dexter's 1964 stage production of the play was filmed in 1965, securing Olivier his sixth Oscar nomination for Best Actor. The production was a huge public success as it also was with most of the critics. Franco Zeffirelli said of Olivier's acting: "It's an anthology of everything that has been discovered about acting in the past three centuries." Even so, it has not gone without criticism: in 1997, director Jonathan Miller called it "a condescending view of an Afro Caribbean person".

''Three Sisters''

Olivier's final film as director was the 1970 film ''Three Sisters'', based on the Chekhov play of the same name, and his 1967 National Theatre production. It was, in Olivier's opinion, his best work as director. The film was co-directed by John Sichel.

In addition, his most fondly remembered National Theatre performances at the Old Vic were as Astrov in his own production of Chekhov's ''Uncle Vanya'', seen first in 1962 at the Chichester Festival Theatre, of which he was the founding director; his Captain Brazen in William Gaskill's December 1963 staging of George Farquhar's ''The Recruiting Officer''; Shylock in Jonathan Miller's 1970 revival of ''The Merchant of Venice''; and his definitive portrayal of James Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's ''Long Day's Journey Into Night'', produced in December 1971 by Michael Blakemore. These last two were later restaged for television, and telecast both in England and in the United States.

He played a droll supporting role as the ancient Antonio in Franco Zeffirelli's 1973 production of Eduardo De Filippo's ''Saturday, Sunday, Monday'', with his wife Joan Plowright in the starring role of Rosa. His final stage appearance, on 21 March 1974, was as the fiery Glaswegian, John Tagg, in John Dexter's production of Trevor Griffiths's ''The Party''.

The only appearance he made on the stage of the new Olivier Theatre was at the royal opening of the new National Theatre building on 25 October 1976.

Later career

Olivier immersed himself even more completely in his work during his later years, reportedly as a way of distracting himself from the guilt he felt at having left his second wife Vivien Leigh. He began appearing more frequently in films, usually in character parts rather than the leading romantic roles of his early career, and received Academy Award nominations for ''Sleuth'' (1972), ''Marathon Man'' (1976; Supporting Actor) and ''The Boys from Brazil'' (1978). Having been recently forced out of his role as director of the Royal National Theatre, he worried that his family would not be sufficiently provided for in the event of his death, and consequently chose to do many of his later TV special and film appearances on a "pay cheque" basis. He later freely admitted that he was not proud of most of these credits, and noted that he particularly despised the 1982 film ''Inchon'', in which he played the role of General Douglas MacArthur.

In 1966, Olivier portrayed the Mahdi (Mahommed Ahmed), opposite Charlton Heston as General Gordon in the film ''Khartoum''. The next year, he underwent radiation treatment for prostate cancer and was also hospitalised with pneumonia. For the remainder of his life, he would suffer from many different health problems, including bronchitis, amnesia and pleurisy. In 1974, at age 67, he was found to have dermatomyositis, a degenerative muscle disorder, and nearly died the following year, but he battled through the next decade.

In 1968, he starred as Piotr Ilyich Kamenev, the Soviet Premier, in the movie version of ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' along with Anthony Quinn, Leo McKern, John Gielgud, and Oskar Werner. The movie was nominated for two Academy awards, and was produced during the height of the Cold War. One of Olivier's enduring achievements involved neither stage nor screen. From October 1973 in the UK, Thames Television began to transmit ''The World at War'', a 26-part documentary on the Second World War, narrated by Olivier.

His last decade did contain three notable roles for television. In 1981 he appeared in ''Brideshead Revisited'', the final episode of which revolved entirely around Olivier's character Lord Marchmain, patriarch of the Flyte family, as he came home to die. The next year Olivier was cast in the much-praised television adaptation of John Mortimer's stage play ''A Voyage Round My Father'', in the role of Clifford Mortimer, the author's blind father. In 1975 he appeared as an aging British barrister, opposite Katharine Hepburn, in a British TV production of ''Love Among the Ruins''. Finally, in 1983 Olivier played his last great Shakespearean role, King Lear, for Granada Television. For ''Voyage'', Olivier received a BAFTA nomination, but for the final episode of ''Brideshead Revisited'' and for King Lear he won Emmys in the Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor categories, respectively.

When presenting the Best Picture Oscar at the Academy Awards for 1984 (held 25 March 1985), he absent-mindedly presented it by simply stepping up to the microphone and saying ''Amadeus''. He had grown forgetful, and had forgotten to read out the nominees first.

One of Olivier's last feature films was ''Wild Geese II'' (1985), in which, aged 77, he played Rudolf Hess in the sequel to ''The Wild Geese'' (1978). According to the biography ''Olivier'' by Francis Becket (Haus Publishing, 2005), Hess's son Wolf Rüdiger Hess said Olivier's portrayal of his father was "uncannily accurate". In 1986, Olivier appeared as the pre-filmed holographic narrator of the West End production of the multimedia Dave Clark rock musical ''Time''.

On 31 May 1987 the National Theatre put on a 80th birthday tribute pageant, with Olivier, and his family in attendance. It was held in the National’s Olivier theatre with Alec McCowen as Richard Burbage, Edward Petherbridge as David Garrick, Ben Kingsley as Edmund Kean and Anthony Sher as Henry Irving. Peter Hall as Shakespeare, Peggy Ashcroft as Lillian Baylis, Maureen Lipman, Albert Finney, Julia McKenzie and Imelda Staunton.

In 1988 Olivier gave his final performance, aged 81, as a wheelchair-bound old soldier in Derek Jarman's film ''War Requiem'' (1989).

Family and death

Olivier died at his home in Steyning, West Sussex, England, from renal failure on 11 July 1989. He was survived by his son Tarquin from his first marriage, as well as his wife Joan Plowright and their three children. He was cremated and his ashes interred in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, London. Olivier is one of only a few actors, along with David Garrick, Henry Irving, Ben Jonson and Sybil Thorndike to have been accorded this honour. Olivier is buried alongside some of the people he portrayed in theatre and film, for example King Henry V, General John Burgoyne and Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding.

Fifteen years after his death, Olivier once again received star billing in a film. Through the use of computer graphics, footage of him as a young man was integrated into the 2004 film ''Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow'' in which Olivier "played" the villain.

Sexuality

Since Olivier's death, multiple biographers have produced books about him, several of which include the claim that Olivier was bisexual. Biographer Donald Spoto claimed that Danny Kaye and Olivier were lovers. Joan Plowright, Olivier's widow, denies the affair with Kaye in her memoir. Terry Coleman's authorised biography of Olivier suggests a relationship between Olivier and an older actor, Henry Ainley, based on correspondence from Ainley to Olivier although the book disputes that there is any evidence linking Olivier sexually to Kaye. Olivier's son Tarquin disputed these rumours as 'unforgivable garbage' and sought to suppress them.

In her 2001 autobiography, Joan Plowright wrote, "Larry tended to shower almost everyone he knew with endearments and demonstrative terms of address. In the same way as the macho Sean Kenny had to put up with ‘Shawnie, darling’, and our son Richard had to endure 'Dickie-Wickie' for a short time, there is a published letter addressing his supposed arch-enemy, Peter Hall, as 'My dear Peterkins'. And Larry could say, 'I adored Danny Kaye', in exactly the same way as he said, 'I adored old Ralphie', without anyone suspecting Ralph Richardson of harbouring carnal desires for his own sex. — No man, alive or dead, has ever claimed to have slept with Larry, though the kiss-and-tell merchants of the female sex have tumbled over themselves to boast of a night or two, here or there."

In August 2006, on the radio program ''Desert Island Discs'', Plowright responded to the allegations of Olivier's mistresses and homosexual affairs, and if Plowright felt the need to defend her husband's memory by stating:

And then, referring separately to Olivier's battle with his "demons" which reached a peak in the long years of illness leading up to his death Plowright stated that:

Honours

Olivier was created a Knight Bachelor on 12 June 1947 in the King's Birthday Honours, and created a life peer on 13 June 1970 in the Queen's Birthday Honours as Baron Olivier, of Brighton in the County of Sussex, the first actor to be accorded this distinction. He was admitted to the Order of Merit in 1981. The Laurence Olivier Awards, organised by The Society of London Theatre, were renamed in his honour in 1984.

Though he was a knight, a life peer, and one of the most respected personalities in the industry, Olivier insisted he be addressed as "Larry", which he made clear he preferred to "Sir Laurence" or "Lord Olivier".

Centenary

On 22 May 2007, to mark the centenary of Olivier's birth, Network Media and ITV released DVD libraries of his work: Network Media—''The Laurence Olivier Centenary Collection'' (10 discs):

''Henry V'' (1944)

''Richard III'' (1955)

''King Lear'' (1983)

''The Ebony Tower'' (1984)

''Long Day's Journey Into Night'' (1973)

''The Merchant of Venice'' (1973)

''Laurence Olivier Presents'' (complete)

''The South Bank Show: Laurence Olivier, A Life'' (1982) featuring interviews with Olivier, John Gielgud and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

ITV—''Laurence Olivier Shakespeare Collection'' (7 discs):

''King Lear'' (1983)

''Henry V'' (1944)

''Hamlet'' (1948)

''As You Like It'' (1936)

''Richard III'' (1955)

''The Merchant of Venice'' (1973)

ITV – ''The Laurence Olivier "Icon" Collection'' (10 discs):

''Henry V'' (1944)

''Richard III'' (1955)

''Hamlet'' (1948)

''21 Days'' (1940)

''That Hamilton Woman'' (1941)

''49th Parallel'' (1941)

''The Demi-Paradise'' (1943)

''The Boys from Brazil'' (1978)

''A Little Romance'' (1979)

''The Jazz Singer'' (1980)

''Clash of the Titans'' (1981 film)

Both DVD sets include a Michael Parkinson interview with Olivier from the 1970s.

In September 2007, the National Theatre marked the centenary of his birth with a Centenary Celebration. This told the story of Olivier's working life through film and stage extracts, letters, reminiscence and readings; the participants included Eileen Atkins, Claire Bloom, Anna Carteret, Derek Jacobi, Anne-Marie Duff, Lindsay Duncan, Charles Kay, Clive Merrison, Edward Petherbridge, Joan Plowright, Ronald Pickup, Michael Pennington, Rory Kinnear, Samuel West, Antony Sher, Billie Whitelaw and Richard Attenborough. It was directed by Nicholas Hytner. Prior to the evening celebration, a new statue of Olivier as Hamlet, created by the sculptor Angela Conner and funded by private subscription, was unveiled on the South Bank, next to the National's Theatre Square.

Awards and nominations

Theatre credits and filmography

See also

AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars

References

Works cited

Further reading

Hall, Lyn, editor (1989). ''Olivier at Work: The National Years''. Nick Hern Books/National Theatre. ISBN 1-85459-037-5

External links

}}

Category:1907 births Category:1989 deaths Category:20th-century actors Category:Academy Honorary Award recipients Category:Actors awarded British knighthoods Category:Alumni of the Central School of Speech and Drama Category:Artistic directors Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor Category:Best Actor Academy Award winners Category:Best British Actor BAFTA Award winners Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Burials at Westminster Abbey Category:Deaths from renal failure Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English Anglicans Category:English film actors Category:English film directors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English theatre directors Category:Fleet Air Arm aviators Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Bisexual actors Category:Life peers Category:Members of the Order of Merit Category:Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Category:Old St Edwards Category:People from Dorking Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War II Category:Shakespearean actors

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name	Tamsin Greig
birth date	February 23, 1967
birth place	Kent, England
nationality	British
religion	Christian
education	Bachelor of Arts
alma mater	University of Birmingham
birth name	Tamsin Greig
othername	Tamsin Leaf
occupation	Actress
spouse	Richard Leaf (?-present)
children	Nathanael ZephaniahJakob ZebedeeRoxie Joy
religion	Christianity
television	Dr. Caroline Todd in ''Green Wing''Fran Katzenjammer in ''Black Books''Alice Chenery in ''Love Soup''Debbie Aldridge in ''The Archers''Beverly Lincoln in ''Episodes''Mum (Jackie) in ''Friday Night Dinner''
awards	Royal Television Society Programme Awards: Comedy Performance2004 ''Green Wing''Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress2007 ''Much Ado About Nothing''Whatsonstage.com Best Supporting Actress in a Play2011 ''The Little Dog Laughed''* Birthdate reported incorrect by Tamsin Greig, Radio 5 live, 23/2/2011 }}

Tamsin Greig () (born 23 February 1967) is an English actress principally known for two Channel 4 television comedy parts: Fran Katzenjammer in ''Black Books'' and Dr. Caroline Todd in ''Green Wing''. Other notable roles include Alice Chenery in BBC One's comedy drama ''Love Soup'', Debbie Aldridge in BBC Radio 4's soap opera ''The Archers'', Miss Bates in the 2009 BBC version of Jane Austen's ''Emma'', Beverly Lincoln in transatlantic sitcom ''Episodes'' and Jackie in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Friday Night Dinner''.

Career

Radio

Greig has had a long-running part as Debbie Aldridge in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera ''The Archers'' since 1991. Due to her other work, she is not in the show all the time and her character Debbie spends most of her time living in Hungary.

Greig is also known for her comedy roles. She guest-starred in five episodes of the second series in the radio version of ''Absolute Power'', playing Gayle Shand, a rival to Prentiss McCabe and Charles Prentiss's former lover. Her comedy roles do pose problems for Greig, who has admitted that she has problems with corpsing.

Television

One of Greig's first television appearances was in an insurance advert three weeks before giving birth to her first son.

Greig subsequently appeared in a number of supporting parts, notably as Lamia in ''Neverwhere'' (1996) and The Mother in an episode of ''People Like Us'' (2000). Her first major role was Fran Katzenjammer in the sitcom ''Black Books'' in 2000, a neurotic who owned "Nifty Gifty", a sort of new-age gift shop. Her character became unemployed in the first series and eventually became worse at everything she tried as the series went on. Several later roles depict similar characters. In 2004, Greig had a small part in the movie ''Shaun of the Dead'' with Dylan Moran and Simon Pegg, who both also appeared in ''Black Books''. In 2005, she appeared as a nurse in an episode of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' entitled "The Long Game", which also featured Simon Pegg, the writer and star of ''Shaun of the Dead''.

In 2004, she played constantly embarrassed surgical registrar Dr. Caroline Todd, the lead character in the Channel 4 comedy drama series ''Green Wing''. Her performance won her "Best Comedy Performance" in the 2005 Royal Television Society Awards. She also appeared as Caroline in an appearance at ''The Secret Policeman's Ball''.

She starred in the BBC comedy drama series ''Love Soup'' (2005), as Alice Chenery, a lovelorn woman working on a department store perfume counter, in a role specifically written for her by David Renwick, whom she met in 2003 when she appeared in an episode of ''Jonathan Creek''.

Greig appeared in the role of Edith Frank in the BBC's January 2009 production of ''The Diary of Anne Frank''. Also in 2009, she appeared as Miss Bates in the BBC serial ''Jane Austen's Emma''. In 2010, she played Sacharissa Cripslock in the two part mini-series ''Terry Pratchett's Going Postal''.

In 2011, she starred in the BBC comedy ''Episodes'' made by American company Showtime, alongside Matt LeBlanc and Stephen Mangan that subsequently aired in the US on the Showtime network. She also stars in the Channel 4 sitcom, Friday Night Dinner.

Theatre

During 2006 and early 2007, Greig played Beatrice in a much acclaimed production of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award, and Constance in ''King John'', as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's ''The Complete Works'' season. Whilst the win itself was a surprise, her acceptance speech was received very well as being highly entertaining, claiming that she was so excited that she had wet her dress. To make it worse, the dress was hired. The speech was apparently completely improvised. Backstage, when told not to tell her mother about her wetting her dress, she told the host that her mum was dead before dedicating her award to her 'dead mum'. She also won the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for "Best Shakespearean Performance" in ''Much Ado About Nothing'', becoming the first woman to win the award, and was nominated for "The FRANCO'S Best Actress in a Play" in the Whatsonstage Theatregoers' Choice Awards.

At the Gielgud Theatre in March 2008, she co-starred with Ralph Fiennes, Janet McTeer and Ken Stott in the UK premiere of Yasmina Reza's ''The God of Carnage'' (''Le Dieu du carnage'') translated by Christopher Hampton and directed by Matthew Warchus. The play won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2009. In 2008, she co-starred in the surreal sci-fi film ''Captain Eager and the Mark of Voth''.

In November 2008, she made her National Theatre debut in ''Gethsemane'', a new play by David Hare which toured the UK.

Greig was starring in ''The Little Dog Laughed'' by Douglas Carter Beane at the Garrick Theatre in London, which did run a limited season until 10 April 2010. She starred alongside Rupert Friend, Gemma Arterton and Harry Lloyd, and the play was directed by Jamie Lloyd. She won the 2011 WhatsOnStage Theatregoers Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a play for her portrayal. Her performance as Diane in ''The Little Dog Laughed'' garnered her a second Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress.

Cinema

Greig starred with Richard E. Grant in the film ''Cuckoo'', and with Roger Allam and Gemma Arterton in ''Tamara Drewe''. She also made a short cameo appearance in the 2004 comedy ''Shaun of the Dead''.

==Personal life== Greig grew up in Kent. She moved to Kilburn when she was three with her two sisters. She went to Malorees Junior School, followed by Camden School for Girls where she passed A-Levels in English, French and Mathematics, and graduated with a first class honours degree in Drama and Theatre Arts from the University of Birmingham. After that, she worked as a temp at the Family Planning Association until 1996; she also spent some time at a secretarial college. She never planned to move back to London, but she did in 1996, because her father was dying and she wanted to comfort him. She now lives in a flat in Kensal Green. She converted to Christianity at this time, having been raised as an atheist.

She is married to actor Richard Leaf, whom she met on the set of Neil Gaiman's 1996 miniseries ''Neverwhere'', and has three children, Nathanael Zephaniah, Jakob Zebedee and Roxie Joy. They are sometimes comically referred to as "Leaflets". Greig has previously admitted that she is somewhat embarrassed by the marriage because, "It suddenly hit me one day: after we're married I'll be called Mrs T Leaf!" She has stated that she is often mistaken for Sharleen Spiteri, the lead singer of the band Texas, for the impressionist Ronni Ancona, for comedian Sue Perkins and is even sometimes mistaken for a man.

One review by Charlie Spencer in ''The Telegraph'' described her (in her role as Beatrice in ''Much Ado About Nothing'') as "not exactly beautiful, a little like Edwina Currie". She is a supporter of the National Health Service, giving her backing to a rally organised by pro-NHS protest group NHS Together. She also supports more practical teaching of Shakespeare in British schools, supporting the RSC's "Stand Up For Shakespeare" manifesto.

References

External links

tv.com Tamsin Greig biography.

Tamsin Greig – Drama Faces Biography of Tamsin Greig on the BBC Drama Faces website.

Ms Tamsin Greig at Debrett's ''People of Today''

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from London Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham Category:Converts to Christianity from atheism or agnosticism Category:English Christians Category:Converts to Anglicanism from atheism or agnosticism Category:English radio actors Category:English soap opera actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:Olivier Award winners Category:People from Camden Town Category:People from Kilburn, London Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Shakespearean actors

fr:Tamsin Greig no:Tamsin Greig ro:Tamsin Greig fi:Tamsin Greig sv:Tamsin Greig

name	Sheridan Smith
occupation	Actress, Singer
years active	1999–present
birth date	June 25, 1981
birth place	Epworth, Lincolnshire, England
homepage	}}

Sheridan Smith (born 25 June 1981) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms ''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'', ''Gavin & Stacey'' and ''Benidorm''. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre who has appeared in ''Little Shop of Horrors'', ''Legally Blonde'' and the 2011 revival of ''Flare Path''. She won the 2011 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in ''Legally Blonde''.

Early life and career

Smith was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire and from an early age studied dance with the Joyce Mason School of Dancing in Scunthorpe She also trained in movement and dance with Kay Traviss. (who currently still teaches as part of Kay Traviss youth group and annually produces and directs a youth dance performance at The Plowright Theatre in Scunthorpe) . She attended South Axholme Community College where she studied performing arts. She was a member of the National Youth Music Theatre from 1995–2001, performing a number of lead roles in productions such as ''Bugsy Malone'' and ''Into the Woods.''

Television and Film

From 1999 to 2000, Smith played Emma, the girlfriend of Antony (Ralf Little) in ''The Royle Family'', but has not appeared in later episodes; she has also played Janet in the long running series ''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'', the girlfriend, then wife, then widow of Johnny (also portrayed by Ralf Little) from 2001 until her departure from the show in 2009.

In 2004, she made a one-episode appearance in ''Mile High'' as Suzy, an airport cleaner who was so desperate to become cabin crew, she impersonated a flight attendant. She also featured in The Comic Strip's 2005 episode "Sex Actually" as Angie.

Smith played Cleo Martin in ''Love Soup'' and also appeared as Michelle, a hypocritical nutritionist, in the sitcom ''Grownups''. The first series aired on BBC Three on 7 May 2006, followed by a second series that started on 5 August 2007 and the third series began filming in October 2008. She has also appeared on ''The Lenny Henry Show'' as M.E. Westmocott, a role spoofing the various medical examiners on ''CSI''. In the 2009 ''Two Pints of Lager'' Comic Relief special, which crossed over with ''Grownups'', Smith played her characters from both series.

Smith has also starred in a number of other shows including the BBC's ''Eyes Down'' alongside Paul O'Grady in which she played the part of Sandy, and smaller parts in shows such as ''The Bill'' and ''Fat Friends''. She featured in the second and third series of another BBC Three sitcom, ''Gavin & Stacey'', co-written by James Corden, as his character Smithy's sister Rudi (also known as Smithy).

Smith guest-starred in the Christmas 2008 episode of ''Lark Rise to Candleford'' and appeared on New Year's Day 2009 in "The Grinning Man", a special episode of ''Jonathan Creek'', alongside Alan Davies. She also appeared in ''The Judas Tree'', an Easter special aired on 4 April 2010, playing the same character.

She was a regular in ''Benidorm series three'' playing the Liverpudlian, Brandy in 2009.

During 2010 Smith acted as a mentor to the contestants of the BBC show ''Over the Rainbow''. She appeared as a guest on the BBC show ''The One Show'' on 3 August, 2010.

Sky Arts' Chekhov Comedy Shorts also featured Smith in 2010 when she starred in The Proposal, as Natasha (re-uniting her with Gavin and Stacey actor Mathew Horne). The programme was first shown on 28 November, 2010.

Sheridan will make an appearance in the forthcoming movie Hysteria, which is due to be released in Autumn 2011. Her role will see her taking part in a three-and-a-half-minute orgasm scene. Sheridan is slated for a role in ''A Fantastic Fear of Everything'', an upcoming film starring Simon Pegg.

With the return of Bizarre ER Sheridan does the voice overs taking over from Freema Agyeman.

Radio

Smith played companion Lucie Miller alongside Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor in a radio series of ''Doctor Who'', produced by Big Finish and transmitted on BBC 7 from New Year's Eve 2006; the plays returned in a second series released on CD and scheduled for BBC7 broadcast. A third series of adventures for Lucie and the Doctor is coming in March 2009, as weekly half-hour downloads followed by a Christmas Special. She also appeared as Ruby Ruggles in the 2008 radio serial ''The Way We Live Right Now'', and took over the role of Tamsin Trelawny in series 2 of ''Elephants To Catch Eels'' on BBC Radio4.

Theatre

Smith's theatre credits include the musical ''Into The Woods'' at London's Donmar Warehouse, and Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park.

She also played Audrey in the stage production of ''Little Shop of Horrors'' at The Menier Chocolate Factory, London, from November 2006 which then moved to The Duke Of York's Theatre in March 2007, and due to a very successful run moved again at the end of June 2007 to The New Ambassadors Theatre, its run ended in September 2007. Smith received a nomination for the 2008 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, for her performance in the show.

Smith appeared as Vanessa in ''Tinderbox: a Revenge Comedy'' by Lucy Kirkwood at the Bush Theatre, Shepherd's Bush, in April 2008.

Smith originated the role of Elle Woods in the musical version of ''Legally Blonde'' in its transfer from Broadway to London's West End in December 2009. Ex-Blue boyband member Duncan James played opposite Smith until June 2010, when he was replaced by Richard Fleeshman. Other cast members Sheridan has performed alongside include Aoife Mulholland as Brooke, Denise Van Outen as Paulette, Peter Davison as Professor Callahan. Her performance was well received, the Daily Telegraph describing her as }}

Smith was originally supposed to leave ''Legally Blonde'' on 23 October, 2010, but she extended her run to 8 January, 2011, when Susan McFadden took over the role.

For her role in ''Legally Blonde'' Smith won the whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She was also nominated for the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress and was the winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Between March and June 2011, she appeared in Trevor Nunn's production of ''Flare Path'' at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket as Doris, a former barmaid married to a Polish count in the RAF. The production was part of the playwright Terence Rattigan's centenary year celebrations and also starred Sienna Miller and James Purefoy.

As well as her role in ''Legally Blonde'', Smith also performed the title role in the workshop productions of a new musical adaptation of ''Bridget Jones' Diary''. She has stated that the musical will not reach the stage until 2012, with Smith taking on the title role in what would be the original London cast.

Personal life

Smith was in a relationship with James Corden, which ended in June 2009.

On 6 March, 2010, in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Smith revealed that she and Scottish actor Ross McCall had begun dating after a 10 year friendship.

Filmography

!Year	!Film	!Role
1999		Matilda
1999–2000	''The Royle Family''	Emma Kavanagh
2001–2009	''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps''	Janet Keogh (née Smith)
2003	''Eyes Down''	Sandy Beech
2004	''Mile High''	Suzie
2005	''The Lenny Henry Show''	M.E. Westmocott
2005	''The Comic Strip'' — "Sex Actually"	Angie
2005–2008	''Love Soup''	Cleo Martin
2006–2009		Michelle Booth
2008–2010	''Gavin & Stacey''	Ruth "Rudi" Smith
2008		Cinderella Doe
2009–present	''Jonathan Creek'' (''The Grinning Man'' & ''The Judas Tree'')	Joey Ross
2009		Brandy
2010	''The Alan Titchmarsh Show''	Elle Woods & Herself
2011	''The One Show''	Herself
2011	''Bizarre ER''	Narrator
2011	''Hysteria''	TBC
2011	''How To Stop Being A Loser''	Lisa

Awards

2009 - Laurence Olivier Awards: Best Actress in a Musical - ''Audrey'', Little Shop of Horrors (Nomination)

2010 - Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress- ''Elle Woods'', Legally Blonde (Nomination)

2011 - Laurence Olivier Awards: Best Actress in a Musical - ''Elle Woods'', Legally Blonde (WINNER)

2011 - Theatregoers' Choice Award: Best Actress in a Musical - ''Elle Woods'', Legally Blonde (WINNER)

References

External links

Category:English television actors Category:English soap opera actors Category:English stage actors Category:English radio actors Category:English musical theatre actors Category:Olivier Award winners Category:People from Epworth, Lincolnshire Category:Shakespearean actors Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:People educated at Joyce Mason School of Dance

cy:Sheridan Smith nl:Sheridan Smith no:Sheridan Smith sv:Sheridan Smith