Claim: Laurence Olivier performed alongside Peggy Ashcroft.

Laurence Kerr Olivier , Baron Olivier , -LRB- -LSB- ˈlɒrəns_kɜr_ɒˈlɪvieɪ -RSB- 22 May 1907 -- 11 July 1989 -RRB- , was an English actor who , along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud , dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century . He also worked in films throughout his career , playing more than fifty cinema roles . Late in his career , he had considerable success in television roles .   His family had no theatrical connections , but Olivier 's father , a clergyman , decided that his son should become an actor . After attending a drama school in London , Olivier learned his craft in a succession of acting jobs during the late 1920s . In 1930 he had his first important West End success in Noël Coward 's Private Lives , and he appeared in his first film . In 1935 he played in a celebrated production of Romeo and Juliet alongside Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft , and by the end of the decade he was an established star . In the 1940s , together with Richardson and John Burrell , Olivier was the co-director of the Old Vic , building it into a highly respected company . There his most celebrated roles included Shakespeare 's Richard III and Sophocles 's Oedipus . In the 1950s Olivier was an independent actor-manager , but his stage career was in the doldrums until he joined the avant garde English Stage Company in 1957 to play the title role in The Entertainer , a part he later played on film . From 1963 to 1973 he was the founding director of Britain 's National Theatre , running a resident company that fostered many future stars . His own parts there included the title role in Othello -LRB- 1964 -RRB- and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice -LRB- 1970 -RRB- .   Among Olivier 's films are Wuthering Heights -LRB- 1939 -RRB- , Rebecca -LRB- 1940 -RRB- , and a trilogy of Shakespeare films as actor-director : Henry V -LRB- 1944 -RRB- , Hamlet -LRB- 1948 -RRB- , and Richard III -LRB- 1955 -RRB- . His later films included Sleuth -LRB- 1972 -RRB- , Marathon Man -LRB- 1976 -RRB- , and The Boys from Brazil -LRB- 1978 -RRB- . His television appearances included an adaptation of The Moon and Sixpence -LRB- 1960 -RRB- , Long Day 's Journey into Night -LRB- 1973 -RRB- , Love Among the Ruins -LRB- 1975 -RRB- , Cat on a Hot Tin Roof -LRB- 1976 -RRB- , Brideshead Revisited -LRB- 1981 -RRB- and King Lear -LRB- 1983 -RRB- .   Olivier 's honours included a knighthood -LRB- 1947 -RRB- , a life peerage -LRB- 1970 -RRB- and the Order of Merit -LRB- 1981 -RRB- . For his on-screen work he received four Academy Awards , two British Academy Film Awards , five Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards . The National Theatre 's largest auditorium is named in his honour , and he is commemorated in the Laurence Olivier Awards , given annually by the Society of London Theatre . He was married three times , to the actresses Jill Esmond from 1930 to 1940 , Vivien Leigh from 1940 to 1960 , and Joan Plowright from 1961 until his death .