Laurence olivier donald spoto biography
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His study is well researched and readable, and he gives approximately equal space to Olivier's personal and professional lives. Nevertheless, other better-than-adequate books on Olivier already exist, most notably Anthony Holden's Olivier ( LJ 10/15/88). As for women, there were brief encounters (Greer Garson, Sarah Miles, Claire Bloom, etc.) and three unhappy marriages; in Spoto's iffy version, Joan Plowright is an uncaring opportunist, Vivien Leigh a self-indulgent sensualist (rather than a manic-depressive).
He also wrote biographies on religious figures including The Hidden Jesus: A New Life, Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi, and Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint. He received a B.A. from Iona College in 1963 and a M.A. and Ph.D. Aside from lots of sexual tattle, much of it unsupported by sources, and an unconvincing minority opinion on Vivien Leigh's mental troubles, most everything here has been covered before (and, often, better) elsewhere.
And his interpretation of Olivier's amazing career and art is only slightly more persuasive: the stage and film work, the rise and fall at the National Theatre, all receive conscientious attention--but Spoto's attempts at analyzing the Olivier genius largely slide into psychobabble and platitude: ``This awareness of inadequacy was suffused by a mysterious gift, enabling him to pass the single beam of his own humanity through the prism of a role--and the emerging, manifold ray reached the countless different lives of his spectators.'' Sure to be read for the gossip, and worth skimming for curious bits of interview material, but--with its flat delivery and spotty documentation--an only so-so addition to the crowded Olivier reference room.
His 10-year affair with Danny Kaye drove Olivier to suicidal thoughts, reports Spoto, biographer of Hitchcock and Tennessee Williams. in theology (New Testament studies) from Fordham University in 1966 and 1970, respectively. Interest in Spoto's book will probably be piqued by his undocumented assertion that Olivier and Danny Kaye carried on a ten-year affair which ended only when Olivier's wife Joan Plowright objected.
- John Smothers, Monmouth Cty.
Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Laurence Olivier: A Biography
Donald Spoto was born on June 28, 1941 in New Rochelle, New York. The tragedy of his failed marriage to Vivien Leigh, victim of mental instability and electroshock, was totally avoidable, insists Spoto.
He has written more than 25 biographies of film and theatre celebrities including The Art of Alfred Hitchcock, The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams, Diana: The Last Year, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life, Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly, Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford, and The Redgraves: A Family Epic.
BOMC alternate; author tour. A magnificent, moving biography worthy of its protean subject, this resonant portrait defines an actor whose personal upheavals fueled his intense realism on stage and screen.
Laurence Olivier: A Biography - Hardcover
Reviews
Knight of the realm, embodiment of England, great Shakespearean actor and movie star, Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) was saddled with self-loathing, chronic guilt over failed relationships and sexual ambivalence.
Like Anthony Holden (Laurence Olivier, 1988), Spoto takes a largely unfriendly view of Sir Larry--seen throughout as primarily ambitious, envious, ungrateful (to Gielgud especially), and ``emotionally inaccessible.'' Also like Holden, Spoto emphasizes Olivier's guilt-ridden nature; unlike Holden, though, Spoto links it to a struggle with bisexuality, supposedly evidenced by a ten- year affair with Danny Kaye (cf.
Never close to his cold father, an Anglican priest, Olivier lost his mother at 12. This childhood, suggests Spoto, created an emotionally inaccessible man who channeled his passion into his art. Olivier envied the success of his first wife, actress Jill Esmond, a lesbian. He taught theology, Christian mysticism, and biblical literature at the university level for twenty years.
(Mar.)
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Reviewed on: 02/03/1992
Genre: Nonfiction
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Michael Korda's recent roman � clef) and quasi-sexual attachments to Noel Coward, Kenneth Tynan, and others.In third wife Joan Plowright, a young, lively actress, Olivier found maternal endorsement and encouragement. HarperCollins Publishers, $23 (460pp) ISBN 978-0-06-018315-8
Knight of the realm, embodiment of England, great Shakespearean actor and movie star, Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) was saddled with self-loathing, chronic guilt over failed relationships and sexual ambivalence.
Never close to his cold father, an Anglican priest, Olivier lost his mother at 12.