I can't believe I'm the first one to post! Above all, I greatly admire and esteem Sir Larry as the finest actor of his generation. But, since this is a drool conference......The only time I ever found him sexy was as the tortured Max De Winter(love that n ame) in Rebecca. I love the way he reads the line-she stood there laughing, her black hair blowing in the wind. I also found him mildly sexy as Lord Nelson in that Hamilton Woman, with Vivien Leigh, especially when he says those immortal lines-now, I have kissed you in both centuries. But as for his portrayl of Darcy-Thank you CF. Maybe Olivier could have done better with VL as Lizzy, instead of Garson.

I agree, Cass. Olivier was a great actor, and a chameleon as someone pointed out, but I didn't find him to be a particular drool topic. I did find him sexy as Max de Winter and a little as Nelson (but I think that was the story as much as him). He was brilliant in that movie (can't remember the name) about the Nazi Mengele in Brazil--but I hated the movie, it was too scary and creepy! I did love his Henry V, but it was made for propaganda purposes in WW2 and it shows it! I didn't think his Darcy held a candle to CF's - but then the whole film didn't stand up to P&P2!

Boys from Brazil opposite Gregory Peck, brilliant movie, it was meant to be scary and creepy!

Thanks, Johanne. I know it was meant to be scary and creepy, but it's not a movie I'd ever rent just to watch it again--as I won't watch any of the Godfather movies! Once is enough!!;-)

You're right Inko, not a movie you deliberatly go rent. But if I stumble on it once a decade it sure shake me. That's one I'll share with my kid when she's of age.

I thought he was adorable in "The Divorce of Lady X" which just played recently on A&E. (By the way, I think Colin would be great in that comedic role...I kept imagining him in the movie...my ten year old agrees with me!). I also liked him in "Wuthering Heights" and find it incredible that he and Merle Oberon just detested each other. I read recently an article that proclaimed Kevin Kline as heir apparent to Sir Laurence Olivier. I dunno, I think Colin has those unique chameleon-like qualities in his acting. I very much enjoyed his tortured portrayal in "Master of the Moor".

Marina: I read recently an article that proclaimed Kevin Kline as heir apparent to Sir Laurence Olivier. Kevin Kline? I am all astonishment! I adore Kevin (I hoot just thinking about Otto in A Fish Called Wanda) but really now...I thought Kenneth Branagh already had that dubious honor?

Hear hear Cheryl, Kevin Kline I adore but not in LO shoes. Those shoes will be hard to fill. Contender to future Olivier, in the early 70's, was then thinking Timothy Dalton had some promise, in this decade I cast my vote for Jeremy Northam (he would be g reat as Heathcliff). Wuthering heights was one of my favorite. You want to cradle him, giving him back the love he never was offered, this poor torn soul. He would have probably distroyed me as well. Olivier was incredible. Did'nt know about Merle O and him, surprise I am... As it occured to you how much Jennifer Ehle reminds of Merle Oberon? No wonder we would give her every role the later ever played.

I totally loved LO in "Wuthering Heights"-one of the best ramantic movies of all times, and definitely drool material. I also loved "Rebecca" and "Hamlet" and "Divorce of Lady X", though it is rather hard to drool over "Hamlet" (but I managed :-)

I always loved Sir Laurence, even if he was old enough to be my grandfather! He was at his most drool-worthy to me in That Hamilton Woman and of course when he played Darcy!

the new Olivier without contest : Branagh and Northam symbiosis. In the late thrities/forthies, yes, very handsome man...

He was so charming as Darcy in P&P0, I don't see how she could have resisted him. Not the same as CF smouldering I know, but Olivier did not act detestable at all in the movie as CF did before the visit to Pemberley.

Please change the title to reflect the correct spelling of this most worth of drool man: Laurence Olivier - of French Huguenot derevation. Marcia in Hawaii

Will do!

Thanks, Terry! I just had a brief note from Nan that you were to fix it. Great. Now, How do we enliven it? There are surely fans around who remember the first time they saw Henry V and were young enough to be glued to their seats for the entire time e nthralled that someone that handsome could sound that good. I was so numb I sat through two showings the first time, and I can still remember the feelings. Let's hear from you!

Sorry, I don't remember seeing any Olivier films at their first-run showings, but I still get a thrill whenever I see him in "Wuthering Heights." Whew! I never imagined Heathcliff that handsome, but I sure like it. What always amazed me about Sir Laurence is his ability to be both handsome and ugly. That probably doesn't sound like it makes sense, but he is a very attractive man (and remained that way into his old age). Yet he never was a "pretty boy," he played e xciting and diverse roles and managed to change his looks with his character. Seems to be a British thing; most U.S. actors tend to get typed and then play that type no matter what (for instance, Fred Astaire still playing the handsome lover when his lea ing ladies were 1/3 his age).

I knew there were others of us out there. Thanks for your thoughts, Lorie. I just wish there were pictures and .wav files like they have for Colin Firth. I (this just may be a terrible heresy) the Firth IS the successor to Olivier. When he comes into the room in the Inn with Bingley to join Lizzie and and his sister, he looks *just* like Heathcliff/Olivier - and sounds like him, too. Two such in a lifetime is totally amazing and I am gratefully overwhelmed. Or...is it possible...you haven't seen P&P ?

Oh, I've seen the Firth version, and I agree as much as a person who's never seen the Olivier version of P&P can. I keep hoping to see that version on TV, but I don't get Turner classics or whatever station owns the rights. Darcy is just a wonderful character. He charms us as he wins over Lizzy. And I feel that Sir L does that in many of his movies, too.

Here's a start for pictures of Sir L., Marcia. And wav files (what a voice!)would be good. Maybe I ought to do something about that, too...

A word from Mr. Darcy? http://www.wcinet.net/~arteest/Pr%26Pr.wav

The sound clip above takes a LONG time to load. Be patient!

You are terrific! All of you. I was beginning to think I was the lone keeper of the flame, but I go away for a few days and you outdid yourselves. Lorie, you're right, of course. A fresh look at P&P0 (as it is known) gives proper comparison 0 vs 2. I'll keep both...but just for scholarly persuits and a lot of rewinding. In the USA, A&E has the rights to it. The BBC elsewhere. Julie, you gifted soul. Thanks for the great surprise. I don't drool here because the gentleman was too dignified to do that to, but it is supurb! And, to top it off, a .wav file with His voice!!! I can hardly believe it. What a visceral shock of recognition. I can't tell you enough how that thrilled me. A really genuine !s i g h ! of gratitude. Encore!!

Some time ago "Wuthering Heights" was mentioned above, and the fact of a real "loathing" (I read many years ago) between Oberon and Olivier. Did anyone else feel real dislike for her, too while watching the movie? I thought she was the most arrogant and stupid woman on the planet to behave the way she did toward Heathcliff when I sat in the audience yearning to relieve his pain and humiliation. Perhaps Bronte wrote more of that into the story than I was aware, but the book didn't anger me nearly as muc as the movie did. Perhaps it's because I couldn't imagine anyone as truly astonishingly handsome as he was in this film when I was reading. I actually "ached" for him! Anyone else experience the same thing or anything like it?

Come back, Nan...your *1 lines did not show up! We need you!

Has Hallowe'en candy hangover rendered mute absolutely everyone who has been at one time or another stricken by Olivier? Some rude person suggested this is a *dead* subject. How could they! Don't let that be so! A word or two...you don't need any fancy paragraphs. They're good, too, but just a few words would let me know I'm not alone out here.

Does the "rude person" call this dead if we don't post every single day or something?? LONG LIVE LARRY!!

Thank you, I needed that. It has been suggested on 51 that Colin Firth play Laurence Olivier when (and they're bound to) they make the Biographical movie of this life. I think that would be superb. I don't even want to think of Vivien Leigh's portrayer - very complex...What do you think, all of you who KNOW he will always be with us. Thank heaven for video tapes!!! (I guess the "rude person" thinks quantity equates with Quality.)

Picture files are touchy things, I guess. Well, I'll try & put it back. Portraying either Laurence or Vivien Leigh would be a very tall order; whoever played VL would not only have to be an outstandingly good actress ("complex" is right!)but also incredibly beautiful.

And Morgan Fairchild is NOT the answer! I thinks he (LO) called her startling beautiful. Thank you HUGELY for puting your magnificent portrait of Lord Olivier back. Could you tell me something of how you decided on how to portray him. He was so many things so many times - all wonderful, of course. How did you decide? The pride of place on my .wav files is yours. It's the only one I know of that is his voice....and how appropriate with P&P2 so recently re-released. I'd love to have one of him thunde ing some Shakespeare. I have Hamlet and Henry V as well as all of the early ones including "As you like it" - but no thundering there. Henry, I think!

Julie, I'm also curious about his nose. He almost NEVER used his own, so I'm not absolutely sure what it looked like! You have the mouth to perfection and the eyes........aaaaaaaaaaah! What a joy to have it back on our...? (drooling just isn't appropriate for him, though he was so awesome when I first was bowled over by his presence I could hardly breathe!) Do you have a better idea for what to call this convocation of afficianados?

I don't know...how about "The Stun Board"? That has a nice ring to it. It also describes my first reaction to him, although I must admit when I was a teenager I definitely drooled over Heathcliff, Darcy, Maxim de Winter... My mom & I used to say (still do) that we'd listen to him recite the alphabet -- that VOICE! As far as I know, he had his "own nose" (!) as those three characters -- it was just when he got into Richard III (actually most of his stage roles) that he changed it so. Evidently he didn't like his nose...can't say I ever saw anything wrong with it! I'm not sure if there was any conscious decision on how to portray him in the painting; it just sort of...happened. I work from photographs, and this one sort of grew out of several different ones, but mostly when he was older. It seems to be kind of a combination of Mr Darcy and Heathcliff-when-he-returns-rich, don't you think?

I was just looking thru my list of LO movies---did you ever see "Love Among The Ruins"? It was made for TV, I think about '77? '79? and co-starred Katharine Hepburn. Absolutely wonderful movie! He was very handsome even in his seventies!

I don't know...how about "The Stun Board"? That has a nice ring to it. It also describes my first reaction to him, although I must admit when I was a teenager I definitely drooled over Heathcliff, Darcy, Maxim de Winter... My mom & I used to say (still do) that we'd listen to him recite the alphabet -- that VOICE! As far as I know, he had his "own nose" (!) as those three characters -- it was just when he got into Richard III (actually most of his stage roles) that he changed it so. Evidently he didn't like his nose...can't say I ever saw anything wrong with it! I'm not sure if there was any conscious decision on how to portray him in the painting; it just sort of...happened. I work from photographs, and this one sort of grew out of several different ones, but mostly when he was older. It seems to be kind of a combination of Mr Darcy and Heathcliff-when-he-returns-rich, don't you think?

Hey! I didn't post that twice!

Same Marcia, just took off the stupid way I had to register the first time. Julie, that is definitely the gorgeous man from prosperity in WH, and in Rebecca. Of course, Max was always gorgeous. Stun site, it is. Absolutely true. The first time I saw him in Anything was Henry V and I was so stunned I sat through two performances before anyone could tear me away. I still recall the physical jolt the first time I saw him in the movie. ZAP!!!! It still tingles....Stunningly! BTW, Julie, it does that for me, too, with double entry. Cyber-gremlins! My best to your Mother. Does she visit here?

LO didn't write it, but the poem "Love Among the Ruins" is beautiful, too. I think it's Browning. Anyway, I only read it because I saw that TV movie you mentioned above. Yes, handsome well into old age. Gives us all something to aspire to, I guess (but whether that means finding an older foxy guy as we age or developing a voice that will seduce even when ravaged by age, I leave you to guess). Still haven't seen the LO P&P, and am getting antsy. Saw it for sale in a video store recently ($20!) and wished I could just rent it. Any hope for seeing it on free or cable TV?

Let's hear it for the Silvery Foxes who know what women are about and how to appreciate them. Yes, I have one of my very own, and they are the most superior male of the species! "Love Among the Ruins" was lovely. I was prepared to hate it because Kate Hepburn never did much for me with that voice of hers, but she became wonderful because He thought she was. STUNning! Check with local stations or middle of the night reruns, and A&E runs old classics from all over the world. Scour your local listings on Sunday for the week. Especially for the overnight hours. That's how I got mine. PBS, too. You might Email A&E and PBS at their web pages and ask for them to show it.

(Julie - re: his nose) I have his autobiography, and he commented that to get into a role he first had to become (get into the mind and skin of)the person he was portraying. The best way to start was to alter his features a bit, and he did the nose first!

I haven't seen that on in a long time, but Turner Classic Movies is a likely candidate -- they seem to have all of the MGM library. I'll let you know if I spot it anywhere, since I'm a majorold-movie freak, and apt to run across it. We could email TCM and nudge them.... http://TCM.turner.com/CALENDAR/index.htm

I wasn't finished yet, but one of my cats decided I was... (Indiscriminate keyboard-stepping.) The above refers to P&P, Lorie. And, sorry, Marcia, Kate H. is TCM's star of the month this month! I haven't read the poem, but I know he quotes from Browning in 'LAtR.' And another line that comes to mind: "And after 40 years of devotion, what is my reward? She doesn't remember me!"

Good for Kate. I certainly respect her work....and that line you quote - what memories it invokes! I'll have to check through my Olivier Videos and see if I have LATR. And, Please let us all know if / when you find anyone showing any of his movies, and I shall do the same. Hi to the cats. He had one, you know, named "NEW" spoken like a cat would for the New Theatre whence he moved the (Old Vic, as I recall.

I have about a dozen books about Olivier, two by him. There is not one good picture of him as either Darcy nor Heathcliff in any of them. I am amazed with all of the photographs available they chose the distant tiny ones of him in profile or partially behind someone else. Somewhere in someone's archives there must be some good ones. Or, better still, someone with the videos and a Snappy and a Scanner who can put them up here where we can remember and sigh a lot!!! Anyone out there?

You're right, Marcia -- there just isn't much. (That's why I make my own!) But maybe this will hold us for a little bit....

Bless you Julie! How classy this man is. I say IS because he truly is immortal and I plan to keep on being enthralled and thrilled by his genius - and his incredible looks. You can't believe how much it means after a week or so of inactivity here, and a tough week out in the real world to find you have put a trio of splendid Olivier pictures on this board for us to enjoy. It also shows how truly gifted you are, too, by the way. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

You're very welcome! I agree with "IS"--he is immortal, and because of film and video I guess he always will be to those like us. "Rebecca" was on Bravo yesterday, but I found it too late to alert anyone here. Been awhile since I've seen that--really is a fine film --deserved Best Picture. Did you know Viven L. tested for the role of the 2nd Mrs DeWinter? She didn't get it because she was too beautiful! I tend to agree, in a way, but I saw the test in a documentary and I think she could've done it, I t ink. She really played down her looks, and anyone who could handle Scarlett could do anything!

Poor Vivien, she was slated for just about every role opposite him, but Darryl Zanuck had her under such tight reins from "GWTW" she couldn't do any of them. She had the gowns all made to play Katherine of France in Henry V, but her contract forbade it, so they had to find a diminutive actress to fit into them. Fortunately, Renee Asherson did just beautifully. She could play drab...look how bedraggled they made her look at the end of Lady Hamilton! Bedraggled but still beautiful, I might add.

Oh, how nice it is too see other people who like LO. When I say to people that I do, I am usually met with a blank stare, or "he's dead, isn't he?" I remember seeing WH and falling in love with the movie. I remember being stunned throughout the whole movie, especially the scene when he breaks the windowglass and looks at his hands. Wow! And "Rebecca" is one of my favorite films and he made perfect Maxim. And his "Henry V" made me interested in Shakespeare adaptations. Before that, I thought that while the plays are wonderful, the adaptations are horrible. I remember thrilling to his "St Crispin speech" so much I had to rewind and relisten. Anyway, this comes perlilously close to gushing, so I'd better stop

marshA, welcome aboard. And, I was under the impression this was a DROOL Topic at The Spring! Go ahead and let it out so we may relive our passion and share it with others. I know the feeling of the blank-stare "Isn't he dead?" comment. I just look at the source and pity their limited minds. Henry V got me started and I thought there would never be someone that handsome who sounded that good. I watched it twice ( sat through two showings)- entranced - then slid out of the theater numb, limp, and forever changed. My video of Henry V can still do it for me!

Hello, look what I found. (Oh, my GOD!) Happy Holidays, all....

Oh, Julie!!! Where did you get that gorgeous picture?! Thanks for sharing it with us. It made my season. Haoli Makahiki Hou to fellow Olivier Enthusiasts.

Heh-heh-heh. Thought you'd like that. I found it in a book where I was actually looking for something else -- this filled the whole page, approx. a foot tall -- I about fainted when I turned to it, unsuspecting. I knew RIGHT where it was going: Olivier Enthusiasts need it! I have a web site! It's not exactly Laurence, but it is old movie stars...(Actually, he may be there very soon.) Check it out if you'd like: http://www.wcinet.net/~arteest/Classic%20Stars.htm

Julie, I just visited your webpages. How very wonderful they are! Do put Olivier on. There must be other out there who haven't found the Spring who would be interested. Happy New Year, Dear!

I tried your site for the first time tonight, thank you for the great pics of L. O.. I don't think his P&P compares to P&P 2 but the script has a lot to do with that and Greer Garson didn't look anything like what I have always thought Lizzy looked like as J.E. did. I think L.O. and C.F have a lot in common but C.F. is more of a chameleon, I have seen him in eight movies and I still don't know what he looks like because he looks totaly different in each role. Oliver looked like Oliver even though he took on the characteristics of the person he was playing. I would love to see C.F. in Wuthering Heights and compare them in that role too. I didn't like Ralph Finnes at all a Heathcliff, but I am biased since I dislike R.F.

Hello, all, it's your friendly image-supplier, at it again: http://www.wcinet.net/~arteest/Rebecca.jpg This is from about the only site I've been able to find so far that has anything decent on our hero. It is worth visiting for all the other features within it too: http://www.princeton.edu/~tnfung/olivier.htm I caught most of Wuthering Heights the other night (on AMC). I was doing other things, but I STILL found myself riveted to the floor when it came to his speech to the dead Cathy. "I cannot live without my life; I cannot die without my soul." How many times have I seen that scene....? And I still had goosebumps a foot high! Hopeless.

This is the way I meant to put the image in! (You can view it through the link above, but this is better. (Been awhile, and I forgot how to do it!)

Did anyone beside me catch Olivier in The Beggar's Opera this morning on Bravo channel? It is the most difficult of his movies to find, and though his voice could use some strength, he was entirely gorgeous and enchanting. I am very glad I taped it. It is a rare thing to be able to see one of his movies for first time containing what is was that first moved me about him. There is a lot of that in this movie. I suggest you watch out for it and tape it for your collection if you can.

Correction: I found The Beggar's Opera on TCM - Turner Classic Movies It was in color, and this gentleman looks outstanding.

Wow! What a wonderful pic from "Rebecca" I saw (and taped of course) Beggar's Opera, and I really enjoyed it. I could see why all those women jumped on him :-) It was all very rollicking and Georian in Spirit. I absolutely love him in "Rebecca" It is one of my fave books, and I was worried about how they were going to translate it on screen. But from the first moment I saw Joan Fontaine and LO, I knew the movie was going to be great. Also, did anyone else see "Fire Over England"? It's his first movie with Vivien, and while the scriptwriters abosolutely butchered one of my favorite books (by AEW Mason), Olivier never looked better. Check it out!

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What's the latest on Laurence?

He has been called to act on a higher stage. Alas! He was born May 22, 1907 so he would be pretty old (like the stuff in your basement) were he still alive. Thank you for asking, though! This has been a dormant topic for a while. Occasionally I get bursts of my old feelings for Henry V then I post again.

Sotheby's to auction rare Kubrick, Olivier letters LONDON (Reuters) - Sotheby's said Tuesday it will auction rare collections of letters by two late and great figures of the world of film and theater Stanley Kubrick and Sir Laurence Olivier. The unpublished correspondence goes under the hammer in London on July 13 as part of a larger English literature and history sale. ``Original material written by the notoriously reclusive Kubrick is of the utmost rarity,'' Sotheby's said in a statement. ``The 11 letters are expected to fetch 14,000 to 18,000 pounds ($21,200 to $27,260).'' The writings by the American director of ``A Clockwork Orange'' and ``2001: A Space Odyssey,'' who died in his adoptive home of Britain last year, include notes to the Welsh-born author who gave him the idea for ``Dr. Strangelove.'' In one letter, Kubrick tells Peter George that his draft for the black comedy about nuclear Armageddon was ``marvelous but for a couple of points'' and a few ``non-American things.'' The sale includes a series of ``Dr. Strangelove'' drafts with revisions by both Kubrick and George. The Olivier papers being sold by his son Tarquin 250 letters and cards written by the British thespian and his family are expected to fetch 50,000 to 60,000 pounds ($75,500 to $90,600). ``Besides touching on many aspects and details of his professional activities, the collection throws extensive light on Olivier's domestic life, on some of his closest personal relationships and on his own personality,'' Sotheby's said. Olivier, who died in 1989, confides to his son in one letter that he has ``made rather a mess of a good many things.'' The auction also features items from late British character actor Denholm Elliott, including a copy of ``The Confidential Clerk'' given to him by T.S. Eliot and praise from the author for his performance in the stage version of the book.

Oh Man...if only I were rich instead of gorgeous, intelligent, witty and modest ;)

You forgot to mention charming.

LOL, Marcia! And a great hostess. :-D

*Bowing to your kind comments* I wondered if anyone was alive in here. Thank you, ladies...*sigh*

From the Sunday Times (9/16/00) - this is juicy!! Letters hint at Olivier's gay suitor by Jack Grimston HE was the most famous British actor of his generation, revered across the world for his interpretations of Shakespeare. His companion was a dashing Hollywood star, renowned for his sexual dalliances. The carefully preserved archive of Laurence Olivier, seen for the first time, suggests that his friendship with Douglas Fairbanks Jr almost turned to an affair. The personal papers also show Olivier employed a "minder" to report on the health of Vivien Leigh, his second wife, before they were even married. The archive, stored in 180 large crates, was bought by the British Library from the Olivier family for �1m in April. Seen exclusively by The Sunday Times Magazine before it is opened to the public next month, the collection includes passionate love letters between Olivier and Leigh, and accounts from doctors and others of her bouts of mental illness. The archives are reviewed in a three-week series of articles starting in today's magazine. Kathryn Johnson, the curator of modern drama at the British Library, said the Olivier ar-chive was the biggest it had re-lating to a single theatre figure. "It's going to be one of the stars of the collection and very important for the study of theatre in the 20th century," she said. Olivier, who died in 1989 at the age of 82, co-founded the National Theatre and was famous the world over both as a stage performer and a film star. He and Leigh became the most glamorous celebrity couple of their era. But their 20-year marriage, which ended in divorce in 1960, was marred by Leigh's manic depression. Although her illness was believed by most biographers to have come on gradually during their marriage, the archive shows that Olivier knew before they wed that Leigh was unstable. He even employed an assistant, Sunny Lash, to report to him on his future wife's health and state of mind while she was playing Scarlett O'Hara on the set of Gone with the Wind. Lash describes her staggering around her room after taking too many sedatives. "I get so upset when things aren't right - and Vivien is impossible - or need I tell you?" Lash wrote to Olivier. The telegrams from his "Vivling" during their frequent separations testify to their passionate love and chart her gradual mental degeneration. Although they both had affairs, Leigh's five-year liaison with Peter Finch, an actor renowned for his charm, hard drinking and womanising, had a devastating effect on her and her marriage. After Finch abruptly abandoned her in 1953, she was treated in a mental institution. The archive reveals other aspects of Olivier's sex life. Although his first wife, Jill Esmond, was bisexual, Olivier was not, but he confessed to being tempted by a man on one occasion. In the past, speculation has centred on No�l Coward, Danny Kaye or Richard Burton, but the archive suggests the real "suitor" may have been Fairbanks. An old and close friend of Olivier, famous for his wide-ranging sexual tastes, he was recently named as the prime suspect in the infamous "headless man" photograph at the centre of the Duchess of Argyll's divorce. The picture showed the duchess, wearing only a string of pearls, performing a sex act on an unidentified man. There is a series of highly camp letters from Fairbanks, including a set of pornographic drawings featuring a well-endowed man. One of the letters, not dated but evidently in response to a note from Olivier, says: "'Spurned?' No, dear! Only anxious not to suspect recollections of your visit had placed me in that awkward 'Oh Christ! What'll I do? What'll I say?' category. I gather now that was not the case." In contrast to his virtuoso performances on stage and in films such as Henry V and Wuthering Heights, Olivier the man was often portrayed as a dull character, handsome but with little original to say for himself. He was painfully aware of his own inarticulacy, in contrast to his fellow thespian knights Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud. Some of the most valuable papers for theatre lovers relate to the setting up of the National Theatre. There is a letter from Richard Burton declining the offer to succeed Olivier as director of the National, saying he did not have "the administrative ability . . .and apart from anything else . . . you were a hard man to follow". Burton adds: "Haven't had a drink for months and am as lean as Johnny Gielgud's knees." Some of the papers - which Olivier's widow, Joan Plowright, was anxious to keep in Britain - will be opened for study by library members next month. Staff are still sorting the crates, however, and it will take two years to complete a full catalogue of their contents.

Thanks, Karen! I always thought they made such a perfect couple. It was a surprise to see Vivian had and affair whilst still married. She had good taqste though, young Peter Finch was so handsome. I remember reading of their famous parties with Noel Coward. Such wit!

Wow!!Juicy alright...What a crowd...talk about living in the fast lane!! And that was considered the "conservative era" when people were the paradigms of virtue....Oh yeah? Thanks Karen...