Portrait of Sir Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) by

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He is an actor who many consider to be the greatest in the English-speaking world during the twentieth century. Though Sir Laurence Olivier was based mostly in England, he made a significant number of Hollywood films. He was nominated for Academy Awards as either an actor, producer or director twelve times, winning twice, while also being honored with two special Oscars. In his long and versatile career, Olivier appeared in more than 120 stage roles, nearly 60 films and more than 15 television productions. The son of a clergyman, he was well educated, and introduced to the arts at an early age. He made his acting debut at the age of fifteen at the all-boys, All Saints Choir School. He continued playing Shakespearean and other classical roles while in training. Olivier's next big step was joining The Birmingham Repertory company in 1926. He had also acted on Broadway and was recognized by the American film industry. He had his chance at early Hollywood stardom when he played the lead in Yellow Ticket. By the time he made Fire Over England, he was a hot commodity, made even hotter by his well-publicized affair with his costar, the beautiful and talented Vivien Leigh. Tongues wagged wilder than usual because both Olivier and Leigh were married at the time. They later freed themselves in order to marry each other, a union that lasted for more than 20 years. As a sought after actor, Olivier heeded the call to Hollywood again and was considerably more successful. He starred as Heathclifff in the scintillating romance, Wuthering Heights (1939), and became an international matinee idol. He followed that hit with several others, including Rebecca and That Hamilton Woman. Olivier's most productive period came from directing and producing. He did this, while also starring in Henry V (1944) and Hamlet (1948). He won Best Film and Best Actor awards for Hamlet from the Academy. No matter what country has produced his films, Olivier remains an international star whose talent belongs to all nations. Burdened by ill health for more than a decade, Olivier fought cancer and other ailments while working at a furious pace. He was knighted in 1947, and in 1970 he was made "Baron Olivier of Brighton," for services to the theater, which allowed him to sit in the House of the Lords. If that wasn't enough, in 1981 he was given the Order of Merit. In America, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences bestowed its version of knighthood on "Lord Larry," awarding him a special Oscar "for the full body of his work, the unique achievement of his entire career and his lifetime of contribution to the art of film. The artist Bernard Hailstone (1910-1987) was known for his portraits of royalty,members of the Armed Services, musicians and personalities of stage and screen. Among the most memorable are his portraits of Sir Winston Churchill, Peter Ustinov and Sir John Barbirolli. His portrait of Lord Olivier now hangs in the bar of the Garrick Club. Less known, but among his best work, are his paintings of the Blitz. During the war he joined up as a fireman in the Auxiliary Fire Service, along with such artists as Norman Hepple and Leonard Rosoman, and would set up his easel among the bombed London churches and smouldering buildings when there was a lull in the raids.The experiences of these firemen artists were not without their humorous side, for example, when Hailstone helped to extinguish a fire in a warehouse containing barrels of rum near the docks, or when he was disciplined for using His Majesty';s gas to give himself enough light to complete a picture after dark. His work came to the notice of Kenneth Clark, who in 1941 asked him to become an official war artist to the Ministry of Transport. During this period he recorded the life of the Atlantic and Mediterranean Convoys. In 1944 he was sent to South East Asia Command (SEAC) to paint Lord Mountbatten and members of his staff. Much of his work is in the Imperial War Museum. This was the beginning of Hailstone's career as a portrait painter, which he pursued for the rest of his life - perhaps, some felt, at the expense of his sensitive landscape painting. Bernard Hailstone came from a large family, in Hadlow,Kent, and he remained in Hadlow for the rest of his life. His elder brother,Harold,was a well-known Punch artist and illustrator. Bernard himself was the seventh child of a seventh son, a fact to which he attributed the good fortune and luck which he enjoyed during his adventurous life. A generous and warmhearted man, he was very good company,and must have been one of the very few painters who could work with others around him. He was never so happy as when dining in the convivial atmosphere of the Chelsea Arts Club or teaching his pupils during the weekly painting classes he held at this studio. Teaching for him was perhaps rather more an occasion for getting intouch with others than a strict economic necessity,for he had a cavalier attitude to money and an endearing absent-minded and disorganised way of life which kept his many friends amused. In spite of this, Bernard Hailstone was much in demand and travelled the globe making new friends through his commissions. He often travelled to New York on the QE2, and would entertain passengers with after-dinner talks on his long and varied career and eminent people he had painted.

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