Sir Larry: The Life of Laurence Olivier

This is one of the best biographies of any type that I've read, and certainly the best on Sir Laurence Olivier. He has been an idol of mine since teen years, and, after reading several biographies, this is the one that tells me what Sir Larry may really have been like as a man. Thomas Kiernan's success depends in part on his getting quotes from people who knew or met Olivier: friends, family members, fellow actors and directors, acquaintances, and people who just happened to be there on a movie or stage set. Their fascinating reminiscences make up a substantial part of the book. Mr. Kiernan does not tiptoe delicately around any aspect of Olivier's life, giving details about his two marriages, about his childhood, about his career. But he does not just concentrate on the "juicy bits"; he includes so many things about Olivier: Olivier the man consumed by the desire to perfect his craft, please his audience, and take risks to create imaginative and exciting productions; Olivier the man so ambitious as an understudy that he contrived to create such a novel characterization that when the primary actor returned, he would not be willing to take on the part--and it worked; Olivier the shy, stuttering admirer of the then-unknown Greer Garson, so enamored of her that he angled to get her a part in a play he was in--in vain, as it turned out; Olivier the athlete and acrobat, who liked "to perform his own stunts," who played almost all of his early Shakespearean parts on stage with Errol Flynn-like swashbuckling leaps and runs; Olivier the actor who informed his Shakespearean parts with lust, vitality, virility, and an animal magnetism that roared across the proscenium; Olivier who could study and learn from actors he admired like John Gielgud as well as from directors he hated, like Jed Harris-whose craft as an actor was always in a state of evolution. In other words, an interesting man of many parts. Kiernan succeeded in making me feel that I got to know a real, flesh-and-blood person. He has a very down-to-earth style that demystifies Olivier--who is already awesome and cosmic enough without anyone's help--so that one can enjoy feeling a little bit closer to that gorgeous guy, whose personal energy and magnetism are beyond charismatic. The author's writing style is wonderful: economical and articulate, it is immensely readable and enjoyable. If you're interested in Olivier, this is the book to read.