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The production company set up by Olivier took a lease on the St James 's Theatre . In January 1950 he produced , directed and starred in Christopher Fry 's verse play Venus Observed . The production was popular , despite poor reviews , but the expensive production did little to help the finances of Laurence Olivier Productions . After a series of box @-@ office failures , the company balanced its books in 1951 with productions of Shaw 's Caesar and Cleopatra and Shakespeare 's Antony and Cleopatra which the Oliviers played in London and then took to Broadway . Olivier was thought by some critics to be under par in both his roles , and some suspected him of playing deliberately below his usual strength so that Leigh might appear his equal . Olivier dismissed the suggestion , regarding it as an insult to his integrity as an actor . In the view of the critic and biographer W. A. Darlington , he was simply miscast both as Caesar and Antony , finding the former boring and the latter weak . Darlington comments , " Olivier , in his middle forties when he should have been displaying his powers at their very peak , seemed to have lost interest in his own acting " . Over the next four years Olivier spent much of his time working as a producer , presenting plays rather than directing or acting in them . His presentations at the St James 's included seasons by Ruggero Ruggeri 's company giving two Pirandello plays in Italian , followed by a visit from the Comédie @-@ Française playing works by Molière , Racine , Marivaux and Musset in French . Darlington considers a 1951 production of Othello starring Orson Welles as the pick of Olivier 's productions at the theatre .
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= = = Independent actor @-@ manager ( 1952 – 54 ) = = =
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While Leigh made Streetcar in 1951 , Olivier joined her in Hollywood to film Carrie , based on the controversial novel Sister Carrie ; although the film was plagued by troubles , Olivier received warm reviews and a BAFTA nomination . Olivier began to notice a change in Leigh 's behaviour , and he later recounted that " I would find Vivien sitting on the corner of the bed , wringing her hands and sobbing , in a state of grave distress ; I would naturally try desperately to give her some comfort , but for some time she would be inconsolable . " After a holiday with Coward in Jamaica , she seemed to have recovered , but Olivier later recorded , " I am sure that ... [ the doctors ] must have taken some pains to tell me what was wrong with my wife ; that her disease was called manic depression and what that meant — a possibly permanent cyclical to @-@ and @-@ fro between the depths of depression and wild , uncontrollable mania . He also recounted the years of problems he had experienced because of Leigh 's illness , writing , " throughout her possession by that uncannily evil monster , manic depression , with its deadly ever @-@ tightening spirals , she retained her own individual canniness — an ability to disguise her true mental condition from almost all except me , for whom she could hardly be expected to take the trouble . "
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In January 1953 Leigh travelled to Ceylon ( now Sri Lanka ) to film Elephant Walk with Peter Finch . Shortly after filming started she suffered a breakdown , and returned to Britain where , between periods of incoherence , she told Olivier that she was in love with Finch , and had been having an affair with him ; she gradually recovered over a period of several months . As a result of the breakdown , many of the Oliviers ' friends learned of her problems . Niven said she had been " quite , quite mad " , and in his diary , Coward expressed the view that " things had been bad and getting worse since 1948 or thereabouts . "
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For the Coronation season of 1953 , Olivier and Leigh starred in the West End in Terence Rattigan 's Ruritanian comedy , The Sleeping Prince . It ran for eight months but was widely regarded as a minor contribution to the season , in which other productions included Gielgud in Venice Preserv 'd , Coward in The Apple Cart and Ashcroft and Redgrave in Antony and Cleopatra .
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Olivier directed his third Shakespeare film in September 1954 , Richard III ( 1955 ) , which he co @-@ produced with Korda . The presence of four theatrical knights in the one film — Olivier was joined by Cedric Hardwicke , Gielgud and Richardson — led an American reviewer to dub it " An @-@ All @-@ Sir @-@ Cast " . The critic for The Manchester Guardian described the film as a " bold and successful achievement " , but it was not a box @-@ office success , which accounted for Olivier 's subsequent failure to raise the funds for a planned film of Macbeth . He won a BAFTA award for the role and was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award , which Yul Brynner won .
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= = = Last years with Leigh ( 1955 – 56 ) = = =
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In 1955 Olivier and Leigh were invited to play leading roles in three plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre , Stratford . They began with Twelfth Night , directed by Gielgud , with Olivier as Malvolio and Leigh as Viola . Rehearsals were difficult , with Olivier determined to play his conception of the role despite the director 's view that it was vulgar . Gielgud later commented :
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Somehow the production did not work . Olivier was set on playing Malvolio in his own particular rather extravagant way . He was extremely moving at the end , but he played the earlier scenes like a Jewish hairdresser , with a lisp and an extraordinary accent , and he insisted on falling backwards off a bench in the garden scene , though I begged him not to do it . ... But then Malvolio is a very difficult part .
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The next production was Macbeth . Reviewers were lukewarm about the direction by Glen Byam Shaw and the designs by Roger Furse , but Olivier 's performance in the title role attracted superlatives . To J. C. Trewin , Olivier 's was " the finest Macbeth of our day " ; to Darlington it was " the best Macbeth of our time " . Leigh 's Lady Macbeth received mixed but generally polite notices , although to the end of his life Olivier believed it to have been the best Lady Macbeth he ever saw .
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In their third production of the 1955 Stratford season , Olivier played the title role in Titus Andronicus , with Leigh as Lavinia . Her notices in the part were damning , but the production by Peter Brook and Olivier 's performance as Titus received the greatest ovation in Stratford history from the first @-@ night audience , and the critics hailed the production as a landmark in post @-@ war British theatre . Olivier and Brook revived the production for a continental tour in June 1957 ; its final performance , which closed the old Stoll Theatre in London , was the last time Leigh and Olivier acted together .
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Leigh became pregnant in 1956 and withdrew from the production of Coward 's comedy South Sea Bubble . The day after her final performance in the play she miscarried and entered a period of depression that lasted for months . The same year Olivier decided to direct and produce a film version of The Sleeping Prince , retitled The Prince and the Showgirl . Instead of appearing with Leigh , he cast Marilyn Monroe as the showgirl . Although the filming was challenging because of Monroe 's behaviour , the film was appreciated by the critics .
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= = = Royal Court and Chichester ( 1957 – 63 ) = = =
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During the production of The Prince and the Showgirl , Olivier , Monroe and her husband , the American playwright Arthur Miller , went to see the English Stage Company 's production of John Osborne 's Look Back in Anger at the Royal Court . Olivier had seen the play earlier in the run and disliked it , but Miller was convinced that Osborne had talent , and Olivier reconsidered . He was ready for a change of direction ; in 1981 he wrote :
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I had reached a stage in my life that I was getting profoundly sick of — not just tired — sick . Consequently the public were , likely enough , beginning to agree with me . My rhythm of work had become a bit deadly : a classical or semi @-@ classical film ; a play or two at Stratford , or a nine @-@ month run in the West End , etc etc . I was going mad , desperately searching for something suddenly fresh and thrillingly exciting . What I felt to be my image was boring me to death .
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Osborne was already at work on a new play , The Entertainer , an allegory of Britain 's post @-@ colonial decline , centred on a seedy variety comedian , Archie Rice . Having read the first act — all that was completed by then — Olivier asked to be cast in the part . He had for years maintained that he might easily have been a third @-@ rate comedian called " Larry Oliver " , and would sometimes play the character at parties . Behind Archie 's brazen façade there is a deep desolation , and Olivier caught both aspects , switching , in the words of the biographer Anthony Holden , " from a gleefully tacky comic routine to moments of the most wrenching pathos " . Tony Richardson 's production for the English Stage Company transferred from the Royal Court to the Palace Theatre in September 1957 ; after that it toured and returned to the Palace . The role of Archie 's daughter Jean was taken by three actresses during the various runs . The second of them was Joan Plowright , with whom Olivier began a relationship that endured for the rest of his life . Olivier said that playing Archie " made me feel like a modern actor again " . In finding an avant @-@ garde play that suited him , he was , as Osborne remarked , far ahead of Gielgud and Ralph Richardson , who did not successfully follow his lead for more than a decade . Their first substantial successes in works by any of Osborne 's generation were Alan Bennett 's Forty Years On ( Gielgud in 1968 ) and David Storey 's Home ( Richardson and Gielgud in 1970 ) .
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Olivier received another BAFTA nomination for his supporting role in 1959 's The Devil 's Disciple . The same year , after a gap of two decades , Olivier returned to the role of Coriolanus , in a Stratford production directed by the 28 @-@ year @-@ old Peter Hall . Olivier 's performance received strong praise from the critics for its fierce athleticism combined with an emotional vulnerability . In 1960 he made his second appearance for the Royal Court company in Ionesco 's absurdist play Rhinoceros . The production was chiefly remarkable for the star 's quarrels with the director , Orson Welles , who according to the biographer Francis Beckett suffered the " appalling treatment " that Olivier had inflicted on Gielgud at Stratford five years earlier . Olivier again ignored his director and undermined his authority . In 1960 and 1961 Olivier appeared in Anouilh 's Becket on Broadway , first in the title role , with Anthony Quinn as the king , and later exchanging roles with his co @-@ star .
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Two films featuring Olivier were released in 1960 . The first — filmed in 1959 — was Spartacus , in which he portrayed the Roman general , Marcus Licinius Crassus . His second was The Entertainer , shot while he was appearing in Coriolanus ; the film was well received by the critics , but not as warmly as the stage show had been . The reviewer for The Guardian thought the performances were good , and wrote that Olivier " on the screen as on the stage , achieves the tour de force of bringing Archie Rice ... to life " . For his performance , Olivier was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor . He also made an adaptation of The Moon and Sixpence in 1960 , winning an Emmy Award .
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The Oliviers ' marriage was disintegrating during the late 1950s . While directing Charlton Heston in the 1960 play The Tumbler , Olivier divulged that " Vivien is several thousand miles away , trembling on the edge of a cliff , even when she 's sitting quietly in her own drawing room " , at a time when she was threatening suicide . In May 1960 divorce proceedings started ; Leigh reported the fact to the press and informed reporters of Olivier 's relationship with Plowright . The decree nisi was issued in December 1960 , which enabled him to marry Plowright in March 1961 . A son , Richard , was born in December 1961 ; two daughters followed , Tamsin Agnes Margaret — born in January 1963 — and Julie @-@ Kate , born in July 1966 .
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In 1961 Olivier accepted the directorship of a new theatrical venture , the Chichester Festival . For the opening season in 1962 he directed two neglected 17th @-@ century English plays , John Fletcher 's 1638 comedy The Chances and John Ford 's 1633 tragedy The Broken Heart , followed by Uncle Vanya . The company he recruited was forty strong and included Thorndike , Casson , Redgrave , Athene Seyler , John Neville and Plowright . The first two plays were politely received ; the Chekhov production attracted rapturous notices . The Times commented , " It is doubtful if the Moscow Arts Theatre itself could improve on this production . " The second Chichester season the following year consisted of a revival of Uncle Vanya and two new productions — Shaw 's Saint Joan and John Arden 's The Workhouse Donkey . In 1963 Olivier received another BAFTA nomination for his leading role as a schoolteacher accused of sexually molesting a student in the film Term of Trial .
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= = = National Theatre = = =
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= = = = 1963 – 68 = = = =
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At around the time the Chichester Festival opened , plans for the creation of the National Theatre were coming to fruition . The British government agreed to release funds for a new building on the South Bank of the Thames . Lord Chandos was appointed chairman of the National Theatre Board in 1962 , and in August Olivier accepted its invitation to be the company 's first director . As his assistants , he recruited the directors John Dexter and William Gaskill , with Kenneth Tynan as literary adviser or " dramaturge " . Pending the construction of the new theatre , the company was based at the Old Vic . With the agreement of both organisations , Olivier remained in overall charge of the Chichester Festival during the first three seasons of the National ; he used the festivals of 1964 and 1965 to give preliminary runs to plays he hoped to stage at the Old Vic .
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The opening production of the National Theatre was Hamlet in October 1963 , starring Peter O 'Toole and directed by Olivier . O 'Toole was a guest star , one of occasional exceptions to Olivier 's policy of casting productions from a regular company . Among those who made a mark during Olivier 's directorship were Michael Gambon , Maggie Smith , Alan Bates , Derek Jacobi and Anthony Hopkins . It was widely remarked that Olivier seemed reluctant to recruit his peers to perform with his company . Evans , Gielgud and Paul Scofield guested only briefly , and Ashcroft and Richardson never appeared at the National during Olivier 's time . Robert Stephens , a member of the company , observed , " Olivier 's one great fault was a paranoid jealousy of anyone who he thought was a rival " .
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In his decade in charge of the National , Olivier acted in thirteen plays and directed eight . Several of the roles he played were minor characters , including a crazed butler in Feydeau 's A Flea in Her Ear and a pompous solicitor in Maugham 's Home and Beauty ; the vulgar soldier Captain Brazen in Farquhar 's 1706 comedy The Recruiting Officer was a larger role but not the leading one . Apart from his Astrov in the Uncle Vanya , familiar from Chichester , his first leading role for the National was Othello , directed by Dexter in 1964 . The production was a box @-@ office success and was revived regularly over the next five seasons . His performance divided opinion . Most of the reviewers and theatrical colleagues praised it highly ; Franco Zeffirelli called it " an anthology of everything that has been discovered about acting in the past three centuries . " Dissenting voices included The Sunday Telegraph , which called it " the kind of bad acting of which only a great actor is capable ... near the frontiers of self @-@ parody " ; the director Jonathan Miller thought it " a condescending view of an Afro Caribbean person " . The burden of playing this demanding part at the same time as managing the new company and planning for the move to the new theatre took its toll on Olivier . To add to his load , he felt obliged to take over as Solness in The Master Builder when the ailing Redgrave withdrew from the role in November 1964 . For the first time Olivier began to suffer from stage fright , which plagued him for several years . The National Theatre production of Othello was released as a film in 1965 , which earned four Academy Award nominations , including another for Best Actor for Olivier .
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During the following year Olivier concentrated on management , directing one production ( The Crucible ) , taking the comic role of the foppish Tattle in Congreve 's Love for Love , and making one film , Bunny Lake is Missing , in which he and Coward were on the same bill for the first time since Private Lives . In 1966 , his one play as director was Juno and the Paycock . The Times commented that the production " restores one 's faith in the work as a masterpiece " . In the same year Olivier portrayed the Mahdi , opposite Heston as General Gordon , in the film Khartoum .
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In 1967 Olivier was caught in the middle of a confrontation between Chandos and Tynan over the latter 's proposal to stage Rolf Hochhuth 's Soldiers . As the play speculatively depicted Churchill as complicit in the assassination of the Polish prime minister Władysław Sikorski , Chandos regarded it as indefensible . At his urging the board unanimously vetoed the production . Tynan considered resigning over this interference with the management 's artistic freedom , but Olivier himself stayed firmly in place , and Tynan also remained . At about this time Olivier began a long struggle against a succession of illnesses . He was treated for prostate cancer and , during rehearsals for his production of Chekhov 's Three Sisters he was hospitalised with pneumonia . He recovered enough to take the heavy role of Edgar in Strindberg 's The Dance of Death , the finest of all his performances other than in Shakespeare , in Gielgud 's view .
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= = = = 1968 – 74 = = = =
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Olivier had intended to step down from the directorship of the National Theatre at the end of his first five @-@ year contract , having , he hoped , led the company into its new building . By 1968 because of bureaucratic delays construction work had not even begun , and he agreed to serve for a second five @-@ year term . His next major role , and his last appearance in a Shakespeare play , was as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice , his first appearance in the work . He had intended Guinness or Scofield to play Shylock , but stepped in when neither was available . The production by Jonathan Miller , and Olivier 's performance , attracted a wide range of responses . Two different critics reviewed it for The Guardian : one wrote " this is not a role which stretches him , or for which he will be particularly remembered " ; the other commented that the performance " ranks as one of his greatest achievements , involving his whole range " .
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In 1969 Olivier appeared in two war films , portraying military leaders . He played Field Marshal French in the First World War film Oh ! What a Lovely War , for which he won another BAFTA award , followed by Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding in Battle of Britain . In June 1970 he became the first actor to be created a peer for services to the theatre . Although he initially declined the honour , Harold Wilson , the incumbent prime minister , wrote to him , then invited him and Plowright to dinner , and persuaded him to accept .
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After this Olivier played three more stage roles : James Tyrone in Eugene O 'Neill 's Long Day 's Journey into Night ( 1971 – 72 ) , Antonio in Eduardo de Filippo 's Saturday , Sunday , Monday and John Tagg in Trevor Griffiths 's The Party ( both 1973 – 74 ) . Among the roles he hoped to play , but could not because of ill @-@ health , was Nathan Detroit in the musical Guys and Dolls . In 1972 he took leave of absence from the National to star opposite Michael Caine in Joseph L. Mankiewicz 's film of Anthony Shaffer 's Sleuth , which The Illustrated London News considered to be " Olivier at his twinkling , eye @-@ rolling best " ; both he and Caine were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor , losing to Marlon Brando in The Godfather .
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The last two stage plays Olivier directed were Jean Giradoux 's Amphitryon ( 1971 ) and Priestley 's Eden End ( 1974 ) . By the time of Eden End , he was no longer director of the National Theatre ; Peter Hall took over on 1 November 1973 . The succession was tactlessly handled by the board , and Olivier felt that he had been eased out — although he had declared his intention to go — and that he had not been properly consulted about the choice of successor . The largest of the three theatres within the National 's new building was named in his honour , but his only appearance on the stage of the Olivier Theatre was at its official opening by the Queen in October 1976 , when he made a speech of welcome , which Hall privately described as the most successful part of the evening .
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= = = Later years ( 1975 – 89 ) = = =
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Olivier spent the last fifteen years of his life in securing his finances and dealing with worsening health , which included thrombosis and dermatomyositis , a degenerative muscle disorder . Professionally , and to secure financial security , he made a series of advertisements for Polaroid cameras in 1972 , although he stipulated that they must never be shown in Britain ; he also took a number of cameo film roles , which were in " often undistinguished films " , according to Billington . Olivier 's move from leading parts to supporting and cameo roles came about because his poor health meant he could not get the necessary long insurance for larger parts , with only short engagements in films available .
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Olivier 's dermatomyositis meant he spent the last three months of 1974 in hospital , and he spent early 1975 slowly recovering and regaining his strength . When strong enough , he was contacted by the director John Schlesinger , who offered him the role of a Nazi torturer in the 1976 film Marathon Man . Olivier shaved his pate and wore oversized glasses to enlarge the look of his eyes , in a role that the critic David Robinson , writing for The Times , thought was " strongly played " , adding that Olivier was " always at his best in roles that call for him to be seedy or nasty or both " . Olivier was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role , and won the Golden Globe of the same category .
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In the mid @-@ 1970s Olivier became increasingly involved in television work , a medium of which he was initially dismissive . In 1973 he provided the narration for a 26 @-@ episode documentary , The World at War , which chronicled the events of the Second World War , and won a second Emmy Award for Long Day 's Journey into Night ( 1973 ) . In 1975 he won another Emmy for Love Among the Ruins . The following year he appeared in adaptations of Tennessee Williams 's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Harold Pinter 's The Collection . In 1978 he appeared in the film The Boys from Brazil , playing the role of Ezra Lieberman , an ageing Nazi hunter ; he received his eleventh Academy Award nomination . Although he did not win the Oscar , he was presented with an Honorary Award for his lifetime achievement .
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Olivier continued working in film into the 1980s , with roles in The Jazz Singer ( 1980 ) , Inchon ( 1981 ) , The Bounty ( 1984 ) and Wild Geese II ( 1985 ) . He continued to work in television ; in 1981 he appeared as Lord Marchmain in Brideshead Revisited , winning another Emmy , and the following year he received his tenth and last BAFTA nomination in the television adaptation of John Mortimer 's stage play A Voyage Round My Father . In 1983 he played his last Shakespearean role as Lear in King Lear , for Granada Television , earning his fifth Emmy . He thought the role of Lear much less demanding than other tragic Shakespearean heroes : " No , Lear is easy . He 's like all of us , really : he 's just a stupid old fart . " When the production was first shown on American television , the critic Steve Vineberg wrote :
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Olivier seems to have thrown away technique this time — his is a breathtakingly pure Lear . In his final speech , over Cordelia 's lifeless body , he brings us so close to Lear 's sorrow that we can hardly bear to watch , because we have seen the last Shakespearean hero Laurence Olivier will ever play . But what a finale ! In this most sublime of plays , our greatest actor has given an indelible performance . Perhaps it would be most appropriate to express simple gratitude .
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The same year he also appeared in a cameo alongside Gielgud and Richardson in Wagner , with Burton in the title role ; his final screen appearance was as an old , wheelchair @-@ bound soldier in Derek Jarman 's 1989 film War Requiem .
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After being ill for the last twenty @-@ two years of his life , Olivier died of renal failure on 11 July 1989 at his home near Steyning , West Sussex . His cremation was held three days later , before a funeral in Poets ' Corner of Westminster Abbey in October that year .
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= = Awards , honours and memorials = =
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In 1947 Olivier was appointed a Knight Bachelor , and in 1970 he was given a life peerage ; the Order of Merit was conferred on him in 1981 . He also received honours from foreign governments . In 1949 he was made Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog by the Danish government ; the French appointed him Officier , Legion of Honour , in 1953 ; the Italian government created him Grande Ufficiale , Order of Merit of the Italian Republic , in 1953 ; and in 1971 he was granted the Order of Yugoslav Flag with Golden Wreath .
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From academic and other institutions , Olivier received honorary doctorates from the university of Tufts , Massachusetts ( 1946 ) , Oxford ( 1957 ) and Edinburgh ( 1964 ) . He was also awarded the Danish Sonning Prize in 1966 , the Gold Medallion of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters , History and Antiquities in 1968 ; and the Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts in 1976 .
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For his work in films , Olivier received four Academy Awards : an honorary award for Henry V ( 1947 ) , a Best Actor award and one as producer for Hamlet ( 1948 ) , and a second honorary award in 1979 to recognise his lifetime of contribution to the art of film . He was nominated for nine other acting Oscars and one each for production and direction . He also won two British Academy Film Awards out of ten nominations , five Emmy Awards out of nine nominations , and three Golden Globe Awards out of six nominations . He was nominated once for a Tony Award ( for best actor , as Archie Rice ) but did not win .
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In February 1960 , for his contribution to the film industry , Olivier was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame , with a star at 6319 Hollywood Boulevard ; he is included in the American Theater Hall of Fame . In 1977 Olivier was awarded a British Film Institute Fellowship .
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In addition to the naming of the National Theatre 's largest auditorium in Olivier 's honour , he is commemorated in the Laurence Olivier Awards , bestowed annually since 1984 by the Society of West End Theatre . In 1991 Gielgud unveiled a memorial stone commemorating Olivier in Poets ' Corner at Westminster Abbey . In 2007 , the centenary of Olivier 's birth , a life @-@ sized statue of him was unveiled on the South Bank , outside the National Theatre ; the same year the BFI held a retrospective season of his film work .
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= = Technique and reputation = =
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Olivier 's acting technique was minutely crafted , and he was known for changing his appearance considerably from role to role . By his own admission , he was addicted to extravagant make @-@ up , and unlike Richardson and Gielgud , he excelled at different voices and accents . His own description of his technique was " working from the outside in " ; he said , " I can never act as myself , I have to have a pillow up my jumper , a false nose or a moustache or wig ... I cannot come on looking like me and be someone else . " Rattigan described how at rehearsals Olivier " built his performance slowly and with immense application from a mass of tiny details " . This attention to detail had its critics : Agate remarked , " When I look at a watch it is to see the time and not to admire the mechanism . I want an actor to tell me Lear 's time of day and Olivier doesn 't . He bids me watch the wheels go round . "
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Tynan remarked to Olivier , " you aren 't really a contemplative or philosophical actor " ; Olivier was known for the strenuous physicality of his performances in some roles . He told Tynan this was because he was influenced as a young man by Douglas Fairbanks , Ramon Navarro and John Barrymore in films , and Barrymore on stage as Hamlet : " tremendously athletic . I admired that greatly , all of us did . ... One thought of oneself , idiotically , skinny as I was , as a sort of Tarzan . " According to Morley , Gielgud was widely considered " the best actor in the world from the neck up and Olivier from the neck down . " Olivier described the contrast thus : " I 've always thought that we were the reverses of the same coin ... the top half John , all spirituality , all beauty , all abstract things ; and myself as all earth , blood , humanity . "
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Together with Richardson and Gielgud , Olivier was internationally recognised as one of the " great trinity of theatrical knights " who dominated the British stage during the middle and later decades of the 20th century . In an obituary tribute in The Times , Bernard Levin wrote , " What we have lost with Laurence Olivier is glory . He reflected it in his greatest roles ; indeed he walked clad in it — you could practically see it glowing around him like a nimbus . ... no one will ever play the roles he played as he played them ; no one will replace the splendour that he gave his native land with his genius . " Billington commented :
| f9235dcdb40dfa762891b466cd7307d0 | 21,352 |
[ Olivier ] elevated the art of acting in the twentieth century ... principally by the overwhelming force of his example . Like Garrick , Kean , and Irving before him , he lent glamour and excitement to acting so that , in any theatre in the world , an Olivier night raised the level of expectation and sent spectators out into the darkness a little more aware of themselves and having experienced a transcendent touch of ecstasy . That , in the end , was the true measure of his greatness .
| 91faac37fb97b127fa04accda403cc25 | 21,353 |
After Olivier 's death , Gielgud reflected , " He followed in the theatrical tradition of Kean and Irving . He respected tradition in the theatre , but he also took great delight in breaking tradition , which is what made him so unique . He was gifted , brilliant , and one of the great controversial figures of our time in theatre , which is a virtue and not a vice at all . "
| 028e1cf27d875c4f38b5ecb54d271c0c | 21,354 |
Olivier said in 1963 that he believed he was born to be an actor , but his colleague Peter Ustinov disagreed ; he commented that although Olivier 's great contemporaries were clearly predestined for the stage , " Larry could have been a notable ambassador , a considerable minister , a redoubtable cleric . At his worst , he would have acted the parts more ably than they are usually lived . " The director David Ayliff agreed that acting did not come instinctively to Olivier as it did to his great rivals . He observed , " Ralph was a natural actor , he couldn 't stop being a perfect actor ; Olivier did it through sheer hard work and determination . " The American actor William Redfield had a similar view :
| 1ee0874145266e9eb2abc28b2b8e5eb4 | 21,355 |
Ironically enough , Laurence Olivier is less gifted than Marlon Brando . He is even less gifted than Richard Burton , Paul Scofield , Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud . But he is still the definitive actor of the twentieth century . Why ? Because he wanted to be . His achievements are due to dedication , scholarship , practice , determination and courage . He is the bravest actor of our time .
| 47e80dfcd07cde94372f2935d1828b6c | 21,356 |
In comparing Olivier and the other leading actors of his generation , Ustinov wrote , " It is of course vain to talk of who is and who is not the greatest actor . There is simply no such thing as a greatest actor , or painter or composer " . Nonetheless , some colleagues , particularly film actors such as Spencer Tracy , Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall , came to regard Olivier as the finest of his peers . Peter Hall , though acknowledging Olivier as the head of the theatrical profession , thought Richardson the greater actor . Others , such as the critic Michael Coveney , awarded the palm to Gielgud . Olivier 's claim to theatrical greatness lay not only in his acting , but as , in Hall 's words , " the supreme man of the theatre of our time " , pioneering Britain 's National Theatre . As Bragg identified , " no one doubts that the National is perhaps his most enduring monument " .
| f1c257a29842f9c85e2ebe551ec63d03 | 21,357 |
= = Stage roles and filmography = =
| 557f737c5e3ec1e53a28e305e8664998 | 21,359 |
= Freakum Dress =
| 7529a86037705877823a621a4e27da08 | 21,363 |
" Freakum Dress " is a song by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé from her second solo studio album B 'Day ( 2006 ) . It was written by Beyoncé , Rich Harrison , and Makeba Riddick . " Freakum Dress " is similar to songs that Destiny 's Child used to record in the 1990s . The song is complete with whistles , cymbal dominated scatter rhythms and a beat , which is augmented by hi @-@ hats and plinking keyboard pulses . In the song , Beyoncé advises women who have partners with straying eyes to put on alluring dresses and grind on other guys in dance clubs , to regain their affections .
| 8d9d93a65098cf8923ce3b7169a4eac2 | 21,365 |
" Freakum Dress " was generally well received by music critics who complimented Beyoncé 's vocals as well as the assertiveness with which she delivers the lyrics . Many of them also noted that the beat of song melds very well with the vocal arrangement and the instruments used . The music video for the song was directed by Ray Kay , with co @-@ direction from Beyoncé , for the B 'Day Anthology Video Album ( 2007 ) . It features Beyoncé dancing with women of different ages , races , and sizes . Thirty metallic dresses were designed by Tina Knowles and were used in the production . Beyoncé explained that the main reason behind shooting a video for the song was to show what a " freakum dress " looks like . The song was part of the set lists during Beyoncé 's worldwide tours The Beyoncé Experience ( 2007 ) and I Am ... World Tour ( 2009 – 10 ) . Later , in 2012 , the song was performed during her revue Revel Presents : Beyoncé Live .
| 28a1413c59fef6113d711c2ea15a3650 | 21,366 |
= = Recording and conception = =
| 4b0d25b35ceaecc538f2a3416b12db75 | 21,368 |
" Freakum Dress " was conceived at Sony Music Studios , in New York City , when Beyoncé enlisted Harris to co @-@ produce for her album B 'Day ( 2006 ) . She and Harrison had previously collaborated on her 2003 single " Crazy in Love " . She arranged for Harrison , Sean Garrett and Rodney Jerkins to be given individual rooms at the studio . In this way , Beyoncé fostered " healthy competition " between the producers by going into each of their rooms and commenting on the " great beats " the others were creating . Roger Friedman of Fox News Channel noted that " Freakum Dress " and " Suga Mama " ( 2006 ) , Harrison 's other contribution to B 'Day " fall short of originality but mimic the Chi Lites [ sic ] percussion section [ of " Crazy in Love " ] yet again " , adding , " Harrison is like the Indiana Jones of soul , constantly pulling out forgotten gems of the past for sampling [ ... ] You can 't help but think : Thank God someone wrote music in the past that can be repurposed now . " Harrison wrote " Freakum dress to demonstrate how a sassy sartorial item that can help recharge to a relationship " , with Beyoncé and Makeba Riddick also contributing In an interview with USA Today , Beyoncé talked about the content " Freakum Dress " , stating that an outfit which reminds of the best moments in a couple 's life , is a necessity for every woman 's wardrobe .
| 889fb061c6cb87fea1f9bb26e149a23b | 21,370 |
In June 2006 , Beyoncé invited Tamara Coniff of Billboard to a New York recording studio . There she premiered several songs from the album including " Ring the Alarm " ( 2006 ) and " Freakum Dress " , both were cited as possible second singles although in the end it was actually " Ring the Alarm " that became B 'Day 's second single . Beyoncé told Coniff that " Freakum Dress " was one of her favorite songs ever .
| a8563623a40371c9497a6596470869a0 | 21,371 |
= = Music and theme = =
| bb9acf74ce99fb8f918055e897bc2844 | 21,373 |
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Hal Leonard Corporation , " Freakum Dress " is a moderate R & B song pacing in common time , written in the key of F major . The verses alternate from the chords of F ♯ and C. The track also draws from the hip hop , funk , and dance @-@ pop genres . Mike Joseph of PopMatters observed that the song shows influences by 1970s funk music , and contains limited elements of 1980s go @-@ go . According to Phil Harrison of Timeout , " Freakum Dress " consists of a steady " long crescendo , welding galloping beats and a steamrolling two @-@ note riff " , accompanied by several genres of music , which he qualified as " multi @-@ tracked " . Spence D. of IGN Music noted that the song consists of frequent whistles as well as crashing cymbal dominated scatter rhythms and a beat which fits the " powerful , loud , confident lines " in which Beyoncé asks for the attention of her man , and urges women to have a beautiful dress to spice up their sexual life . " Freakum Dress " opens with a spoken introduction . Throughout the song , Beyoncé sings her lines in an assertive manner on melding shattering hi @-@ hats " and plinking keyboard pulses .
| bf177018a1fcf0b93e39e32abd145eda | 21,375 |
According to Joseph , " Freakum Dress " is thematically similar to " Bills , Bills , Bills " ( 1999 ) and " Say My Name " ( 2000 ) , from the Destiny 's Child era . Ann Powers of Los Angeles Times noted that " Freakum Dress " celebrates showing off . Jon Pareles of The New York Times viewed the concept of the song as not merely having a nice wardrobe to entice men , but it also serves as " a means of self @-@ assertion . " In the song , the female protagonist pulls out her best dress to remind her potentially wandering mate of what he is leaving at home . Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly added that Beyoncé also seemingly gives professional advice to women on how to hold a man 's attention in a long @-@ term relationship . She sings : " I think I 'm ready / Been locked up in the house way too long / It 's time to get it , [ be ] cause once again he 's out doing wrong [ ... ] Wear very skimpy clothes ... " . Joseph commented that in the song , Beyoncé is capable of wearing anything to keep her man by her side rather than dumping him . Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe added that after having skirted her best dress , Beyoncé eyes other guys in dance clubs to make her own man jealous , in the hope of regaining his attention but she also makes sure that he really pays when he does her wrong . Beyoncé later refers to her " freakum dress " in " Jealous " , a track from her fifth studio album Beyoncé ( 2013 ) .
| ca6f71822de19b7168a4c2003b7225ed | 21,376 |
= = Reception = =
| f8d79e3fcb54590ed5efe8209a7826d9 | 21,378 |
The song received mostly positive reviews . Phil Harrison of Timeout called " Freakum Dress " a magnificent production thanks to its vocal arrangements and commented that its beat can " drive the boys crazy . " Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone magazine wrote that even though " Freakum Dress " is less harmonically and melodically produced than " Crazy In Love " ( 2003 ) and songs from the Destiny 's Child era , it remains a good track due to its highly energetic beat . Jaime Gill of Yahoo ! Music called the track " discordant " and " menacing " while Jon Pareles of The New York Times called it " overwrought " . On a separate review , Jon Pareles said that the song will remain as one of Beyoncé most memorable tracks thanks to its streak of rage which is " perfectly groomed but unmistakable " . Bill Lamb of About.com chose " Freakum Dress " as one of the three best songs on the entire record , and called it a powerful , emotionally intensive and energetic track . Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian called the song a " lighthearted crunk spree " that reminds girls of the significance of having a nice dress in their wardrobe .
| 1a0762f989ac81673324e0b3d758b8f8 | 21,380 |
Mike Joseph of PopMatters complimented the overall concept of the song but noted that the lyrics do not " radiate " enough warmth . Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine jokingly said that Beyoncé has added the term " Freakum Dress " " to the pop lexicon . " Elysa Gardner of USA Today said that " self @-@ assurance is evident on a tune on B 'Day called ' Freakum Dress ' " while another review by the staff members of the same magazine complimented the songs sexual imagery stating : " When Ms. Bootylicious [ Beyoncé ] sings of squeezing that jelly into a ' Freakum Dress ' , the imagination runs wilder than any video would . Darryl Sterdan , writing for the Canadian website Jam ! , complimented the song 's " bashing beat and irresistible chorus " . Andy Kellman of Allmusic described " Freakum dress " as a " blaring and marching " track . Calling " Freakum Dress " one of the best dance track that Beyoncé has ever sung , Norman Mayers of Prefix Magazine chose it as one of the standout songs of the album . While reviewing B 'Day , Chuck Arnold of People magazine wrote , " ' ladies ' anthem ' Freakum Dress ' finds Beyoncé working all her bootylicious powers over some slamming funk " . " Freakum Dress " reached number twenty @-@ five on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart issue dated September 9 , 2007 . The same day , it also charted on the US Bubbling Under R & B / Hip @-@ Hop Singles at number sixteen .
| 4618af57145c23b81dc087ac86674a04 | 21,381 |
= = Music video = =
| bb0e955fef2ebdb16deb161be8b43293 | 21,383 |
= = = Concept and filming = = =
| f7a0ef95f443282eeb8029c728ae2f49 | 21,386 |
The music video was co @-@ directed by Ray Kay and Beyoncé for the B 'Day Anthology Video Album , which was released the same month : it was one of eight videos shot in two weeks for the album . The choreography was done by Danielle Polanco and Jonte ' Moaning , who used a 1980 ’ s retro set . Beyoncé explained the concept of the video at MTV : " It 's probably the most flamboyant video , and the metallic dresses are so beautiful , they added so much color . I had to do a video for this song . Everyone wanted to know what a ' freakum dress ' was , and you can 't really explain it , you have to see it . Everyone has their own version , so we had so many women — of different races , sizes , shapes , ages — because we all have those dresses we pull out when we need to shut it down . "
| 410a6f6b76a269d58fc7954d7469469e | 21,388 |
After two weeks of shooting , Beyoncé decided to call her mother Tina . The latter designed thirty dresses for the video , with eight of them for her daughter . Due to limited time , certain dress were sewed on the spot in approximately ten minutes each by taking fabric from one dress , making a slit in it , draping it and putting a belt on it . The glasses that Beyoncé wears in the video were borrowed from her make @-@ up artist , Francesca Tolot . The video was finished in about eighteen hours of filming and it features Ebony Haith from America 's Next Top Model , Cycle 1 . Throughout the video , Beyoncé can be seen fixing her hair in a neon mirror and is surrounded by neon @-@ constructed doors , catwalks and podiums . It premiered on BET 's 106 & Park and on American Music Channel , among others , before the release of the video anthology .
| 0a451292e70c571ebd1fab18e98a648e | 21,389 |
= = = Synopsis and reception = = =
| e1199138ed87263952cf7b430839562d | 21,391 |
The video begins with Beyoncé dancing in front of a target before moving to her putting on blush and lipstick next to two other men in a room full of neon framed mirrors . The men then pull a dress onto her and as the chorus begins , she walks by several women dancing on neon boxes before beginning to do a dance routine with them . As the chorus ends , she is shown surrounded by several men in a dark room and dancing in front of barcode @-@ like walls . The video then moves to her walking down a neon catwalk . As the bridge starts , she begins doing a fierce dance routine , while constantly switching dresses . A scene is then shown with her dancers pretending to be paparazzi swarming her with microphones , before ending with Beyoncé whipping her hair in front of the target . Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave a negative review for the video , describing it as " sloppily edited " . He further commented that it " plays out like a cheap fashion show for House of Deréon instead of the couture @-@ as @-@ weapons anthem it should be " .
| c4209d70118b5ff5ac48fd66538aa68f | 21,393 |
= = Live performances = =
| 92d650a9ba02781dd8b0a1912f817854 | 21,395 |
Although Beyoncé did not perform " Freakum Dress " in any televised appearances , the song was part of her set list on The Beyoncé Experience . On August 5 , 2007 , Beyoncé performed the song at the Madison Square Garden in Manhattan , where she directly started the song with the line : " Stop , I ain ’ t ready yet — wait , let me fix my hair ... " . Jon Pareles of The New York Times praised the performance , stating : " Beyoncé needs no distractions from her singing , which can be airy or brassy , tearful or vicious , rapid @-@ fire with staccato syllables or sustained in curlicued melismas . But she was in constant motion , strutting in costumes [ ... ] " . Tonya Turner of The Courier @-@ Mail reported that tracks like " Freakum Dress " , " moved fans to screams of endearment " . David Schmeichel of Jam ! wrote that Beyoncé performed a " ballsy " version of the song . Anthony Venutolo of New Jersey On @-@ Line wrote that Beyoncé " boiled over " during the performance of the song . It was included as the third track on Beyoncé 's live album The Beyoncé Experience Live ( 2007 ) .
| 4261f5d10faeed67ed549e5d14d493c5 | 21,397 |
It was also part of the set list on the I Am ... World Tour . When Beyoncé performed the song in Sunrise , Florida on June 29 , 2009 , she was wearing a glittery gold leotard . As she sang , animated graphics of turntables , faders and other club equipment were projected behind Beyoncé , her dancers and musicians . Beyoncé was accompanied by her two drummers , two keyboardists , a percussionist , a horn section , three imposing backup vocalists called the Mamas and a lead guitarist , Bibi McGill . During the performance , she bent backwards at her guitarist 's feet . Jonathon Moran of The Sunday Telegraph praised Beyoncé 's dancing during the performance of the song on the I Am ... World Tour . " Freakum Dress " was included as the fourth track on the deluxe edition of I Am ... World Tour ( 2010 ) . According to Andy Kellman of Allmusic , the performance has a " hard rock overhaul " .
| d2f68ec1148aad4399a1296e4a8f7569 | 21,398 |
In May , 2012 , Beyoncé performed " Freakum Dress " during her Revel Presents : Beyoncé Live revue in Atlantic City , New Jersey , United States ' entertainment resort , hotel , casino and spa , Revel . While singing the song , Beyoncé was wearing a black dress and performed a " strut @-@ heavy footwork " . Dan DeLuca from The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that " her rock moves on songs like ' Freakum Dress , ' which find her facing off with a leather @-@ jacketed lead guitarist , tend to be of the screaming @-@ solo @-@ played @-@ on @-@ a @-@ Flying Vee variety . " Ben Ratliff of The New York Times mentioned " Freakum Dress " in the " almost continuous high point " of the concert . Jim Farber of Daily News wrote that " The first , and last parts of the show stressed the steeliest Beyoncé , told in bold songs " like " Freakum Dress " . Brad Wete , writing for Complex noted that Beyoncé was " wagging her bootyliciousness at the audience " while performing the song . The performance of " Freakum Dress " was included on the live album Live in Atlantic City ( 2013 ) which was filmed during the revue . In 2013 the song was a part of the set list during The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour .
| 50cc1107bd82fe5e73e9c91d40dcf678 | 21,399 |
= = Usage in media = =
| 8a17a4b938eb05d7b75300fcfa7b09ef | 21,401 |
On June 24 , 2009 , American actress Cameron Diaz danced to " Freakum Dress " during the show It 's On with Alexa Chung .
| de1ec868d34b036888f88f57074ff3ed | 21,403 |
Competitors lip synced along to " Freakum Dress " in the fifth episode of the first season of RuPaul 's Drag Race .
| ca5b3a278904d9a5b059ca01507d6917 | 21,404 |
Jazmine Sullivan references the song in her song " Mascara " .
| 107a86f1e6e3b2a99c573151c7a9e01e | 21,405 |
= = Chart performance = =
| f8db7836d7652a1fea3ff19b7338a38a | 21,407 |
= = Credits and personnel = =
| 8c01737c53763a916f2b3cdc47c769d8 | 21,410 |
Credits are taken from B 'Day liner notes .
| 3d626928a9f61cd59838e32da9a89a54 | 21,412 |
Vocals : Beyoncé Knowles
| 3b48d76d4857f70a78cdb74f2c3fa86e | 21,413 |
Writing : Beyoncé Knowles , Rich Harrison , Makeba , Angela Beyincé
| 19b5547ac816baa59d3ab4a25057aa02 | 21,414 |
Producing : Rich Harrison , Beyoncé Knowles
| 8acabf21b4dc20406627f47622682bed | 21,415 |
Recording : Jim Caruana
| ea5c705c6d705117ff4af33045407535 | 21,416 |
Assisted by : Rob Kinelski and Jamie Rosenberg
| 4a7b594e4dcd4407506120270d4a7e86 | 21,417 |
Mixing : Jason Goldstein & Rich Harrison
| 31ff0a439c947698589e62bf585ae74f | 21,418 |
Assisted by : Steve Tolle
| 7c887125a2264bd2be1df56dbefb42cb | 21,419 |
= Derfflinger @-@ class battlecruiser =
| 12d458e203413daf0c120247fdba5190 | 21,422 |
The Derfflinger class was a class of three battlecruisers ( German : Schlachtkreuzer ) of the Imperial German Navy . The ships were ordered for the 1912 – 13 Naval Building Program of the German Imperial Navy as a reply to the Royal Navy 's three new Lion @-@ class battlecruisers that had been launched a few years earlier . The preceding Moltke class and the incrementally improved Seydlitz represented the end of the evolution of Germany 's first generation of battlecruisers . The Derfflinger class had considerable improvements , including a larger primary armament , all of which was mounted on the centerline , eliminating the restricted arc of the amidships turret . The ships were also larger than the preceding classes . The Derfflinger class used a similar propulsion system , and as a result of the increased displacement were slightly slower .
| 56a793f786db95eb200f25dd5d29621b | 21,424 |
The class comprised three ships : Derfflinger , Lützow , and Hindenburg . All three of the ships saw active service with the High Seas Fleet during World War I. Derfflinger was commissioned shortly after the outbreak of war , and was present at most of the naval actions in the North Sea , including the battles of Dogger Bank and Jutland . Lützow was commissioned in August 1915 , and only participated in the raid on Yarmouth before being sunk at Jutland . Hindenburg was commissioned into the fleet in May 1917 , and saw no major action . Derfflinger and Hindenburg were interned at Scapa Flow following the armistice in November 1918 . Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter , who was in command of the interned High Seas Fleet , ordered the ships to be scuttled in an attempt to prevent their possible seizure by the Royal Navy .
| a2dc5b24cae56085d8b64d70425d4f73 | 21,425 |
= = Design = =
| 27a68d88afcf8b73909bed8e24598173 | 21,427 |
The Derfflinger @-@ class battlecruisers were a result of the fourth and final Naval Law , which was passed in 1912 . Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz used public outcry over the British involvement in the Agadir Crisis of 1911 to pressure the Reichstag into appropriating additional funds to the Navy . The Fourth Naval Law secured funding for three new dreadnoughts , two light cruisers , and an extra 15 @,@ 000 officers and men in the Navy for 1912 . The three dreadnoughts secured in the bill became Derfflinger , Lützow , and Hindenburg . Design work on the first two ships began in October 1910 and continued until June 1911 ; Hindenburg was built to a slightly modified design , which was created between May and October 1912 .
| c7291bb556a0ae93a808c7228b6459ce | 21,429 |
When design work began , the navy department was asked to submit new requirements to fix deficiencies found in the preceding battlecruiser classes , which primarily covered propulsion systems and the main armament . Previous battlecruisers used a four shaft arrangement for their engines ; reducing the number to three would allow the new ships to equip a diesel engine on the central shaft . This would substantially increase the cruising range , and would ease the transfer of fuel and reduce the number of crew needed to operate the ships ' machinery . The navy department also argued for an increase in the main battery guns , from 28 @-@ centimeter ( 11 in ) guns to 30 @.@ 5 cm ( 12 in ) weapons . This was because the latest British battleships had thicker main belt armor , up to 300 millimeters ( 12 in ) . Since the German battlecruisers were intended to fight in the line of battle , their armament needed to be sufficiently powerful to penetrate the armor of their British opponents . Weight increases were managed by reducing the number of guns , from 10 to 8 — the increase in gun caliber added only 36 tons to the ships ' displacement . Tirpitz argued against the increase in gun caliber , for he thought the 28 cm gun was powerful enough .
| 3514eb902acc5ef93941baff9e06dcbb | 21,430 |
A new construction technique was employed to save weight . Previous battlecruisers were built with a combination of transverse and longitudinal steel frames ; the Derfflinger @-@ class ships dispensed with the transverse frames and used only the longitudinal ones . This enabled the ship to retain structural strength and a lower weight . As with all preceding capital ships , the outer hull spaces between the hull wall and the torpedo bulkhead were used for coal storage .
| 96bb15b8212a5be9c54d4c22c5c86f0c | 21,431 |
On 1 September 1910 , the design board chose the 30 @.@ 5 cm , to be mounted in four twin turrets on the centerline of the ship . The armor layout was kept the same as in Seydlitz . In the meantime , pressure from the British public and media had forced the British Parliament to step up ship building . Kaiser Wilhelm II requested that the build time for the new battlecruisers be reduced to two years each , as opposed to three years . This proved unfeasible , because neither the armor or armament firms could supply the necessary materials according to an expedited schedule .
| ca86e2c4f0544e764970a9887d3120be | 21,432 |
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