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Laurence Harvey

Lithuanian-British actor (1928–1973)

Laurence Harvey

Summary

Lithuanian-British actor (1928–1973)

FieldValue
nameLaurence Harvey
imageLaurence Harvey Allan Warren.jpg
captionHarvey in 1973,
photograph by Allan Warren
birth_nameZvi Mosheh Skikne
birth_date
birth_placeJoniškis, Lithuania
death_date
death_placeHampstead, London, England
resting_placeSanta Barbara Cemetery, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
occupation
years_active1948–1973
spouse{{plainlist
* {{marriageMargaret Leighton19571961reasondivorce}}
* {{marriageJoan Perry19681972reasondivorce}}
childrenDomino Harvey
other_names

photograph by Allan Warren

Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in the United Kingdom after World War II. In a career that spanned a quarter of a century, Harvey appeared in stage, film and television productions primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Harvey was known for his clipped, refined accent and cool, debonair screen persona. His performance in Room at the Top (1959) resulted in an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. That success was followed by the roles of William Barret Travis in The Alamo and Weston Liggett in BUtterfield 8, both films released in the autumn of 1960. He also appeared as the brainwashed Sergeant Raymond Shaw in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He made his directorial debut with The Ceremony (1963), and continued acting into the 1970s until his early death in 1973 of cancer.

Early life and career

South Africa

Harvey was born in Joniškis, Lithuania, the youngest of three sons of Ella (née Zotnickaite) and Ber Skikne, Lithuanian Jewish parents. His civil birth name was Larushka Mischa Skikne, and his Hebrew name was Zvi Mosheh (). When he was five years old, his family travelled with the family of Riva Segal and her two sons, Louis and Charles Segal on the to South Africa, where he was known as Harry Skikne. Harvey grew up in Johannesburg. He was only fifteen when he auditioned to join the Entertainment Unit of the South African Army during the Second World War. Sid James managed the Unit and approved his audition. They became lifelong friends. As the mystery guest on the American TV show What's My Line?, screened 1 May 1960, Harvey stated that he arrived in South Africa in 1934 and moved to the UK in 1946.

Move to Britain

Harvey and [[Diane Cilento]] in the television play ''The Small Servant''. Both made their U.S. television debuts in this production for ''[[The Alcoa Hour]]'' (1955).

After moving to London, he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but left RADA after three months.

Billed as Larry Skikne, he appeared in the play Uprooted at the Comedy Theatre in 1947. He also appeared on stage at the Library Theatre in Manchester. His performances in Manchester led to him being cast in his first film.

Film debut and new name

Harvey made his cinema debut in the British film House of Darkness (1948), but its distributor British Lion thought someone named Larry Skikne was not commercially viable. Accounts vary as to how the actor acquired his stage name of Laurence Harvey. One version has it that it was the idea of talent agent Gordon Harbord who decided Laurence would be an appropriate first name. In choosing a British-sounding last name, Harbord thought of two British retail institutions, Harvey Nichols and Harrods. Another is that Skikne was travelling on a London bus with Sid James who exclaimed during their journey: "It's either Laurence Nichols or Laurence Harvey." Harvey's own account differed over time.

Associated British Picture Corporation and leading man

Associated British Picture Corporation quickly offered him a two-year contract, which Harvey accepted. He appeared in supporting roles in several of their lower-budget films such as Man on the Run (1949), Landfall (1949) (directed by Ken Annakin) and The Dancing Years (1950). For International Motion Pictures he was in The Man from Yesterday (1949).

Mayflower Productions, which released through Associated British, gave Harvey his first lead, appearing alongside Eric Portman in the Egypt-set police film Cairo Road (1950). It was a minor success.

He had a small role in the Hollywood-financed The Black Rose (1950), starring Tyrone Power and Orson Welles, directed by Henry Hathaway. It was Harvey's first experience in a Hollywood film. He played Cassio in a version of Othello for BBC TV starring Andre Morell.

Harvey starred in leading roles for two B-pictures for director Lewis Gilbert at Nettleford Films: Scarlet Thread (1951) and There Is Another Sun (1951). For Ealing, he made I Believe in You (1952), directed by Basil Dearden. According to Sight and Sound this performance gave "an indication of Harvey's true metier. While Basil Dearden's direction focused on honest Harry Fowler, it was Harvey's Jordie who supplied an authentic glimpse of pin-table thuggery, his clothes and hairstyle on the cusp between cosh-boy and ted and his manner redolent of a languorous sexuality no amount of National Service could quell."

He starred in the low-budget thriller A Killer Walks (1952). In 1951 he appeared on stage in Hassan at the Cambridge Theatre.

Romulus films

Harvey's career gained a boost when he appeared in Women of Twilight (1952); this was made by Romulus Films run by brothers John and James Woolf, who signed Harvey to a long-term contract. James Woolf in particular was a big admirer of Harvey and played an important role in turning the actor into a star.

In 1953 he played Orlando on a BBC TV version of As You Like It, opposite Margaret Leighton, whom he would later marry.

Romulus put him in two ensemble films: a comedy, Innocents in Paris (1953) and a crime thriller, The Good Die Young (1954). He had an especially strong role in the latter, which was directed by Lewis Gilbert, and featured Hollywood actors such as John Ireland, Richard Basehart and Gloria Grahame, along with Leighton. This has been called his "first performance of note."

Harvey received an offer to play the juvenile male lead in the Hollywood spectacular King Richard and the Crusaders (1954), a medieval swashbuckler for Warner Bros starring Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo and George Sanders. It was a box-office disappointment, although Harvey's performance was well received.

Harvey played Romeo in Renato Castellani's adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1954), narrated by John Gielgud. His performance was generally not well received. According to a contemporary interview, he turned down an offer to appear in Helen of Troy (1955) to act at Stratford-upon-Avon, where he again performed in Romeo and Juliet, this time on stage.

Romulus gave Harvey another excellent chance when he was cast as the writer Christopher Isherwood in I Am A Camera (1955), with Julie Harris as Sally Bowles. He and Leighton starred in an adaptation of A Month in the Country for ITV Play of the Week (1955). He made his Broadway debut in 1955 in the play Island of Goats, a flop that closed after one week, though his performance won him a 1956 Theatre World Award. While in the US he appeared on TV in an episode of The Alcoa Hour called *The Small Servant *, co-starring Diane Cilento.

Zoltan Korda used him as one of the soldiers in Storm Over the Nile (1955), a remake of The Four Feathers (1939), playing the part taken by Ralph Richardson in the 1939 version. It was popular in Britain as was the comedy Three Men in a Boat (1956), made for Romulus under the direction of Ken Annakin.

Harvey appeared in The Bet for ITV Television Playhouse (1956) then did another for Romulus, After the Ball (1957), a biopic of Vesta Tilley, in which Harvey played Walter de Frece. He followed it with The Truth About Women (1958), a comedy directed by Muriel Box for Beaconsfield Productions.

Harvey returned to Broadway in 1957 to appear alongside Julie Harris, Pamela Brown and Colleen Dewhurst in William Wycherley's The Country Wife (a production he had originally starred in at London's Royal Court Theatre).

For Romulus, Harvey starred in The Silent Enemy (1958), with his old friend Sid James, a biopic of war hero Lionel Crabb.

International stardom

''Room at the Top''

Harvey (left) with Frank Sinatra, during filming of ''The Manchurian Candidate''

Harvey's breakthrough to international stardom came after he was cast by director Jack Clayton as the social climber Joe Lampton in Room at the Top (1959), produced by Romulus. For his performance, Harvey received a BAFTA Award nomination and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Simone Signoret and Heather Sears co-starred as Lampton's married lover and eventual wife respectively. It was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1959 and a hit in the U.S.

Harvey went to Broadway in 1958, as Shakespeare's Henry V, as part of the Old Vic company, which featured a young Judi Dench as Katherine, the daughter of the king of France.

Harvey followed it with the musical Expresso Bongo (1959), a film best remembered for introducing Cliff Richard. He did The Violent Years for the ITV Play of the Week (1959).

While in the US he appeared in "Arthur", an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents directed by Hitchcock himself.

Hollywood

The success of Room at the Top led to Hollywood offers and Harvey decided to spend the next three years focusing on films. He was in John Wayne's epic The Alamo (1960), being John Wayne's personal choice to play Alamo commandant William Barret Travis. Wayne had been impressed by Harvey's talent and ability to project the aristocratic demeanor Wayne believed Travis possessed. Harvey and Wayne later expressed their mutual admiration and satisfaction at having worked together. The Alamo was a hit.

Even more successful was Harvey's next Hollywood film, MGM's BUtterfield 8 (1960), which won Elizabeth Taylor her first Oscar. He was named for The Eddie Chapman Story but it was not made until years later, as Triple Cross with Christopher Plummer.

Back in Britain, Harvey was cast in the film version of The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961) in a role originally performed by Peter O'Toole during the play's West End run. He clashed with Richard Todd and Richard Harris during filming but the movie was a hit in Britain. He was announced for some films that were not made (The Disenchanted from the novel by Budd Schulberg, No Bail for the Judge from Alfred Hitchcock, The Lion, and The Long Walk).

In the U.S., he supported Shirley MacLaine in MGM's Two Loves (1961) and co-starred with Geraldine Page in the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Summer and Smoke (1961), directed by Peter Glenville. He signed to appear in the film of Five Finger Exercise but was not in the eventual film. His fee around this time was $300,000 a film.

Harvey played the male lead in Walk on the Wild Side (1962), produced by Charles Feldman, cast alongside Barbara Stanwyck, Jane Fonda and Capucine. Fonda was not positive about the experience of working with him: "There are actors and actors – and then there are the Laurence Harveys. With them, it's like acting by yourself."

The same year, he recorded an album of spoken excerpts from the book This Is My Beloved by Walter Benton, accompanied by original music by Herbie Mann. It was released on the Atlantic label. He narrated a TV musical, The Flood (1962).

MGM cast Harvey as Wilhelm Grimm in the MGM film The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962), produced by George Pal. Harvey's performance earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. The fantasy movie filmed in 3-strip Cinerama was a box office disappointment.

Harvey appeared as the brainwashed US Army Staff Sergeant Raymond Shaw in the Cold War thriller The Manchurian Candidate (1962), directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury. Film critic David Shipman wrote: "Harvey's role required him to act like a zombie and several critics cited it as his first convincing performance". The movie was a hit and has since become critically highly regarded, and is one of Harvey's better-remembered films.

Harvey went to Japan to make A Girl Named Tamiko (1962) with France Nuyen for director John Sturges and producer Hal Wallis. "I have suddenly found the gates of Hollywood opened to me," he said at the time.

He followed this with The Running Man (1963), directed by Carol Reed, with Lee Remick and Alan Bates.

Director

Harvey made his directorial debut with the crime drama The Ceremony (1963), in which he also starred. It was shot in Spain for United Artists.

Harvey played King Arthur in the 1964 London production of the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical Camelot at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

He was the male lead in an adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage (1964), co starring Kim Novak. Harvey had been connected to the project for several years. It was a troubled shoot, with Harvey and Novak clashing, and original director Henry Hathaway leaving during the shoot and being replaced by Ken Hughes. During filming, kidnap threats were made against both Harvey and Novak by student organisations.

The Outrage (1964) was director Martin Ritt's remake of Akira Kurosawa's Japanese film Rashomon (1950). Besides Harvey, the film starred Paul Newman and Claire Bloom, but was unsuccessful critically and commercially.

Harvey reprised his role as Joe Lampton in Life at the Top (1965), directed by Ted Kotcheff. This is considered one of his best later performances.

He had his first commercially successful film in a number of years with Darling (1965), starring Julie Christie and Dirk Bogarde. While Harvey's role in the film is short, his involvement enabled director John Schlesinger to raise financial backing for the project. Harvey starred in a version of The Doctor and the Devils directed by Nicholas Ray from a script by Dylan Thomas but the film was not completed.

Harvey co-starred with Israeli actress Daliah Lavi in the comedy The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966), a parody of the James Bond films. Harvey did The Winter's Tale (1967) and then Dial M for Murder (1967) for American TV.

''Charge of the Light Brigade''

Harvey owned the rights to the book on which John Osborne's early script for the film The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) was partially based, Cecil Woodham-Smith's book The Reason Why (1953). He intended to make his own version. A lawsuit was filed against director Tony Richardson's company Woodfall Film Productions on behalf of the book's author. There was a monetary settlement, and Harvey insisted on being cast in a cameo role (being cast as Prince Radziwill) as part of the agreement for which he was paid £60,000. Charles Wood was brought in to re-write the script. Harvey's scenes were cut from the movie at Richardson's insistence except for a brief glimpse as an anonymous member of a theatre audience which, technically, still met the requirements of the legal settlement. John Osborne asserted in his autobiography that Richardson shot the scenes with Harvey "French", which is film jargon for a director "going through the motions" because of some obligation, but with no film in the camera.

Harvey completed direction of the spy thriller A Dandy in Aspic (1968) after director Anthony Mann died during production. The film co-stars Mia Farrow. This has been called "his last effective cinema role... The critics greeted it with disdain but the plot was tailor-made for Harvey, who plays a Russian spy who has adopted an English identity so he can go undercover within British Intelligence."

Harvey provided the narration for the Soviet film Tchaikovsky (1969), directed by Igor Talankin.

Later career

Harvey co-starred with Ann-Margret in Rebus (1969) then appeared in Kampf um Rom (1970), a film set in Ancient Rome. The latter starred Orson Welles, who directed Harvey in The Deep, a thriller that was abandoned.

Harvey starred in She and He (1969), which he helped produce.

He had a cameo role as himself in The Magic Christian (1969), a film based on the Terry Southern novel of the same name. He gives a rendition of Hamlet's soliloquy that develops unexpectedly into a campy striptease routine.

He had a small role in WUSA (1970) and was guest murderer on Columbo: The Most Dangerous Match in 1973, portraying a chess champion who kills his opponent. For British TV he appeared in a version of Arms and the Man for ITV Sunday Night Theatre (1971). Joanna Pettet appeared with Harvey in an episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery ("The Caterpillar", 1972), in which Harvey's character attempts to assassinate a romantic rival by having a burrowing insect dropped in the man's ear.

Harvey starred in Escape to the Sun (1972), directed by Menahem Golan and was reunited with Elizabeth Taylor in Night Watch (1973), financed by Brut Productions. The same company financed Welcome to Arrow Beach (1974), which Harvey directed and starred in; the cast also included his friend Pettet, John Ireland and Stuart Whitman. The film deals with a type of war-related post-traumatic stress disorder that turns a military veteran to cannibalism.

Final plans

In August 1973, it was reported Harvey had been ill, but he assured people he was busier than ever.Laurence Harvey as active as ever Norma Lee Browning. Chicago Tribune 6 August 1973: c11. Just before he died, he was planning to star in and direct two films: one on Kitty Genovese, the other a Wolf Mankowitz comedy titled Cockatrice. His death put an end to any hope that Orson Welles's The Deep would be completed. With Harvey and Jeanne Moreau in the leading roles, Welles worked on the film between his other projects, although the production was hampered by financial problems.

Personal life

He met Hermione Baddeley, an established actress, when they were cast in the film There Is Another Sun in 1950. She became his live-in partner and a lucky charm for his career. She introduced him to Basil Dean and his first part on the London stage in Hassan, followed by a season at Stratford in 1952 with Glen Byam Shaw. Most significantly, she introduced him to James Woolf, of Romulus Films. Harvey left Baddeley in 1952 for actress Margaret Leighton, who was then married to publisher Max Reinhardt. Leighton and Reinhardt divorced in 1955, and she married Harvey in 1957 off the Rock of Gibraltar. The couple divorced in 1961.

In 1968 he married Joan Perry, the widow of film mogul Harry Cohn. Her marriage to Harvey lasted until 1972.

His third marriage was to British fashion model Paulene Stone. She gave birth to their daughter Domino in 1969 while he was still married to Perry. Harvey and Stone married in 1972 and soon after, he adopted her child from her previous marriage, Sophie Norris (now Sophie Harvey). The wedding took place at the home of Harold Robbins.

In his account of being Frank Sinatra's valet, Mr. S: My Life with Frank Sinatra (2003), George Jacobs writes that Harvey often made passes at him while visiting Sinatra. According to Jacobs, Sinatra was aware of Harvey's sexuality. In his autobiography Close Up (2004), British actor John Fraser claimed Harvey was gay and that his long-term lover was Harvey's manager James Woolf, who had cast Harvey in several of the films he produced in the 1950s.

After working in two films with her, Harvey remained friends with Elizabeth Taylor for the rest of his life. She visited him three weeks before he died. Upon his death, Taylor issued the statement: "He was one of the people I really loved in this world. He was part of the sun. For everyone who loved him, the sun is a bit dimmer." She and Peter Lawford held a memorial service for Harvey in California.

Harvey once responded to an assertion about himself: "Someone once asked me, 'Why is it so many people hate you?' and I said, 'Do they? How super! I'm really quite pleased about it.' "

Death

A heavy smoker and drinker, Harvey died at the age of 45 from stomach cancer in Hampstead, north London, on 25 November 1973.

His daughter Domino, who later became a bounty hunter, was only four years old at the time. She died at the age of 35, in 2005, after overdosing on the painkiller drug fentanyl. They are buried alongside one another in Santa Barbara Cemetery in Santa Barbara, California.

Appraisal

According to his obituary in The New York Times:

With his clipped speech, cool smile and a cigarette dangling impudently from his lips, Laurence Harvey established himself as the screen's perfect pin-striped cad. He could project such utter boredom that willowy debutantes would shrivel in his presence. He could also exude such charm that the same young ladies would gladly lend him their hearts, which were usually returned utterly broken ... The image Mr Harvey carefully fostered for himself off screen was not far removed from some of the roles he played. "I'm a flamboyant character, an extrovert who doesn't want to reveal his feelings", he once said. "To bare your soul to the world, I find unutterably boring. I think part of our profession is to have a quixotic personality."

According to Sight and Sound, "Any young actor who delighted in pink bathroom suites and liked to compare himself favourably to Olivier, Gielgud and Richardson – preferably in the same sentence – was clearly going to find it hard to fit the mould of New Elizabethan chappism promoted by Rank and ABPC ... Harvey flaunted a cigarette holder almost as a parody of Terry Thomas' and boasted that his drainpipe trousers pre-dated the teddy boys'. His hairstyle always tended towards the baroque and quickly became a trademark."

From Hermione Baddeley's biography "The Unsinkable Hermione Baddeley", long-time partner: "Life with him was exciting and funny, but he was consumed with a hunger to have everything -fame, fortune, all the riches of life. It was as if he knew there was only so much time allotted to him".

From Pauline Stone, third wife: "Behind the public dandy, the pirouetting fop, hid a mature and sensitive artist. He simply believed it was slightly vulgar to let it be seen".

From "The Great Movie Stars" by David Shipman: "Laurence Harvey's career should be an inspiration to all budding actors: he demonstrated conclusively that it is possible to succeed without managing to evoke the least audience interest or sympathy – and to go on succeeding despite unanimous critical antipathy and overwhelming public apathy. His twenty-year career of mainly unprofitable films is a curiosity of film history".

From Lewis Gilbert, film director: "Harvey was destined to be an ordinary British film actor, but the success of Room at the Top made him an international film star. He had a limited range though and was often mis-cast. He wasn't "leading man" material, but, with good direction, in some character roles, he was very good."

From Leslie Haliwell's "Film Guide" : He worked his way slowly from British "B" films to top Hollywood productions, but was only briefly in fashion".

From Margaret Leighton, first wife: "Despite outward appearances, Larry was a dedicated actor who gave a lot of time and thought to his work. He was well aware that the critics hated him and he often deliberately bated them – it was better than being ignored! He could have behaved differently. I think the public did like him though, contrary to critical opinion. After his manager, Jimmy Woolf, died in 1966, his career went badly, with many poor films. Towards the end he had difficulty finding work. "Dandy in Aspic" was his last reasonable film. I always felt an air of optimism that he might produce something special."

From Frank Sinatra interview: " He was a consummate actor. He made you work up to his level – he demanded it. A powerful actor with great inner strength."--

Theatre credits (partial)

YearTitleRoleTheaterNotesRefs.
1946The Winter's TaleCamilloRoyal Academy of Dramatic Artas 'Larry Skikne'
1947The SeagullManchester Intimate Theatre
Amphitryon
The Kirby Fortune
The Beaux' Stratagem
The Circle
1947UprootedNicky HorrowayComedy Theatre
1951HassanCambridge Theatre, London
1951-52As You Like ItRoyal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avontitle=Laurence Harvey Theatricaliaurl=https://theatricalia.com/person/2ey/laurence-harveyaccess-date=22 March 2025website=theatricalia.com}}
1952CoriolanusTullus Aufidius
As You Like ItOrlando
MacbethMalcolm
VolponeCastrone
1952-53Macbeth
1954Romeo and JulietRomeo
Troilus and CressidaTroilus
1955Island of GoatsAngeloFulton Theatre, New YorkTheatre World Award
1956The RivalsCaptain Jack AbsoluteSaville Theatre, London
Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
The Country WifeMr. HornerRoyal Court Theatre, London
1957Adelphi Theatre, New Yorktitle=The Country Wifeurl=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2659access-date=25 January 2015website=IBDBpublisher=The Broadway League}}
1957-58Henry Miller's Theatre, New York
1958Simply HeavenlyUK tourDirector/presenter
1958-59Henry VKing Henry VUS tour
Broadway Theatre, New York
1964-65CamelotKing ArthurTheatre Royal, Drury Lane
1966The Winter's TaleLeontesEdinburgh Festival Fringe
UK tour
1970Arms and the ManMajor Sergius SaranoffChichester Festival Theatre
1971Child's PlayJerome MalleyTheatre Royal, Brighton
Queen's Theatre

Filmography

Note: Where British Film Institute (BFI) and American Film Institute (AFI) differed on release year, or if the Wikipedia article title had a different release year, whichever source is the country of production is the year used.

Film

YearTitleRoleDirectorNotesRefs.
1948House of DarknessFrancis Merryman
1949Man on the RunDetective Sergeant LawsonLawrence Huntington
John MatthewsOswald Mitchell
LandfallP/O Hooper
1950Cairo RoadLieutenant Mourad
Bit partUncreditedlast1=Manoushfirst1=Barrytitle=Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors, Vol. 1: From the Silent Era to 1965date=2003publisher=Applauseisbn=978-1557835512page=315url=https://books.google.com/books?id=toTIb1Ek2WwC&pg=PA315}}
Edmond
SoldierJohn and Roy BoultingUncredited
1951Scarlet ThreadFreddie
There Is Another SunMag Maguire
1952I Believe in YouJordie Bennett
Ned
Women of TwilightJerry Nolan
1953Innocents in ParisFrançoisUncredited
1954Miles Ravenscourt
King Richard and the CrusadersSir Kenneth of Huntington
Romeo and JulietRomeo
1955I Am a CameraChristopher Isherwood
Storm Over the NileJohn Durrance
1956Three Men in a BoatGeorge
1957After the BallWalter de Frece
Sir Humphrey Tavistock
1958Lieutenant Crabb
1959Room at the TopJoe LamptonNominated- Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best British Actor
Nominated- New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Power Among MenNarrator (voice)Alexander HackenschmiedDocumentary
Expresso BongoJohnny JacksonNominated- BAFTA Award for Best British Actor
1960William Barret TravisJohn Wayne
BUtterfield 8Weston Ligget
1961Private 'Bammo' Bamforth
Two LovesPaul Lathrope
Summer and SmokeJohn Buchanan Jr.Peter Glenville
1962Walk on the Wild SideDove Linkhorn
Wilhelm Grimm / The CobblerNominated- Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Raymond Shaw
Ivan Kalin
1963Rex Black
Sean McKennaHimselfAlso director
1964Of Human BondagePhillip Carey
Husband
1965DarlingMiles Brand
Life at the TopJoe Lampton
1966Dr. Francis Trevelyan
1967King Leontes
1968EberlinAnthony Mann
HimselfTook over directing after Mann's death without credit
Russian PrinceTony RichardsonUncredited cameo
Cethegus
1969RebusJeff Miller
L'assoluto naturale"He"Also uncredited producer
Hamlet
1970WUSAFarley
TchaikovskyNarrator
Hughie WarrinerOrson Welles
1972Escape to the SunMajor Kirsanov
1973Night WatchJohn Wheeler
F for FakeHimselfOrson Welles
1974Welcome to Arrow BeachJason HenryHimselfAlso director, posthumous release

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRefs.
1950OthelloCassio(BBC TV)
1953As You Like ItOrlando(BBC TV)
1955ITV Play of the WeekBeljajewA Month in the Country
The Alcoa HourDick SwivellerThe Small Servant
1956
1957Holiday Night Reunion
1959Alfred Hitchcock PresentsArthur WilliamsSeason 5 Episode 1: Arthur
ITV Play of the WeekChris/MishaThe Violent Years
1960Pontiac Star ParadeSelfThe Spirit of the Alamo, wrap party in Brackettville, Texas
What's My Line?SelfGuest panelist 6 March; mystery guest 1 May
Here's HollywoodSelfEpisode 1.19
1962 Self9 March episode
**Narrator
1964PasswordSelfGeorgia Brown v. Laurence Harvey
SelfEpisode 18.5
SelfEpisode 1.2
1965SelfEpisode 2.15
SelfEpisode 3.14
1966Hollywood Talent ScoutsSelf31 January episode
Late Night Line-UpSelf5 February episode, BBC
1967Self27 April episode
Dial M for MurderTony WendiceTV movie
**Self17 October 1967 episode
1968SelfEpisodes 2.245 and 3.40
Marvelous Party! HostA 70th birthday tribute to Noël Coward
1969Rowan and Martin's Laugh-InSelfEpisode 2.25
Joker's WildSelfAmerican TV game show
1970SelfEpisode 2.184
1971ITV Saturday Night TheatreMajor Sergius SaranoffArms and the Man
Self11 May episode
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonSelf19 November episode
Celebrity Bowling SelfUnknown episode
1972Night GallerySteven MacyEpisode: "Caterpillar"
1973ColumboEmmett ClaytonEpisode: "The Most Dangerous Match"
45th Academy Awards Self (presenter)Special
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonSelf (guest)Episode dated 8/24/73

Awards and nominations

AwardDateCategoryNominated workResultRefs.
Academy Awards4 April 1960Best ActorRoom at the Top
British Academy Film Awards1959Best British Actor
1960Expresso Bongo
Golden Globe Awards5 March 1963Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaThe Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
12 February 1968World Film Favorite - Male
Golden Laurel Awards1960Top Male New Personality
New York Film Critics Circle Awards1959Best ActorRoom at the Top
Theatre World Award1956Island of Goats
Western Heritage Awards1961Theatrical Motion PictureThe Alamo

Notes

Citations

References

Other notes

References

  1. Anne Sinai. (9 February 2007). "Reach for the Top: The Turbulent Life of Laurence Harvey". Scarecrow Press.
  2. Harvey altered his birth year to 1927 to gain entry to the South African Navy when he was aged only 14, and 1927 now appears in many sources.
  3. "BFI Screenonline: Harvey, Laurence (1927-1973) Biography".
  4. Laurence Harvey, Stage, Film Actor By Jean R. Hailey. ''The Washington Post and Times-Herald'' 27 November 1973: C10.
  5. Obituary ''[[Variety Obituaries. Variety]]'', 28 November 1973, p. 62.
  6. "1959 Best Actor in a Leading Role nomination". Academy Awards.
  7. Gardner, Paul. (27 November 1973). "Laurence Harvey, Screen Actor, Is Dead at 45". The New York Times.
  8. Parker, John. (1972). "Who's who in the Theatre". Pitman.
  9. Bowman, John S.. (July 2018}}{{Self-published source). "Pergolesi in the Pentagon: Life at the Front Lines of the Cultural Cold War". Xlibris Corp..
  10. (23 March 2014). "What's My Line? – Laurence Harvey; Jean-Pierre Aumont [panel] (May 1, 1960)".
  11. Wise, James E. (2002). "International Stars at War". Naval Institute Press.
  12. David Shipman ''The Great Movie Stars: 2. The International Years'', London: Macdonald, 1989, pp. 246–28
  13. BRIGHT YOUNG MEN OF THE THEATRE—7: LAURENCE HARVEY The Sketch; London Vol. 220, Iss. 2859, (5 May 1954): 403.
  14. Room, Adrian. (2010). "Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins". McFarland.
  15. Anne Sinai, Lou ''Reach for the Top'', p. 97
  16. The Life Story of LAURENCE HARVEY Picture Show; London Vol. 57, Iss. 1492, (3 Nov 1951): 12.
  17. John Ezard [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/oct/02/books.film "Sexy self-image that revved up Dirk Bogarde"], ''The Guardian'' 2 October 2004. Retrieved 30 November 2012
  18. (20 September 1953). "GLORIA TO MAKE A BRITISH FILM". [[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney).
  19. LAURENCE OF LITHUANIA: Laurence Harvey Sets the Course From His Homeland to Screen Stardom By HOWARD THOMPSON. ''The New York Times'' 20 June 1954: X5.
  20. Laurence Harvey ''The Guardian'' 27 November 1973: 7.
  21. (8 September 1954). "AUSTRALIANS PLAY AT STRATFORD". National Library of Australia.
  22. Willis, John. (2009). "Theatre World, 2006–2007, Volume 63; Volumes 2006–2007". Applause Books.
  23. Drama: Laurence Harvey Faces Heavy Duty; Lew Ayres' Religious Films Unique Schallert, Edwin. ''Los Angeles Times'' 17 October 1955: B11.
  24. "Best British Actor". BAFTA.
  25. "Laurence Harvey". IBDB.
  26. Laurence Harvey's 'Henry V' Opens Old Vic Series Tomorrow: Laurence Harvey Due in Old Vic 'Henry Y' Smith, Cecil. ''Los Angeles Times'' 5 October 1958: E1.
  27. Laurence Harvey Starring in Soho Yarn by Mankowitz By Harold Rogers. ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (1908–Current file); Boston, Mass. [Boston, Mass]21 July 1960: 5.
  28. Munn, Michael. (2005). "John Wayne: The Man Behind The Myth". NAL Trade.
  29. Laurence Harvey Star in Famous Spy Story Hopper, Hedda. ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' 22 July 1960: b4.
  30. Preparation Helped Laurence Harvey Find Room at the Top By Hedda Hopper. ''The Washington Post and Times-Herald'' 1 January 1961: C6.
  31. LAURENCE HARVEY FACES BUSY YEAR: British Actor to Have Roles in 8 Films – Bardot to Be Seen Without Subtitles ''The New York Times'' 28 January 1960: 26.
  32. Laurence Harvey Signed ''The Christian Science Monitor'' 17 January 1961: 4.
  33. Laurence Harvey Agrees to a Single Picture Deal Hopper, Hedda. ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' 16 January 1961: c8.
  34. Vagg, Stephen. (23 August 2025). "Not Quite Movie Stars: Capucine".
  35. "Atlantic Album Discography, Part 1".
  36. "1963 Laurence Harvey Golden Globe Nomination". HFPA.
  37. LAURENCE HARVEY A RUNAWAY? 'NONSENSE!' Alpert, Don. ''Los Angeles Times'' 10 December 1961: Q10.
  38. SCREENING IS SET FOR 'DR. CALIGARI' By EUGENE ARCHER. ''The New York Times'' (1923–Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y] 4 December 1962: 47.
  39. Green, Stanley. (1980). "Encyclopedia of the musical theatre: an updated reference guide to over 2000 performers, writers, directors, productions, and songs of the musical stage, both in New York and London". Da Capo Press.
  40. Of Local Origin ''The New York Times'' 15 December 1961: 46.
  41. Anne Sinai, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Gq48PM14-vIC&pg=PA285 ''Reach for the Top: The Turbulent Life of Laurence Harvey''], Lanham, Maryland, US/Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press, 2003 [2007], pg. 285
  42. Mann, William J. (2012). "Hello, Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  43. Maltin, Leonard. (2008). "Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide". Plume.
  44. Jackson, Carlton. (1994). "Picking Up the Tab: The Life and Movies of Martin Ritt". Popular Press.
  45. Garrett, George P.. (1989). "Film Scripts 4: Darling; A Hard Day's Night; The Best Man". Irvington Pub.
  46. Lisanti, Tom. (2002). "Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962–1973". Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub.
  47. Connelly, Mark. (2003). "The Charge of the Light Brigade". I. B. Tauris.
  48. Sinai ''Reach for the Top'', p. 302
  49. Welsh, James M. (1999). "The Cinema of Tony Richardson: Essays and Interviews". State Univ of New York Press.
  50. John Osborne ''Almost a Gentleman'', London: Faber & Faber 1991, p. 146 {{ISBN. 0-571-16635-0
  51. Kael, Pauline. (2011). "5001 Nights at the Movies". Picador USA.
  52. "Tchaikovsky award nominations". Academy Awards.
  53. French, Lawrence. (27 January 2007). "Notes on Orson Welles' THE DEEP".
  54. A Glimpse of the Terribly Baronial Laurence Harvey: Laurence Harvey By Mary Blume. ''The Washington Post and Times-Herald'' 5 October 1969: 87.
  55. Dawidziak, Mark. (1989). "The Columbo phile: a casebook". The Mysterious Press.
  56. Skelton, Scott. (1998). "Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour". Syracuse University Press.
  57. (1 October 1973). "Openings and Current Attractions on the New York Screen". New York.
  58. Sweeney, Louise. (15 October 1973). "Laurence Harvey: Boy Scout figures are gone". The Christian Science Monitor.
  59. Leaming, Barbara. (2004). "Orson Welles: A Biography". Limelight Editions.
  60. O'Connor, Garry. (2000). "Ralph Richardson: An Actor's Life". Applause Books.
  61. Actress Divorces Laurence Harvey ''Los Angeles Times'' 27 January 1961: 4.
  62. Adler, Tim. (2008). "Hollywood and the Mob: Movies, Mafia, Sex and Death". Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
  63. Laurence Harvey a Dad...Officially Haber, Joyce. ''Los Angeles Times'' 20 June 1972: g9.
  64. Wilson, Andrew. (2008). "Harold Robbins: The Man Who Invented Sex". Bloomsbury Paperbacks.
  65. John Ezard [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/oct/02/books.film "Sexy self-image that revved up Dirk Bogarde"], ''The Guardian'', 2 October 2004. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  66. Kelly, Kitty. (1981). "Elizabeth Taylor: The Last Star". Simon & Schuster.
  67. "Harvey, Laurence [real name Hirsch Moses Skikne] (1928–1973)".
  68. Laurence Harvey, 45, Dies of Cancer at His London Home ''Los Angeles Times'' (1923–1995); Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]26 Nov 1973: 2.
  69. Brooks, Patricia. (2006). "Laid to Rest in California: A Guide to the Cemeteries and Grave Sites of the Rich and Famous". Globe Pequot.
  70. Laurence Harvey: A DANDY IN ASPIC Roberts, Andrew. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 16, Iss. 4, (Apr 2006): 36,38–39,1.
  71. Wearing (2014) p. 339
  72. Mullin & Gielgud (1996) p. 223
  73. "Laurence Harvey {{!}} Theatricalia".
  74. Kennedy (2002) p. 139
  75. "Island of Goats". The Broadway League.
  76. "The Country Wife". The Broadway League.
  77. "Henry V". The Broadway League.
  78. Wright (2012) p. 292
  79. "House of Darkness (1948)". British Film Institute.
  80. "Man on the Run". British Film Institute.
  81. "The Man From Yesterday". British Film Institute.
  82. "Landfall". British Film Institute.
  83. "Cairo Road". British Film Institute.
  84. (2003). "Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors, Vol. 1: From the Silent Era to 1965". Applause.
  85. "The Black Rose". British Film Institute.
  86. "The Black Rose". AFI.
  87. "Scarlet Thread". British Film Institute.
  88. "There is Another Sun". British Film Institute.
  89. "I Believe in You". British Film Institute.
  90. "A Killer Walks". British Film Institute.
  91. "Women of Twilight". British Film Institute.
  92. "Innocents in Paris". British Film Institute.
  93. "The Good Die Young". British Film Institute.
  94. "King Richard and the Crusaders". British Film Institute.
  95. "King Richard and the Crusaders". AFI.
  96. "Romeo and Juliet". British Film Institute.
  97. "I Am a Camera". British Film Institute.
  98. "Storm Over the Hils". British Film Institute.
  99. "Three Men in a Boat". British Film Institute.
  100. "After the Ball". British Film Institute.
  101. "The Truth About Women". British Film Institute.
  102. "The Silent Enemy". British Film Institute.
  103. "Room at the Top". British Film Institute.
  104. "Power among Men (1958)". British Film Institute.
  105. "Power Among Men". AFI.
  106. "Expresso Bongo". British Film Institute.
  107. "The Alamo". AFI.
  108. "The Alamo (1960)". British Film Institute.
  109. "BUtterfield 8". AFI.
  110. "BUtterfield 8". British Film Institute.
  111. "The Long and the Short and the Tall". British Film Institute.
  112. "The Long and the Short and the Tall". AFI.
  113. "Two Loves". AFI.
  114. "Two Loves". British Film Institute.
  115. "Summer and Smoke". AFI.
  116. "Summer and Smoke". British Film Institute.
  117. "Walk on the Wild Side". AFI.
  118. "Walk on the Wild Side". British Film Institute.
  119. "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm". AFI.
  120. "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm". British Film Institute.
  121. "The Manchurian Candidate". AFI.
  122. "The Manchurian Candidate". British Film Institute.
  123. "A Girl Names Tamiko". AFI.
  124. "A Girl Names Tamiko". British Film Institute.
  125. "The Running Man". AFI.
  126. "The Running Man". British Film Institute.
  127. "The Ceremony". British Film Institute.
  128. "The Ceremony". AFI.
  129. "Of Human Bondage". AFI.
  130. "Of Human Bondage". British Film Institute.
  131. "The Outrage". AFI.
  132. "The Outrage". British Film Institute.
  133. "Darling". AFI.
  134. "Darling". British Film Institute.
  135. "Life at the Top". AFI.
  136. "Life at the Top". British Film Institute.
  137. "The Spy With a Cold Nose". AFI.
  138. "The Spy With a Cold Nose". British Film Institute.
  139. "The Winter's Tale". British Film Institute.
  140. "A Dandy in Aspic". British Film Institute.
  141. "A Dandy in Aspic". AFI.
  142. (12 August 1999). "The Cinema of Tony Richardson: Essays and Interviews". Suny Series, Cultural Studies in Cinema/Video.
  143. "(The Last Roman) KAMPF UM ROM 2. TEIL: DER VERRAT (1969)". British Film Institute.
  144. "Rebus". British Film Institute.
  145. "L' assoluto naturale". British Film Institute.
  146. "The Magic Christian". AFI.
  147. "The Magic Christian". British Film Institute.
  148. "WUSA". AFI.
  149. "WUSA". British Film Institute.
  150. "Tchaikovsky". British Film Institute.
  151. "The Deep". British Film Institute.
  152. "Habricha El Hashemesh". British Film Institute.
  153. "Night Watch". AFI.
  154. "Night Watch". British Film Institute.
  155. "F is for Fake". British Film Institute.
  156. "Welcome to Arrow Beach". AFI.
  157. "Welcome to Arrow Beach". British Film Institute.
  158. "Othello". British Film Institute.
  159. "As You Like It". British Film Institute.
  160. "A Month in the Country". British Film Institute.
  161. "Arthur". British Film Institute.
  162. "The Violent Years". British Film Institute.
  163. "The Spirit of the Alamo". British Film Institute.
  164. (8 March 1962). "Lena Horne Gets Role in Milton Berle TV Show". Jet.
  165. (2001). "Stravinsky Inside Out". Yale University Press.
  166. Inman (2005) p. 159
  167. "Late Nite Line-up". British Film Institute.
  168. "Dial M for Murder". British Film Institute.
  169. Inman (2005) p. 167
  170. "Arms and the Man". British Film Institute.
  171. Lofficier & Lofficier (2005) p. 113
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