Memories of My Father, LAURENCE OLIVIER

IN HIS LATER YEARS, THE GREAT BRITISH ACTOR EMBRACED A SIMPLER LIFESTYLE

- Louise A. Barile, Katie Bruno

For most of his adult life, stage legend and Oscar-winning actor Laurence Olivier swam daily. "He really made it a commitment," recalls his son Richard Olivier to Closer. "He would swim 30 lengths, which he figured out was about half a mile." Laurence kept it up though his later years, too. "Even if it took him an hour, he had that level of self-will and determination to keep going."

Perseverance and self-confidence had taken Laurence, who was born the third son of a frugal clergyman, very far in life. He discovered acting in childhood, shortly after the death of his beloved mother, and worked hard as a youth to pay for his studies. "He'd go to drama school during the day, then work the late shift on the tube trains, opening and closing doors before they were automatic," Richard says.