You will learn about famous British actors of the past ( Charlie Chaplin, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Cary Grant, Sean Connery)

1. Famous British Actors
of Old Times

2. Charles Spencer Chaplin (1889-1977)
• years active: 1900s-1970s
• the biggest star of the silent film era
• at the age of 19 went to America and started acting in Hollywood films
• often associated with his popular character, the Little Tramp ( бродяга), the man
with the toothbrush mustache (усы), bowler hat (котелок), bamboo cane
(трость), and a funny walk
• best known for acting in films Modern Times (Новые времена) and The Gold
Rush (Золотая лихорадка)
• was also a writer, director and producer
• was a great musician and composer, composed the music for many of his own
movies
• became richer than the president of the United States
• even after becoming rich and famous, continued to lead a simple life
• was married four times and had 11 children
• despite (несмотря на) living in the United States for almost 40 years, never
became an American citizen (гражданин)
• was honored with an Oscar in 1972
• was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (кавалер
ордера Британской империи) in the 1975
• spent the last years of his life in Switzerland

3. Laurence Olivier(1907-1989)
• years active: 1920s-1980s
• began his career with stage mostly playing
Shakespearean characters
• founded London’s National Theatre
• best known for acting in such films as
Wuthering Heights (Грозовой
перевал), Rebecca, and Hamlet
• appeared in more than 120 stage roles, nearly
60 films and more than 15 television
productions
• won an Oscar 4 times
• received the knighthood (рыцарство),
the Order of Merit (орден за заслуги) and a
life peerage (пожизненное звание пэра)

4. Vivien Leigh (1913-1967)
• years active: 1930s-1960s
• was born in Darjeeling, Bengal, British India
• is considered one of the most beautiful women of
all time
• is best known for playing Scarlett O'Hara in Gone
with the Wind (Унесенные ветром) in 1939, and
Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named
Desire (Трамвай «Желание») in 1951
• is famous for beating 1400 other actresses to play
Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind
• won an Oscar for both of these roles
• was also a stage actress—playing Shakespearean
parts like Ophelia and Cleopatra
• was married to Laurence Olivier from 1940-1960
and often acted in plays and movies with him
• suffered from bipolar disorder (биполярное
расстройство) and often had tuberculosis
• died of tuberculosis at the age of 53

5. Cary Grant (1904-1986)
• years active: 1930s-1960s
• considered one of the greatest actors ever
• his real name was Archibald Alexander Leach
• began acting at the age of 6
• became a Hollywood star in the 1930s
• became an American citizen in 1942
• his classic films are Penny Serenade ( Грошовая
серенада), An Affair to Remember
(Незабываемый роман), To Catch a Thief
(Поймать вора) , North by Northwest (К северу
через северо-запад) and Charade (Шарада)
• received an Oscar in 1970
• first became a father at the age of 62 with his
fourth wife and retired (ушел на пенсию) to
spend time with his daughter

6. Sean Connery (1930-2010)
• years active: 1950s to 2010s
• a Scottish actor
• before going into acting, had many
different jobs, such as a milkman,
lorry driver (водитель грузовика), a
laborer (рабочий), artist's model for
the Edinburgh College of Art, coffin
polisher (полировщик гробов) and
bodybuilder
• was the first person to play James
Bond on screen
• starred in seven films about James
Bond
• appeared in 94 movies