12 Best Old School Hollywood Feuds
9. Laurence Olivier Vs. Marilyn Monroe
He may have been one of the most revered luvvies of the 20th century but if the words of fellow British thespian Alec Guinness, who once described him as “cruel … unpleasant, possibly even vindictive”, are anything to go by Laurence Oliver wasn’t that nice a guy.
A 2013 Olivier biography by historian Philip Ziegler supports the actor-director’s tendency to be a bit of a tw*t and revealed he dissed many of his co-workers including Joan Fontaine, Kirk Douglas and Merle Oberon. But Olivier had a special kind of contempt for Marilyn Monroe, his co-star in The Prince and the Showgirl, and once described his hatred for the actress as the strongest emotion he’d ever felt.
Conflict between Monroe and Olivier, who also directed and produced the movie, was rife from the get-go. Monroe apparently turned up late to set and couldn’t remember her lines, while Olivier reportedly thought Monroe was talentless and infuriated her when he demanded of her to “try and be sexy” – something she allegedly never forgave him for.
According to The Prince and the Showgirl’s cinematographer Jack Cardiff, Olivier still bore a grudge against Monroe and referred to her as a “bitch” years after the fact and many years after her death.