Biography reveals turbulent marriage of Hollywood greats Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh who starred in Blackpool

One review included some shocking examples of Vivien Leigh's behaviour, due to an undiagnosed mental condition.

I know not if it mentions Blackpool but am recalling a previous Retro article about the two actors' visits to the resort. All the greats came to Blackpool y'know!

Vivien Leigh (1913-1967) came here three times, the first being the most significant because it was the only recorded stage visit of Laurence Olivier.

Less than two years after winning the Oscar for Best Actress for her role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, the actress was starring in a UK stage tour of Bernard Shaw's The Doctor's Dilemma.

It was booked for the Grand Theatre in October, 1941. When this became known, the organisers of an all-star wartime charity matinee, to take place at the Opera House on Sunday, October 5, asked if Miss Leigh would give her services - and would her husband also be available?

Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) was given special leave from the Fleet Air Arm and the Gazette reported: "A high spot was the scene from Shakespeare's Henry V, played by Vivien Leigh and her husband Laurence Olivier . . . their diction and acting were a joy."

Sadly, that's all we have for posterity.

The next night Olivier, in uniform, was in the audience at the Grand to watch The Doctor's Dilemma, in which Shaw had set up an ethical problem for a medic. Vivien Leigh returned with the play for a week in February, 1942.

The actress's third Blackpool visit came in May, 1945, starring in Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, which was "a comic strip of world history through the eyes of an American family."

There was another appearance by Laurence Olivier but it was seen only by a few Grand Theatre employees. He was the director and co-producer and rehearsed the cast on the Grand stage on the Sunday.

The Gazette's Bill Burgess was tickled by the play but admitted that some in the audience were stunned.

Moving ahead - to this week - my pet quibble about the shredding of the English language was the focus of a piece in a national newspaper.

"According to academics at the University of Essex there is no such thing as correct language, pronunciation or terminology," wrote columnist Ann Widdecombe.

My pet hate - the use of "gonna" instead of "going to."

The columnist thought the Essex academics' advocated what amounted to linguistic anarchy, accepting the pronunciation of the word "ask" as "aks" and dismissing any standardisation of usage as prejudice.

Ann nailed it with the comment that, unfortunately for students, employers were looking for articulate applicants with a good command of the language.

Just a thought: Don't today's beaks like teaching?