Family marks Olivier's 100th birthday

LONDON, May 23 (UPI) -- Family members attended a private ceremony at Westminster Abbey marking the 100th birthday of the late Laurence Olivier, one of Britain's best-loved actors.

Actress Joan Plowright, Olivier's wife, attended the wreath-laying ceremony Tuesday with the couple's children and grandchildren, and several friends, the Telegraph reported Wednesday. John Mortimer, Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg were among the few actors invited.

The ashes of Olivier, who died in 1989, are buried in Poet's Corner at the Abbey, near those of David Garrick, the only other actor also interred there.

The lone public celebration of the centenary was Monday in Brighton, where the founder of the National Theater lived for many years. The Brighton Festival staged the British premiere of the digitally remastered film, "Henry V."

The National Theatre will mark the event in September with the unveiling of a statue of the actor as Hamlet.