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Jack Merivale

Jack Merivale was the man whom stood by Vivien in her final years. He was born on December 1st, 1917 in Toronto, Canada. Like Vivien, Jack was, too, an actor. His debut role was in the film The Invisible Man by playing a small role. He then went on to focusing his abilities in the theatre, which is where he stayed for the most part. Jack was married to actress Jan Sterling from 1941 to 1948. After Vivien's death, Jack continued to work in the theatre. He married Dianah Sheridan in 1986. He remained married to her until his death on February 6th, 1990. He died due to kidney/renal failure, in London.

Jack & Vivien's Relationship
Long before Vivien and Jack became a romantic couple, the two were friends for a good 24, 25 years. Jack had always had some feelings towards Vivien, but never acted on them because of Olivier. It wasn't until the end of Vivien's marriage to Olivier that Jack become much closer to Vivien.

During Vivien's tour of Duel of Angels, Vivien had casted Jack as her husband in the show. First, Jack was very taciturn with Vivien. It wasn't until he was invited to dine with her and the director that his affections were released. Jack began to pick up Vivien and walk her to the theatre and the two would talk about many things. Eventually, before the debut in Connecticut, Jack did reveal all his feelings for Vivien. She, too, returned the feelings. Though, she still had hope of staying with Olivier.

In early 1960, Vivien had asked friends to persuade Olivier to call of the divorce, but Vivien received word that he still wanted to go through with it to marry Joan Plowright. Through this, Merivale was a major support to Vivien. During this time, many warned Merivale of Vivien's condition, including Selznick, who told him to make sure Vivien kept on top of her medical situations, which Jack did do all the time. For example, Vivien had released a statement saying that Larry had asked for a divorce to marry Plowright and that she would, of course, do what he asked. Several days later she told Jack she did not recall releasing the statement. He knew there was a problem with her mental state and took her for her second treatment of five sessions of electroshock therapy.

The bulk of their relationship was a happy, but hard one. Vivien and Jack could not escape the subject of Larry and how Vivien, in her outbreaks, would mention how much she loved him and only him. But, despite that, Jack did stick by Vivien's side. He helped to get her in a good health state by limiting her drinking and smoking. He always remained cautious of Vivien's behavior to be sure she was staying well. In Vivien's fears that they would put her away for the remainder of her life, she would always ask Jack to promise they would not and he would always reply, "Over my dead body."

In May of 1967, while Jack was playing in a show called The Last of Mrs. Cheyney and Vivien was preparing to for an upcoming performance in A Delicate Balance, Vivien began to feel faint quite often. She began to violently cough and eventually started to cough up blood. Since Vivien refused to go to a hospital, Jack sent for a doctor. During the visit from the doctor, he informed Jack that she had a large black hole in her lung. The tuberculosis had flared up, again, and this time it was extremely violent. Jack insisted she go and stay in a hospital until she was better, but Vivien persisted that she could get better at home, like she had done before. This was allowed, but only if she complied to no drinking, no smoking, and no excitement. Vivien reluctantly agreed. Vivien did not follow all her instructions as she was told. She did begin to smoke and got out of bed whenever she could. This worried Jack, but he knew there was no stopping her. Vivien had a strong will and no one could bend it.

On July 7th, 1967, Jack and Vivien were watching television before he left for a performance. After that performance, Jack called up Vivien to check in on her. She told him everything was alright and that she was just fine. Reassured, Jack headed home, but first stopped for a drink. He arrived home around 11PM where he first checked in on Vivien, who was asleep. He went and got something to eat. Around 11:30PM he went to check on Vivien, again, but this time she was no longer in her bed, but on the floor, dead. Jack played a big role in making sure everyone was aware of Vivien's death and of course her final arrangements.