Laurence Harvey (1928-1973) was a handsome leading man who helped dominate 1960s films about modern society and its disaffected citizens, characters that perfectly utilized the emotional aloofness he projected so well. After serving in World War 2, he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was soon acting in such films as 'House of Darkness' (1949), 'Romeo and Juliet' (1954), and 'I Am a Camera' (1955). Harvey's breakthrough role was that of ruthless social climber Joe Lampton in 'Room at the Top' (1959), for which he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination.