Mr. Overmire has established himself as a respected author, poet, playwright, educator, actor, director and genealogist across his nearly 40-year-long career.
WEST LINN, OR, May 31, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ — Laurence Overmire has been recognized for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Mr. Overmire has established himself as a respected author, poet, playwright, educator, actor, director and genealogist across his nearly 40-year-long career. He is the author of 14 books and currently serves as a poetry editor, contributing to “The Peregrine Muse” and “Poets International: Contemporary Poetry from Around the World.” Mr. Overmire has also dedicated himself to teaching, acting and directing. From 2001 to 2022, he served as a faculty member at the Oregon Children’s Theatre. Prior to that, he held teaching artist positions at esteemed institutions like the Lincoln Center Institute from 1987 to 1991 and the Manhattan Theatre Club in 1991. Since 2016, he has directed plays and taught genealogy workshops at Lakewood Theatre in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Throughout his illustrious career, Mr. Overmire has showcased his literary prowess with a diverse array of creative works spanning various genres and subjects. His publications include “The One Idea That Saves The World: A Message of Hope in a Time of Crisis,” published in 2020, “Digging for Ancestral Gold: The Fun and Easy Way to Get Started on Your Genealogy Quest” and “The Ghost of Rabbie Burns: An American Poet’s Journey Through Scotland,” both published in 2016, and “New York Minute: An Actor’s Memoir,” published in 2017. As a genealogist, Mr. Overmire meticulously crafted family history books such as “The Boody Franklin Family Tree” and “The Haney-Galdabini Family Tree” both published in 2023, shedding light on ancient ancestral heritage.
Mr. Overmire’s further noteworthy creative career includes but is not limited to his exploration of American history, as seen in “One Immigrant’s Legacy: The Overmyer Family in America, 1751-2009,” published in 2009, and “A Revolutionary American Family: The McDonalds of Somerset County, New Jersey,” published in 2015. Furthermore, Mr. Overmire’s involvement in environmental advocacy is evident through his contribution as a signatory to “The International Declaration on the Future of the Arctic” and his authorship in “Global Chorus: 365 Voices on the Future of the Planet” in 2014 and 2015.
In his earlier years, Mr. Overmire made his mark as a versatile actor, gracing both stage and screen across countless productions. His performances on ABC Television soap operas “All My Children,” “Loving,” and “One Life to Live,” CBS’s “As the World Turns” and A&E’s “A Christmas Carol,” from 1988 to 1991, showcased his remarkable talent. Prior to his screen appearances, Mr. Overmire honed his craft on Broadway in “Amadeus” from 1982-1984, and at renowned theaters such as the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1982 and the Guthrie Theater from 1981 to 1982, among numerous others, laying the foundation for his successful career.
Mr. Overmire’s academic background laid a solid foundation for his multifaceted career. He had a double major in college earning a Bachelor of Arts in theater arts and a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Muskingum University, where he was valedictorian, in 1979. Subsequently, Mr. Overmire attained a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the University of Minnesota in 1981.
Committed to professional development across many realms, Mr. Overmire maintains affiliation with several organizations. He is a member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Academy of American Poets, and the American Battlefield Trust. Mr. Overmire also supports environmental causes through his membership in the World Wildlife Fund and is a member of professional associations such as Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Mr. Overmire is deeply committed to civic engagement, global peace initiatives, and environmental advocacy. He has lent his time to causes such as the Charter for Compassion, serving as a signatory, and supported organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Mercy Corps. Additionally, Mr. Overmire has contributed to the Union of Concerned Scientists and The Southern Poverty Law Center and served as the executive producer of The Writer’s Lab in Hollywood from 1991 to 1995, working with professional writers, actors and directors to develop quality projects for the entertainment industry.
Mr. Overmire has earned an assortment of accolades throughout his diverse career. He was named as a Reader’s Favorite World Poet by Writers & Artists Publishing, NY, in association with the University of Oxford. He was selected by the Oregon Arts Commission to serve as a judge for the Oregon State Finals of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Poetry Out Loud Competition. He was inducted into the Poet’s Hall of Fame by The Poet’s Porch, and has received numerous poetry awards including First Prize for poetry in the Everybody Reads Contest hosted by Barnes and Noble, the “Enchanting Poet Award” from Enchanting Verses International Poetry Journal, and an honorable mention in The Jeremiah Reeves Poetry Prize For Justice. His play “A Woman in Washington’s Army” was showcased in Portland’s Fertile Ground Festival at Lakewood Center for the Arts. Among his honors, he is perhaps most proud to have delivered the keynote address at the Overmyer National Family Reunion in Indiana in 2009, the first reunion of its kind in over 100 years.
In his personal life, Mr. Overmire finds joy in reading, researching history, especially the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars, walking, spending time with his wife Nancy, exploring Oregon, and traveling. Looking ahead, he aims to continue publishing books and conducting genealogical workshops, further contributing to historical preservation and sharing his knowledge with others.
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