Richard Burton: Prince of Players

I have Welsh blood in my family and have always enjoyed reading about those fascinating Celts! Tom Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Dylan Thomas and Emlyn Williams always capture my attention when they are the topic! My favorite Welshman, though, has to be Richard Burton (1925-1984) What a man! Just consider:a. He had the best voice in all of Shakespearean acting and English was his second language!b. He was an RAF veteran and studied literature at Oxford for six months.c. He was formally adopted by Teacher-Director Phillip Burton. His family name was Jenkins and he was the 12th of 13 children born to an alcoholic Welsh mining father.d. Burton excelled at boxing, rugby football and cricket.e. Burton was nominated for an Oscar six times but never won the statue!f. He wed five times including twice to Elizabeth Taylor. He had two children by his first wife Sybil. He never got over the guilt of leaving her and their children for Elizabeth Taylor.g. Burton was a very heavy drinker and had epilepsy.h. Burton was a womanizer who loved sex with the likes of Lana Turner, Marilyn Monroe, Claire Bloom and his five wives. He was always unfaithful to the woman he was involved with at the time.I. His great film roles include turns in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf; Cleopatra; My Cousin Rachel; The VIP's; The Comedians; The Night of the Iguana; The Robe; The Desert Rats; The Longest Day; The Taming of the Shrew; Doctor Faustus.j. Burton had a brilliant mind and was a voracious reader. His ability to memorize long swathes of Shakespeare and poetry is astounding.k. Burton hated prejudice of all kinds.m. He was never knighted by the Queen of England.n. Burton had a vicious temper and could be rude and crude in speech. British journalist and celebrity biographer Munn knew Burton and in this book he shares many great stories about Richard Burton. A fun read!

Munn was a longtime friend of Burton's whom Burton also helped in his acting career and Munn shows loyalty and affection, even while admitting Burton's flaws of drinking, a quick temper, and a limited capacity for marital fidelity. Still, the Burton who emerges from this book is a compelling and at times tragic figure. For much of his life, he endured chronic and agonizing pain and he lost the dearest members of his family. He was generous to his friends and surprisingly humble in his self-estimation.While there are certainly more comprehensive biographies of Burton and ones that provide more insight into his acting, this is still a compelling biography that gives a strong sense of the person behind the tabloids and screens.

Not to take anything away from Richard Burton, who was a great actor and an interesting person, but this book after a while reads like one long gossip column. I suppose that's all part of the life he led but after a while I started to wonder why I was spending time reading this when I could easily find something more interesting. I suspect that people who read the supermarket fan magazines would find this endlessly fascinating, and I'm not knocking it it's just not for me. If that's you then you will really like this book. All the big stars of that era are part of his story.

Richard Burton's life was like many of the Shakespearian plays that he starred in, essentially a tragedy that is brought about by a fatal flaw. In Burton's case, it was his drinking. This book contains a very balanced analysis of his life, focusing on his personal relations and how his choices affected those that were close to him. Was he a good person? No. Was he generous? Yes, to a fault. It was these dichotomies that make the tragedy of his life so compelling to read.

So many times, biographies are like a grave yard service where the minister/priest/rabbi didn't know the person very well. This was an intimate look at Richard Burton by a friend. It was sweet.

A great read on the life of a tremendous actor. Hollywood being what it is with all the distractions and such, I think Richards life was wasted being with Elizabeth Taylor. She sets out to get what she wants and doesn't care whom she destroys in the process.This book is one of the best publications out there on Richard Burton. A must read for a RB fan.

A pretty comprehensive telling of Burton's life. Must say that it will leave you with a bit of a hangover just reading about his liquor consumption but that was the fabric of the man - sadly.

Actually a very sad, confused man with a load of guilt on his shoulders. Admits he knew Liz was bad for him, but was hard to resist. A lot of personal information so you hopefully get to know the man, as much as the actor.

If you want an academic review of his films and roles, go elsewhere. If you want an intimate portrait of the man told through his own lips and the accounts of his friends, then this is the one to read.I'm not ashamed to say i wanted all the stories of his affairs and conquests, his drinking, his night with Errol Flynn in the brothel -and this book has it all.The writer met and knew him over a number of years and has some nice personal moments to describe. The book is structured in such a way that though it follows the chronology of Burton's life, there are constant snippets from later giving a glimpse of how Burton felt about it all.I am an avid reader of all kinds of biographies. This is up there for interest and ease of reading. I found myself telling my wife little stories, even though she always reads them after me.Burton comes across as a complicated character, which is true of most people, and so i was relieved the writer hadn't reduced him to some kind of shallow image. Burton isn't always likeable - his womanising was a selfish trait that must have brought a lot of pain to others - but the author's own respect for the man comes across in a warmth and respect that manages to avoid rubbishing him while telling some hard truths.I may look into the diaries after reading this, but I doubt they will provide such an entertaining read. Well worth purchasing.

OK. Felt like it was written from a bunch of anecdotes often told years later. Not sure how close the author was to the subject. Given his other titles I'd hazard a guess not that close. Still a reasonable read.

Very well written, by somebody who knew Richard Burton. You really get a glimpse of the man, and such a complicated man at that. Recommended.

This biography of Richard Burton tells part of his story from the point of view of a colleague who didn't really know him very well.

I loved the life of Richard Burton from beginning to end.He did so much in so little Time.In his way: