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Richard Burton 1925 - 1984 Signature Study Part IV Dissolution and Redemption 1970 to1984

Part IV

Written to mark the 40 years since Richard Burton's death. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Once again, this information has been gathered from various sources including online archives, biographies and The Richard Burton Museum. The non-autograph writings are mostly a work of compilation. Images are used for educational purposes only.

A section devoted to secretarials and forgeries follows the article.

In 1970 at the age of 45, Burton was ceremonially honoured with a CBE at Buckingham Palace. His sister Cis and wife Elizabeth Taylor were present for the ceremony. By this time, Burton was ensconced in his home in Céligny, Switzerland. Large quantities of time were spent drinking, reading and writing. Elizabeth was often unconscious for days. Countless expensive rugs were destroyed by unattended dogs. This was the final extremity of the excesses of the 1960's and the marriage was under strain of equal proportions.

In 1971 Welsh author, broadcaster and journalist Lyn Ebenezer travelled to Fishguard, west Wales, with his friend and freelance photographer Raymond Daniel, specifically to meet Richard Burton, who was filming 'Under Milk Wood' at that time. Mr. Ebenezer, who had himself been in the first Welsh language production of 'Under Milk Wood', in the role of Mr. Pugh, encountered Richard Burton, and other cast members and crew, in the Dinas Arms Public House and spent an entertaining afternoon with him and the other members before finally asking Richard Burton to sign his copy.

That copy is shown below, and is in the Richard Burton Museum.

Below, captured by photographer Raymond Daniel, Lyn Ebenezer has the above copy of 'Under Milk Wood' signed by Richard Burton in the Dinas Arms, Fishguard.

During this period the very wild spending and Burton's drinking began to take its full toll. The rich voice that once recited Shakespeare in Welsh, backward, at parties now slurred noticeably during interviews. While Taylor was a pill enthusiast to put it mildly, Richard was an absolute physical wreck by this time. He blamed some of this on his inability to secure "any worthy material that is pertinent to our times".

However, back in 1968, after a lengthy and disastrous drinking session with Burton at his home in Céligny, Richard's elder brother, Ifor, slipped and fell, breaking his neck. The injury left him paralyzed. Brother Graham Jenkins has speculated that guilt over this may have caused Richard to start drinking very heavily, particularly after Ifor died in 1972. By 1974 Burton was downing up to four bottles of hard liquor a day and came quite close to dying.

Below, Burton in 1974, giving an interview while very drunk.

It was in 1972 that Burton began accepting very poor roles for the money. In some of these films he was unable to deliver lines, or indeed even stand during one filming. His last film with Taylor was the 1973 two-part melodrama Divorce His, Divorce Hers.This year also marked their first divorce. In 1975 they married again, only to divorce again in 1976. They would appear together onstage just once more, 11 years later. In her final years, Taylor said many times Richard Burton was the love of her life and she was buried with a final love letter Burton wrote and mailed just 3 weeks before he died. She received it after his death.

After nearly drinking himself to death during the shooting of The Klansman in 1974, Burton dried out at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. Burton was allegedly inebriated while making the movie, and many of his scenes had to be filmed with him sitting or lying down due to his inability to stand upright. In some scenes, he appears to slur his words or speak incoherently. Burton later said that he could not remember making the film. Co-star O. J. Simpson said "There would be times when he couldn't move".

According to his diaries, Burton used Antabuse to try to stop his excessive consumption of alcohol, which he blamed for wrecking his marriage to Taylor. Burton himself said of the time leading up to his near loss of life, "I was fairly sloshed for five years. I was up there with John Barrymore and Robert Newton. The ghosts of them were looking over my shoulder".

Below, Burton in 1973/74. In addition to the liquor, he was a chain smoker from a very young age.

In 1975, after apparently quitting drink, Burton took over the demanding and powerful lead role of Dr. Martin Dysart in Anthony Shaffer's shattering Broadway play Equus from Anthony Perkins in February 1976 and went on to perform in Equus for three months. A good friend of mine saw Equus in 1976 from a seat onstage mere feet from Burton and remarked that the brilliant blue of Burton's eyes was as startling as his booming and richly textured voice. Burton was then chosen for the film version, released late in 1977 and directed by Sidney Lumet. This performance earned Burton his final Academy Award Nomination. "Burton is not yet fully into the role of Dysart, as occasional fluffs and a tentative rhythm reveal. But he gives the self-lacerating psychiatrist, who's envious of his patient's sick and real passion, a vulnerability that becomes movingly personal. When he speaks the play's last line: 'I have now in my mouth this sharp chain and it never comes out,' that great voice, full of flowers and iron, seems to be making a statement about a gifted, lusty man who knows better than anyone that he's trapped between discipline and desire." - Newsweek

Below, Burton visiting his home town in Wales, mid 1970's.

Below are IP exemplars from 1975 - 1977.

Below is a 1976 IP 8x10 signed candid I used to own, collected before the final performance of Equus at the Hotel Lombardy on May 8th by Celia Gordon, a fan from Sweden.

Below is the Playbill from the production of Equus.

Below is the UA poster for Equus.

A powerful scene from the film version of Equus, 1977. This is perhaps his final great performance with "the Burton voice". In his final film, Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, Burton subdued his magnificent presence, rendering O'Brien's character even more inhuman and frightening.

After his success with the stage version of Equus, Burton married. In August 1976, a month after his second divorce from Taylor, Burton married model Suzy Miller, the former wife of Formula 1 Champion James Hunt; the marriage ended in divorce in 1982. From 1983 until his death in 1984, Burton was married to freelance production assistant Sally Hay.

Below are two 1978 signature obtained IP onset.

Below is an Ellesmere College calendar signed during the production of the 1978 film Absolution.

In 1978 Burton had an international box-office hit with The Wild Geese, an adventure tale about mercenaries in Africa. The film was a success in Europe but had only limited distribution in the United States owing to the collapse of the studio that distributed it.

He returned to films with The Medusa Touch (1978), and the title role in Wagner (1983). In 1980/81, Burton toured with the 'Twentieth Anniversary' revival tour of Lerner and Lowe's musical production of 'Camelot'. The show opened at the O' Keefe Centre in Toronto, Canada and on July 8th, 1980, moved to New York.

The program for the Camelot tour, 1980.

The 'New York Times' reviewed the production on the 27th of July that year, and wrote beautifully. "Who says you can't go home again? Richard Burton returned to the kingdom of Camelot, and it was as if he had never abdicated his throne. He remains every inch the King Arthur of our most majestic storybook dreams. He doesn't merely command the stage; he seems to own it by divine right. By the time he sings for a final time of that one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot, the audience is ready to weep for every noble ideal that ever has been smashed on the hard rocks of history."

Below are two 1982 signatures also obtained IP:

Below; Richard Burton in performance during the 'Dylan Thomas - A Celebration' charity event which was held on the evening of Sunday, February the 28th, 1982. Richard Burton's contribution to the evening's performance was to act as 'The Narrator' in a performance of 'Under Milk Wood', which was adapted and directed for the event.

In 1983, Burton and Taylor paired one last time for the run of the Noel Coward play,'Private Lives', which was staged at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York. The production was presented by Elizabeth Taylor's own production company, the 'Elizabeth Theatre Group'. Based on the original play 'Private Lives', written by Noel Coward, the production co-starred Elizabeth Taylor, John Cullum and Kathryn Walker, was directed by Milton Katselas and produced by Elizabeth Taylor herself.

The original program for Private Lives along with a rare still of the two great stars together again, if only briefly. Despite both being married, an obstacle that never stopped them before, they were planning to marry again.

The play opened in New York on May the 9th, 1983 before moving on to the cities of Boston and Los Angeles where it finally closed, much to the delight and relief of Richard Burton, on November the 6th, 1983. The critics were not kind when reviewing the Burton / Taylor production of Private Lives. Frank Rich, of the New York Times, was to write in a rather acidic review:
"Private Lives, as reprised by Burton and Taylor has all the vitality of a Madame Tussaud exhibit. Life doesn't imitate art in Private Lives - it obliterates it. Early on, we see that, unlike Elyot and Amanda, Mr. Burton and Miss Taylor have little lingering affection for each other - or none that they can convey or fake onstage. When Mr. Burton finally crosses from his side of the terrace to embrace Miss Taylor in Act One, he approaches the task with the steady gait of Count Dracula stalking a victim."

Below, Burton leaving the theatre during Private Lives.

Burton's final film performance, a resounding sublime success, as O'Brien in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) was critically acclaimed though he was not the first choice for the role. According to the film's director, Michael Radford, Paul Scofield was originally contracted to play the part, but had to withdraw due to a broken leg; Sean Connery, Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger were all approached before Burton was cast. Radford had "heard stories" about Burton's heavy drinking, which had concerned the producers.

At the time of his death, Burton was preparing to film Wild Geese II, the sequel to The Wild Geese, which was eventually released in 1985. Burton was to reprise the role of Colonel Faulkner, while Laurence Olivier was cast as Rudolf Hess. After his death, Burton was replaced by Edward Fox, and the character changed to Faulkner's younger brother.

Below, Burton as Inner Party member O'Brien, the head of the Thought Police. By dialing down his voice and output, he created a truly horrifying interpretation of O'Brien. Here O'Brien is shown at the Two Minutes Hate, gazing up at the overbearing image of Big Brother.

Richard Burton died from intracerebral haemorrhage on August 6th, 1984 at his home in Céligny, Switzerland, at the age of 58. Although his death was sudden, his health had been seriously declining for several years, and he suffered from constant and severe neck pain. His spine was fused and he has alcohol crystals in his spine. By 1983 he was unable to raise his right arm steadily without assistance. As early as March 1970, he had been warned that his liver was enlarged, and he was diagnosed with cirrhosis and kidney disease in April 1981.

Before going to sleep on August 6th, Burton had written a rather alarming and ominous entry in his bedside diary. This was found some weeks later by his wife, Sally. "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow… Our revels now are ended.” - these wee the last words ge write the night he died. The last sentence is from The Tempest, Act IV, Scene 1. The night before, he fell off the wagon with his costar John Hurt.
Below is one of the last photographs of Richard Burton taken on the set of 1984 with John Hurt.

Burton was buried in Welsh red at the Old Cemetery ("Vieux Cimetière") of Céligny with a copy of Dylan Thomas's poems. He and Taylor had discussed being buried together; his widow Sally purchased the plot next to Burton's and erected a large headstone across both, presumably to prevent Taylor from being buried there.

Photograph by Roman Decker 2021.

What a piece of worke is a man! How Noble in reason! How infinite in faculty!

In forme and mouing how expresse and admirable!

In Action, how like an Angel in apprehension, how like a God!

The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?

Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

Shakespeare would have known the Psalms, and here he has Hamlet echoing the psalmist in Psalm 8: ‘When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?’ The psalmist is asking the same question and concluding that human beings are insignificant.

SECRETARIALS

The first true secretarials in quantity began to appear C. 1964 on Hamlet photos, letters and some playbills. They are also seen on Spy and Woolf? SP's. This style is shown below. There are earlier postcards with studio signatures but no single signer as with these secretarials.

At the end of 1964 Burton published A Christmas Story, and these also often bear a secretarial signature as above. An authentic example from another copy of this book is shown below for comparison:

Below is am example of the secretarial signature seen so often on SP's, Camelot photographs and playbills from C. 1980. 1970's authentic Richard Burton signatures are as scarce or more so than 1960's examples.

FORGERIES:

Below are some of he common forgeries encountered. The first one shown has been seen in quantity on eBay lately for much too low of s price for an SP. The last are very poor.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 3, 2024 at 11:46pm

Hi All,

if anyone has a post 1980 Burton I'd love to include it. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 5, 2024 at 8:05am

This work is now expanded and complete. I really hope you enjoy the series. If you spot a typo please message me. Only minor corrections remain, apart from some formatting issues and font problems I have not encountered before. Thank you :-)

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 7, 2024 at 5:42am

Hi All,

Although this 4th and final section of the Burton Signature Study is complete and not missing anything, I am unable to format the text or control the fonts. It still reads correctly, and all images and exemplars are here, but I will write Steve to see if these other things can be adjusted.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on April 7, 2024 at 7:02am

This is an excellent signature study on one of the top actors of all time. I believe he is likely on almost every critic list of top actors. I love signature studies they are so helpful to the hobby. I did not realize Burton was so young when he died. I guess because he looked older than his years after a hard life. Very fine job Eric!

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 7, 2024 at 7:28am

Thank you Scott. I really appreciate that. It was a lot of fun really - I just got a little burnt out so after the parts I-III were done I needed a break. I believe this came out better than the Gleason work (apart from the discoveries and changing PSA's mind), which was written "in motion" over a long period. The Gleason work also did not have any biographical information which is really indispensable.

In the end, I believe Richard Burton was a very unhappy man, perhaps unable to actually fulfill the mantle placed upon him with the regularity and steadiness others (and possibly himself) expected of him, perhaps leading to self doubt or loathing. Not for lack of talent. His heights were astounding and the depths nearly unbelievable. But, he definitely made his mark.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 10, 2024 at 9:31am

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow… Our revels now are ended.” - the last words entered into Burton's bedside diary the night he died. The last sentence is from The Tempest, Act IV, Scene 1. The night before, he fell off the wagon with his costar John Hurt.

Below is one of the last photographs of Richard Burton taken on the set of 1984 with John Hurt.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on April 10, 2024 at 9:41am

A sad but fitting last journal entry. He certainly looks far older than his years in that picture. I never would have recognized him just a shadow of himself. He certainly left a legacy in his many great movies that he did. Once again, a fine job on the study.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 10, 2024 at 9:50am

Indeed Scott. Not surprising he quoted The Tempest. He does look far older, but just 5 years from me! He was very unwell here with fused spine and all - but his final performance is truly startling. Interestingly, this film was shot in the locations mentioned in Orwell's masterpiece, and at the same time - April 1984. And, thank you again for the kind words. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Garrett Meadows on April 11, 2024 at 5:28pm

Errol Flynn and Richard Burton had to be two of Hollywood's most self-destructive stars.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on April 11, 2024 at 5:41pm

True, but Burton left behind many fine performances, such as Becket, Spy, Woolf, Equus, 1984 and many others apart from his tremendous stage work. His autograph is rather scarce and is fun to learn while looking for the right example.