During his lifetime, Burton’s considerable acting talents were often overshadowed by his hell-raising reputation and his on-again, off-again marriages to Elizabeth Taylor. This being so, it may surprise many to learn that, despite his heavy drinking, chain smoking and womanizing, Burton was also something of a literary buff, often finding solace in the pages of a book.
"I’m a reader, you know. I was corrupted by Faust. And Shakespeare. And Proust. And Hemingway. But mostly I was corrupted by Dylan Thomas. Most people see me as a rake, womanizer, boozer and purchaser of large baubles. I’m all those things depending on the prism and the light. But mostly I’m a reader. Give me Agatha Christie for an hour and I’m happy as a clam. The house in Celigny some day will cave in under its own weight from the books. I hope I’m there when it does. One hundred six years old. Investigating the newest thriller from Le Carré or a new play from Tennessee Williams."Sadly, Burton didn’t live to see the grand old age of 106. He died of a brain haemorrhage in 1984 at the age of 58. His death marked the culmination of years of ill-health, mainly due to cirrhosis of the kidneys and liver.
I love(d) Burton. I'm just finished up "Furious Love" as my summer fun read. It's sad, though, to read the decline in detail. He accepted a position at St. Peter's in Oxford (where he'd been a fellow when in the RAF) but I haven't read to see what happened w/that. I assume the drinking & the inability to give up the highly-paid roles to help support the lifestyle he & Taylor couldn't give up. He was always always reading & writing. I wish he'd been able to make the switch to writer as he'd hoped. He was very good.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm a tweep (juliethecat) & enjoy your tweets. And to confuse matters, though my name is Susan, this Google acct. lists me as 'Giulia.' Longish story:) xo
Hi Susan/Giulia/juliethecat !
ReplyDeleteBurton was a fascinating man, wasn't he? His decline was so tragic. Funnily enough, it had always been Taylor who feared ill-health. She had problems with her feet, and lived in fear of ending up in a wheelchair (which she did in the end).
Glad you like the posts. I haven't forgotten about the recipe for Eve's Pudding. I've decided to create another blog, dedicated to food - and Eve's Pudding will be the first post!
Sinead x
PS Thanks for the retweet!