'A man who took on life with both hands'
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from August 1984.
Brought to you by
Ms. Valerie Douglas, Burton's agent, told reporters that funeral arrangements were pending the arrival of Burton's daughter Kate from Rome, where she was working on a film, and that memorial services would be held in South Wales, London, and "possibly New York."
Ms. Douglas' statement denied reports that Burton wanted to be buried in Pontrhydyfen, the South Wales mining village he left to forge a spellbinding acting career marked by alcoholism and a volcanic love life including two marriages to Elizabeth Taylor.
Burton's wife Sally Hay, 36, personally called Miss Taylor "to spare her the media shock" following Burton's sudden death Sunday, Ms. Douglas said. Mrs. Burton was "quite shocked, and would remain in seclusion," she added.
Ms. Douglas, and John Hurt, Burton's friend and fellow actor who was visiting here, agreed that Burton was in "fine form" Saturday, with no hint of illness. He planned to go to Berlin and then India on films, Ms. Douglas said. The coalminer's son who became a renowned Shakespearean stage actor and Hollywood superstar died at Geneva's cantonal hospital following surgery for a "massive brain haemmorage," Ms. Douglas said.
The surgery by Prof. Alois Werner at the Geneva hospital "was to relieve the pressure on his brain, but he didn't make it," Ms. Douglas said. Mrs. Burton, who had just marked her first year of marriage to the actor one month ago, was with him throughout the crisis Sunday which began at their modest villa, "Pays De Galles," the French words for Wales, that Burton bought in 1957.
"She could not awaken him," Ms. Douglas said. "His breathing was not correct. She called a doctor and immediately had him sent to a hospital."
Ms. Douglas said Burton was first taken to a hospital in nearby Nyon, "but they were not equipped to cope with such a thing, so they sent him to Geneva."
Ms. Douglas described the Burton villa as "a little piece of Wales," and when asked about the funeral being in Switzerland rather than Wales, replied that Burton "was a Welshman, first, last and always."
Hurt, who had worked with Burton in June on a remake of George Orwell's "Nineteen eighty-four." described Burton as a "man who took on life with both hands," and said his performance in the film was "superb.
"It's sad that it was his last film, but its marvelous that it was such a superb performance," Hurt said.
A family friend told reporters at Burton's villa in the small village of Celigny near here that the funeral would be held in the local Presbyterian church, but that a time had yet to be set.
Elizabeth Taylor was not expected to attend the funeral.
When told of the actor's death, Miss Taylor was in California with two of her children, including Maria, the daughter she and Burton had adopted during one of their two marriages, said her publicist, Chen Sam.
"They are extremely, extremely upset," said Ms. Sam, weeping. She said Miss Taylor was too shocked to make a statement on Sunday. Burton's splendid baritone renderings of Shakespearean lines invariably electrified audiences and his piercing blue eyes and commanding presence riveted screen audiences of such works as "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" "The Spy who came in from the cold" and "Becket." But critics called several of his other 50 films mediocre or terrible.
A month ago, Burton celebrated the first anniversary of his marriage to Ms. Hay, a film production assistant. She was with him when he died, said Burton's brother Verdun. "She is very upset. She can hardly speak. She is heart broken," he said.
Burton once said his alcoholism was "as bad as cancer." In June he declared that his drinking bouts were through and announced his "semi-retirement" from acting. But he took on a heavy workload. He played O'Brien, the interrogator, in a new film version of George Orwell's futuristic classic "Nineteen eighty-four," then a small role as a congressman alongside his daughter Kate in an American TV series, "Ellis Island."
Burton was born Richard Jenkins, 12th of 13 children of his coal miner father and barmaid mother, on November 10, 1925 in the village of Pontrhydfen. South Wales. His mother died when he was 2 and he was raised by his aunt until he came under the spell of Philip Burton, a teacher who detected the youth's acting potential. Richard had intended to study at Oxford University and work in a mine to "toughen myself up." but a chance encounter in London led to an acting job. He made his London stage debut at age 18 in fellow-Welshman Emlyn William's the druid's rest.
