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Article: Richard Burton: A Brother Remembered.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Contemporary Review
- Article date:
- January 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Contemporary Review Company Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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'What are you doing, Dick Jenkins boy, prancing about with your painted face?' The story is familiar enough, but the questions remain concerning the true nature of the man who became Richard Burton, an elusive figure like his Victorian namesake.
Even the public career is a matter of debate. To some he was the rising classical actor who deserted the stage, more or less, for mainly bad films. Or he was the prodigiously gifted star who played the king before taking an insane gamble with Broadway and Hollywood and succeeding on his own terms in a way one might think impossible.
If Olivier did send that notorious wire, he had no right. The question -- 'A great ...