Book review: Behind the Scenes: The Dramatic Lives of Philip Burton by Angela V. John

Desmond Clifford

Richard Burton’s fame dipped quickly after his early death in 1984 but interest has revived in this centenary of his birth. He left only a handful of really good films, but his life acquired a quality of legend.

‘Icon’ is an overworked word, but surely it can be allowed for Burton? An icon for Wales, but a universal icon for dreams and talent, the refusal to be limited by the circumstances of birth.

Until now, Philip Burton has languished as an adjunct to the actor’s fame. According to the story, Burton gave the young Richie Jenkins his name and accent, nurtured his talent, adopted him and sent him to conquer the world.

This reductive narrative does neither man full service. It takes no account of Richard’s family, Port Talbot or the broader social and cultural setting. Angela John directs Philip Burton from the wings to centre stage and presents a full biography for the first time.

Astonishing

Phillip was only 14 when his father was killed at the Navigation Colliery in Mountain Ash, one of an astonishing 21 miners killed that month alone. He was a clever, bookish boy and found his way to Cardiff University. Philip was drawn to the theatre but, in need of a job, became a schoolmaster in Port Talbot where for 20 years he taught English and pursued his theatre passion at the school and outside.

This period is covered in Marc Evans’ excellent film ‘Mr Burton’. With a cinema biopic and full-length biography appearing together, Philip Burton is certainly enjoying a moment.

The film shows, and Angela John amplifies, that Burton was a trad teacher. He declined to use corporal punishment, to his great credit, but was disciplinarian through force of personality. He understood the importance of education in a world where boys would follow fathers into coal or steel unless they earned qualifications.

The film and book are unrelated but complementary in many ways. They offer different interpretations in a couple of areas, but both illuminate Philip’s character and his impact on Richard’s life. As a teacher, Philip inspired and supported many pupils but his relationship with Richie Jenkins was deeper, reflecting the boy’s exceptional talents and intense ambition.

Richard benefited from personal tuition in drama from one of Wales’ most talented theatrical brains, but this was no Pygmalion affair. Jenkins was no street urchin and Burton no Svengali. Richard came from a cultured community which placed a high value on drama and performing arts. He burned with ambition.

Both men were exceptional and the coincidence of their finding each other produced the Richard Burton phenomenon.

Extraordinary rise

Richard Burton’s rise was extraordinarily quick. What he learned from Philip made a huge difference and opened doors. We can never know what might have happened to Richard without Philip but it’s hard to imagine him just giving up. He would have been rougher and less honed, but surely his energy was too wild to be held back?

Angela John provides significant context. Richard Jenkins “lived with” Philip in the sense that he occupied a vacant room in the house where Burton lodged; the household was managed by a respectable landlady. Jenkins was 17 years old.

Philip paid the rent and the living arrangement allowed him to train Richard intensively. Burton’s adoption of Jenkins began as a bureaucratic quirk to smooth an application for Oxford University, but it was not a light commitment, and Richard acknowledged Philip as his father.

Philip was gay and the film ‘Mr Burton’ has an angry Richard in response to rumours accusing Philip of grooming. It’s entirely possible that chins did wag in Port Talbot and that either Richard or Philip, or both, may have heard something. Angela John thinks it most likely that Philip remained chaste at this stage in his life. Homosexuality was a crime and the consequences for a man in Phillip’s position of an active sex life were potentially nightmarish.

Angela John acknowledges that it’s not possible to be categorical, but believes the evidence suggests Philip behaved appropriately. Had he not, it’s unlikely that Richard would have maintained his lifelong relationship and affection for Philip.

Freelance

After the war, Philip’s life changed dramatically. He did lots of freelance work for the BBC in Cardiff but any hopes of moving permanently were shelved by the war.

Eventually, he took the post vacated by his friend and producer, the distinguished T Rowland Hughes whose career ended prematurely through ill health. Philip had the career he had always wanted. He wrote plays, scripts, produced, acted, commissioned. He was prolific, industrious and encouraging to others.

In his 50s, Philip reinvented himself again and relocated to New York. He quickly established himself in the theatre, helping to develop the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. He fundraised tirelessly for it, sometimes co-opting Richard, and served as its first director. He became an energetic lecturer in the lucrative American market.

In later years, with declining health limiting his theatre work, he became an author writing memoirs, novels and Shakespeare studies.

The balance of his relationship with Richard shifted over time. By any reasonable measure, Philip had a rich and significant career, but Richard was among the most famous men on the planet. He was generous but Philip didn’t seek his money except in support of charities, and on at least one occasion was offended to be given it. Philip’s progress in the theatre was, inevitably, aided by his link to Richard, acting’s hottest property. At the same
time, Richard never stopped relying on Philip as mentor, father and consultant on dramatic roles.

Scandal

Their relationship suffered a breach when Richard split from his wife Sybil for Elizabeth Taylor. This was a global scandal and Britain’s most famous divorce since Henry VIII. Philip remained loyal to Sybil. After a prolonged silence, Elizabeth Taylor took the initiative to phone Philip seeking his help for Richard interpreting the role of Hamlet. The ice broke and relations resumed, with Phillip and Taylor becoming close too.

Philip lived his final years in Florida. As people do in America, he relaxed his slightly stilted Wales persona. Though genial and generous, a small pomposity was part of his manner, still the serious schoolmaster at heart.

Richard Burton died young in 1984, shortly after making his last film, ‘1984’. Philip lived for another decade though Angela John says relatively little of his reaction to Richard’s death.

Philip Burton had a very full career in theatre but his real talent, his genius even, was as a teacher. In Port Talbot, he motivated generations of boys; Richard Burton was merely the best known and most successful. In the broader sense, Philip never stopped teaching. His whole career was an extended opportunity to educate, energise, elevate, motivate.

Tradition

It’s often said there’s something in the air around Port Talbot: Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins, Rob Brydon, Michael Sheen. Maybe there is, but there is also a tradition of theatre, a respect for performance, and places to take ambition. Angela John credits Port Talbot, and its lively amateur scene, as vital factors in creating Richard Burton. His birth father was feckless, but his family were important too.

Richard and Philip Burton had entwined lives. They were interested in the same things and each other. Philip would like to have been a better actor. Richard yearned to be a writer like Philip. Neither would have achieved all they did without the other. Philip helped make Richard famous and, posthumously, Richard has returned the compliment.

Angela John has written the biography Philip Burton’s life deserves. He was a man out of the ordinary. As an artist he fell short of greatness but as a teacher he has achieved a type of immortality. In helping to shape Richard Burton, he is elevated from the footnotes of the BBC archives. This is a fine biography and a valuable addition to the corpus of work inspired by the Burtons of Port Talbot.