by Michael Munn
First published 2014
Michael Munn knew Richard Burton personally from 1968 until the Welsh actor's final film. Drawing on nearly two decades of friendship, Munn exposes the contradictions that defined Burton's turbulent life. The author recounts Burton's secret affairs with Marilyn Monroe and Lana Turner, his brothel escapades with Errol Flynn, and his physical altercation with Frank Sinatra. These stories were deliberately suppressed by Hollywood's publicity machine. Munn witnessed Burton's most vulnerable moments, including nursing him through an epileptic seizure and observing his involvement in East End gang violence. The biography reveals Burton's private thoughts and closely guarded secrets while painting a portrait of a complex man whose public persona masked deeper struggles. Munn offers readers an insider's view of one of cinema's most magnetic yet troubled stars.
Genres: biography, drama, 20th-century, crime
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: complex-character, insider-perspective, troubled-past
Setting: East End, Hollywood, Wales
Period: 1968
272 pages · Kindle Edition · Aurum
Content warnings: addiction, mental-illness