The Richard Burton Diaries (260 page)

100
Doctor of Letters: usually awarded for a substantial record of research and publication, it may also be an honorary degree.

101
Another inaccurate reference to the line from the hymn ‘Cwm Rhondda’: ‘death of death, and hell's damnation’.

102
Actually Starkey.

103
President Nixon returned from a week's visit to China on 28 February 1972.

104
Simone de Beauvoir (1908–86), writer, philosopher. Pierre Overney had been shot dead on 25 February during a demonstration outside the Renault factory.

105
KBE: Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

106
Alan Williams, son of Emlyn, had objected to Burton and Taylor's lack of interest in the oppression of the Hungarian people by Soviet-directed communism.

107
The volume was possibly Spender's
The Generous Days
(1971). The magazine was
Index on Censorship
(1972—).

108
Susannah York's husband was Michael Wells.

109
David is the patron saint of Wales.

110
It was ten years, Burton and Taylor's romance having begun in 1962.

111
The British Ambassador to Hungary was Derek Dodson (1920–2003). His wife was Julie Maynard Barnes. They attended the party.

112
Ivor, Richard's brother, had died, and Burton and Taylor returned to England for the funeral.

113
Wendy was another niece of Gwen. Her husband was Derek Jenkins.

114
Paul and Janine Filistorf.

1975

1
Elizabeth was filming
The Blue Bird
, directed by George Cukor and shot on location in Leningrad and Moscow.

2
Elizabeth was suffering from severe amoebic dysentery.

3
Brook Williams.

4
T and E presumably being ‘tired and emotional’, or drunk.

5
Burton is keeping track of his weight.

6
To the school at Tournesol.

7
Burton must mean Founex, 3 kilometres south of Céligny.

8
Burton means
bise
, the north wind.

9
Vevey: 18 km east of Lausanne on the north shore of Lake Geneva.

10
Restaurant Le Vieux Moulin, Route Cantonale, Epesses.

11
The biography of Napoleon might have been Frank M. Richardson's
Napoleon: Bisexual Emperor
(1972), which is in Burton's library. Dick Francis (1920–2010), former jockey and thriller writer, who published
Knockdown
in 1974 and
High Stakes
in 1975. ‘JB’ Jeanne Bell (1943—), actor.

12
A Gibson is a type of Martini cocktail.

13
Norman Fruman,
Coleridge: The Damaged Archangel
(1971).

14
Commugny, 4 km south of Céligny.

15
The International School of Geneva, probably the La Châtaigneraie campus near Founex.

16
George Best (1946–2005). Michael Parkinson,
Best: An Intimate Biography
(1975).

17
A brand of Swiss watch.

18
Raymond Stross (1915–88), film producer.

19
Auberge du Raisin, Cully, east of Lausanne on the north shore of Lake Geneva.

20
Maurice Solowicz, legal adviser.

21
West Ham beat Fulham 2–0 in the FA Cup final.

22
Terence Young (1915–94) was director of
Jackpot
.

23
Robert Skidelsky
, Oswald Mosley
(1975).

24
This was a film project that had been circulating since at least 1972.

25
Leeds United lost 2–0 to Bayern Munich in the European Cup Final on 28 May 1975.

26
Elish being short for Elisheba, Burton's nickname for Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, although it might refer to Elizabeth Taylor. Possibly Hotel President Wilson, Geneva.

27
Gareth Owen, Richard's nephew, who had already been financially supported in his business ventures.

28
Possibly a book by Louis Auchincloss (1917–2010).

29
W. Somerset Maugham.

30
Romain Gary (1914–80),
White Dog
(1970).

31
Grundy won the Epsom Derby in 1975.

32
Hotel du Lac, Grand Rue, Coppet.

33
MG: a British sports car.

34
D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, took place on 6 June 1944. The British referendum to ratify entry to the European Economic Community took place on 6 June 1975: the vote was 67% in favour and 33% against.

35
La Réserve, Route de Lausanne, Versoix.

36
Doctor.

37
Thun, at the north end of the Thuner See, 28 km south of Bern.

38
The Gare de Cornavin, railway station in Geneva.

39
Troy Bell, Jeannie's son.

40
Midnight.

41
Angela Davis: An Autobiography
(1974).

42
Billie Jean King (1943—) beat Evonne Goolagong (1951—) in two sets to win the women's singles championship at Wimbledon.

43
Hertz car rental.

44
Possibly Maurice Hankey (1877–1963), civil servant and politician, the subject of a biography by Stephen Roskill (
Hankey: Man of Secrets
, 3 vols, 1970–4).

45
A car body shop.

46
Shirley MacLaine's
You Can Get There From Here
(1975) discussed her visit to China.

47
'WD’ subscript under ‘OK’: meaning ‘Will do'?

48
Crans-près-Céligny.

49
Au Domino, Coppet.

50
Restaurant d'Allèves, Céligny.

51
à l'heure
: on time.

52
Sanka: decaffeinated coffee. The major biography of Kipling in print at this time was Charles Carrington,
Kipling: His Life and Work
(1955; new edn 1970), but Burton could also be refering to Kingsley Amis,
Rudyard Kipling and His World
(1975).

53
James A. Michener (1907–97),
The Drifters
(1971).

54
Probably William S. Burroughs (1914–97),
Exterminator!
(1974).

55
James George Frazer (1854–1941),
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion
(1890; abridged edn 1922).

56
The film project was
Abakarov
, to be filmed in Israel, but it was never made.

57
Have inserted ‘Christ’ here – there is a mark which might be a cross.

58
Carwyn James (1929–83), Welsh rugby international, coach of Llanelli Rugby Football Club and of the British Lions tour to New Zealand in 1971.

59
Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957), crime writer, translator, playwright, essayist. The biography is by Janet Hitchman, ‘
Such a Strange Lady’: An Introduction to Dorothy L. Sayers
(1975).

60
Lindsay Anderson (1923–94), director.

61
Scorpio
(1973), directed by Michael Winner (1935—), starring Paul Scofield and Burt Lancaster.

62
HW is Henry Wynberg (1935—) – Elizabeth Taylor's former consort.

63
Burton was to publish ‘My Life at 50’ in
McCall's
(December 1975).

64
Peter Lawford (1923–84), actor.

65
The President of South Africa at that time was Nicolaas Diederichs (1903–78), his wife Margaretha Potgieter.

66
Ringo Starr's marriage to Maureen ended in divorce in July 1975.

67
Chobe National Park, Botswana.

68
Fritz or Fred Knoessen, manager of the Chobe Game Lodge.

69
Richard Barrett (1933–2006), music producer, singer and songwriter, manager of The Three Degrees girl group.

70
The Kruger National Park, north-east South Africa.

71
A reference to the children's book
The Story of Ferdinand
(1936) by Munro Leaf (1905–76), where the bull prefers flowers to fighting.

72
Taylor suffered a temporary scare over her health when a chest X-ray was believed to reveal the possibility of lung cancer, only for this to be discounted within hours.

73
From
Richard II
, Act III, scene ii: ‘And that small model of the barren earth / which serves as paste and cover to our bones.’

74
Public Relations Officer.

75
Elizabeth and Richard remarried on this day.

76
Antabus or antabuse is the proprietary name for the drug disulfiram, used to combat alcoholism.

77
Brian Graham organized wildlife tours from the lodge.

78
Douglas Reed (1895–1976),
The Siege of Southern Africa
(1974).

79
Gavin de Becker, Elizabeth's secretary.

80
Ambrose Masalila, district commissioner.

81
Serondela, in northern Chobe.

82
HW: Henry Wynberg.

83
Sausages, bread and butter.

84
He may mean vervet monkeys.

85
Hugo van Lawick (1937–2002),
Solo: The Story of an African Wild Dog
(1974).

86
Eugène N. Marais (1871–1936),
My Friends the Baboons
(1939).

87
Donald R. Morris (1924–2002),
The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation
(1965).

88
Burton means Chen Sam (d. 1996), who became Burton and Taylor's business manager and press spokesperson.

89
This is probably a reference to the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and the battles of Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift.

90
Basil Davidson,
Africa in History
(1968).

91
Victoria Falls, waterfall on the Zambezi river between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

92
Elephant Hills Hotel, Victoria Falls.

93
Robbie Lantz (1914–2007), agent to both Burton and Taylor. Elizabeth Taylor, ‘Richard Again’,
Ladies’ Home Journal
, February 1976.

94
Die Landdrost Hotel, Johannesburg.

95
Richard had bought Elizabeth a pink diamond to mark their marriage. But she wished it to be returned and for the money to be used instead to finance a hospital-clinic in Botswana. Although the diamond was returned the clinic was never built.

96
John O'Hara (1905–70), novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter. Author of
Butterfield 8
(1935), later a film starring Elizabeth Taylor.

97
Appointment in Samarra
(1934).

98
Burton means the Evening Standard British Film Awards.

99
Albert Finney won the award for Best Actor for his performance in
Murder on the Orient Express
(1974), directed by Sidney Lumet (1924–2011), who would direct Burton in the film
Equus
. Burton presumably meant to write ‘never seen’.

100
Cancer.

101
Harvey Orkin died on 3 November 1975.

102
Frank Hauser (1922–2007), theatre director, based at the Oxford Playhouse from 1956 to 1973.

103
Jean-Paul Sartre,
Kean
(1953).

104
Naomi, daughter of Michael Wilding and his girlfriend Johanna, had been born earlier in 1975.

105
Scott's Restaurant, Mount Street, Mayfair, London.

106
The Pedro Club, Rushmore Road, Hackney, established in 1929, and relaunched in the 1960s.

107
Match of the Day
, the BBC football highlights programme shown on Saturday evenings.

108
Pusey, the home of Simon and Sheran Hornby.

109
The Old Manor House, Bampton, Oxfordshire, to the north of Pusey. Lord Blandford (James) may be a reference to Jamie Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (1955—).

110
Bear Hotel, Park Street, Sunninghill, Woodstock, north-west of Oxford.

111
Elizabeth Sweeting (1914–95), general manager of the Oxford Playhouse. Helen Gardner (1908–86), Merton Professor of English Literature (1966–75), was a Fellow of St Hilda's College, and held her chair in association with Lady Margaret Hall, both all-female colleges at this time.

112
The Taylor-Burton building opened during 1976, an annexe to the Oxford Playhouse.

113
This refers to unrealized plans (based on the concept of the geodesic dome, associated with the American scientist and designer Richard Buckminster Fuller, 1895–1983) for the building of the Samuel Beckett Theatre beneath a quadrangle in St Peter's College.

114
The Castle Hotel, The Parade, Neath.

115
Today the Aberavon Beach Hotel.

116
This presumably refers to Burton's previous engagement to Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia.

117
Charlie Hockin.

118
The First Clown's line from
Hamlet
, Act V, scene i: ‘But age with his stealing steps / Hath clawed me in his clutch’.

119
Burton means the Black Mountain, the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons.

120
The Red Lion, Llangadog.

121
Michael was living at Ffynnon-Wen, Goginan, Ponterwyd.

122
Michael's girlfriend, Johanna.

123
Michael.

124
Bara Lawr: a laver bread recipe.

125
'Gareth the villain’: probably reference to Gareth Owen, Richard's nephew.
Bratu
: Welsh for ‘brat’.

126
T. H. J.: Thomas Henry Jenkins, Richard's brother.

127
Burton actually writes ‘1975’ as the year, but the content of the entry indicates (along with a preceding marker in the original folder) that it was 1977.

128
Tom Pryce (1949–77) was a Welsh racing driver killed on 5 March during the Formula 1 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. Susan Burton (1948—), Richard's third wife.

129
A reference to John Donne's poem, ‘No man is an Island’. ‘For whom the bell tolls’ is the penultimate line.