The legendary actor Richard Burton used to live in Northampton.
For many this will be a showbusiness revelation to find out the famous Welsh actor and former Hollywood heart throb resided in town.
He was here in the late 1940s for about six/seven months when he lived in Park Avenue with his then girlfriend Sybil Williams - who became the first Mrs Burton in 1949 - her sister Elise Newell and her husband Eddie Newell.
This interesting highlight is one of the many facts which burst out in a new book called And God Created Burton.
It is written by Tom Rubython, from Castle Ashby, who even got 20 villagers involved to help him read the proofs.
Tom said he was told various accounts about Burton’s time in the town from people who remember drinking with him.
They also told him how he would have gone to Franklin’s Gardens to watch the Saints and even went to away games on the supporters coach.
This is Tom’s first book in the entertainment world following his works on Ayrton Senna and latterly James Hunt.
The idea for his latest piece came about from the James Hunt biography as his former wife Suzy Hunt became Burton’s third wife.
Tom believed there was another story to be told and a detailed account of Burton’s life and death emerged.
In Tom’s opinion Burton was the greatest Welshman ever who was passionate about Wales and believes a reassessment of the actor’s life will start following this book.
He backed this up by saying: “I guess it took six/seven months to write.
“I did have a team of researchers but this was working seven days a week.
“I did get very wrapped up in it and very focused.
“I think Burton’s legacy is now being looked at, nearly 30 years after his death.
“I know a mini series for American television will come from this book.
“There is quite a lot of interest and I am keen to see how his legacy is developed.” Tom said he never aimed for the book to balloon to 61 chapters but he said he would never have fitted it into anything less.
In the book Tom tells the story of when the actor went back to his home village of Pontrhydyfen in 1953 after conquering Hollywood.
He was talking to his father ‘Dic’ (Richard ‘Dic’ Walter) and told him Hollywood had paid him £50,000 for a role in a film.
His father asked again how much and Richard told him it was actually £150,000 and asked him ‘What for? Tom felt that this question was one which was never fully answered by Burton in his life.
He said: “He (Richard) had no idea why people would pay him so much money.
“He assumed they were being generous and thought it was a quirk of fate.
“He became the highest paid British actor ever and earned £75 million which would be nearer £3 billion when equated to today’s money.
Tomorrow, Tom will be appearing at Waterstone’s in Abington Street, Northampton for a book signing from 9am to 11.15am.
