Sybil Christopher

{{short description|Welsh actress, theatre director and nightclub proprietor (1929–2013)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Sybil Christopher

| image = Sybil Burton Christopher.JPG

| caption = Christopher in 1955

| birth_name = Sybil Williams

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1929|03|27|df=y}}

| birth_place = Tylorstown, Mid Glamorgan, Wales

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|03|07|1929|03|27|df=y}}

| death_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S.

| death_cause =

| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|theatre director|nightclub owner}}

| alma_mater = London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art

| years_active = 1946–2013

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Richard Burton
|1949|1963|end=divorced}}
{{marriage|Jordan Christopher
|1965|1996|end=his death}}

}}

|children = 3, including Kate Burton

}}

Sybil Christopher ({{née}} Williams; 27 March 1929 – 7 March 2013), formerly known as Sybil Burton, was a Welsh actress, theatre director, and founder of popular celebrity New York nightclub "Arthur".Paul Vitello, [http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/theater/sybil-christopher-actress-and-nightclub-founder-dies-at-83.html "Sybil Christopher, Actress and Nightclub Founder, Dies at 83"], New York Times, 12 March 2013. She came into the public eye as the first wife of Richard Burton.[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sybil-christopher-wife-richard-burton-dies-427313 "Sybil Christopher, First Wife of Richard Burton, Dies at 83". The Hollywood Reporter, 11 March 2013. Accessed 21 April 2013]

Biography

Sybil Williams was born on 27 March 1929, in Tylorstown, Mid Glamorgan, Wales.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-106220|title=Christopher [née Williams; first married name Burton], Sybil (1929–2013), actress|website=www.oxforddnb.com|year=2018 |language=en|doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.106220|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8 |access-date=2019-10-04|last1=Baxter |first1=Keith }} She attended the London Academy of Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), meeting Richard Burton during the filming of The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949). After their marriage, she retired from acting, performing only a few times, and generally on stage rather than on film. The marriage ended famously in 1963, when Burton began an affair with Elizabeth Taylor. She divorced Burton in 1963 on grounds of "abandonment and cruel and inhumane treatment",Michael Coveney, [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/mar/11/sybil-christopher "Sybil Christopher Obituary"], London Guardian, 11 March 2013. receiving a $1 million settlement and custody of their children.Mike Barnes, [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sybil-christopher-wife-richard-burton-dies-427313 "Sybil Christopher, First Wife of Richard Burton, Dies at 83"], The Hollywood Reporter, 11 March 2013.

In 1965, Burton founded a nightclub in Manhattan at 154 East 54th Street, the site of El Morocco; numerous celebrities and well-known artists contributed, including Julie Andrews, Leonard Bernstein, Roddy McDowall, and Stephen Sondheim. "Arthur", as the club was known, (the precursor to Studio 54) became a popular nightclub for celebrities during its short tenure (1965–69). Frequent habitués included Truman Capote, Wilt Chamberlain, Roger Daltrey, Princess Margaret, Rudolf Nureyev, Lee Remick, Andy Warhol, Angela Lansbury and Tennessee Williams. D.J. Terry Noel claimed to have invented "mixing" in the club, layering music from two separate turntables.

Christopher then returned to theatre, founding the New Theatre on 54th Street in New York, and Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor in 1991.

Family

Christopher had two daughters with Richard Burton, Katherine "Kate" Burton (b. 10 September 1957) and Jessica Burton (b. 1959).Burton, Richard (2012). Chris Williams. ed. The Richard Burton Diaries. Yale University Press. {{ISBN|9780300192315}}. Page 70. In 1965 in Manhattan, New York City she married Jordan Christopher, a singer and actor, and the couple raised his daughter and had another child, Amy Christopher (b. May 1967).[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1067697/ "Sybil Williams"], IMDB (last visited 11 March 2013).

Notes

{{note|1}} According to The New York Times, Sybil Christopher died on Thursday previous to the article's publication, meaning 7 March. However, The Hollywood Reporter and The London Guardian reports she died on 9 March.