Sybil Christopher (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Williams; 27 March 1929 – 7 March 2013), formerly known as Sybil Burton, was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

actress, theatre director, and founder of popular celebrity New York nightclub "Arthur".Paul Vitello
"Sybil Christopher, Actress and Nightclub Founder, Dies at 83"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 12 March 2013. She came into the public eye as the first wife of Richard Burton.

Biography

Sybil Williams was born on 27 March 1929, in Tylorstown, Mid Glamorgan. She attended the London Academy of Dramatic Arts (now

LAMDA LaMDA, which stands for Language Model for Dialogue Applications, is a family of conversational neural language models developed by Google. The first generation was announced during the 2021 Google I/O keynote, while the second generation was ...

), 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 a liaison with Elizabeth Taylor. She divorced Burton in 1963 on grounds of "abandonment and cruel and inhumane treatment",Michael Coveney
"Sybil Christopher Obituary"
''London Guardian'', 11 March 2013. receiving a $1 million settlement and custody of their children.Mike Barnes
"Sybil Christopher, First Wife of Richard Burton, Dies at 83"
''The Hollywood Reporter'', 11 March 2013. In 1965, Burton founded a

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gen ...

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 Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

, and

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

. " Arthur", as the club was known, (the precursor to

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater w ...

) became a popular nightclub for celebrities during its short tenure (1965–69). Frequent habitués included Truman Capote, Wilt Chamberlain,

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled ...

, Princess Margaret, Rudolph Nureyev,

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

and Tennessee Williams.

D.J. A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

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 54th Street is a two-mile-long (3.2 km), one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan. Notable places, west to east Twelfth Avenue *The route begins at Twelfth Avenue (New York Route 9A). Opposite the intersection is the Ne ...

in New York, and Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor in 1991.

Family

Christopher had two daughters with Richard Burton, Katherine "Kate" Burton (born 10 September 1957) and Jessica Burton (born 1959). 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 (born May 1967)."Sybil Williams"
IMDB (last visited 11 March 2013).

Notes

# According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Sybil Christopher died on Thursday previous to the article's publication, meaning March 7. However, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' and '' The London Guardian'' reports she died on March 9.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christopher, Sybil 1929 births 2013 deaths British expatriate actresses in the United States American theatre managers and producers Nightclub owners Welsh film actresses Welsh stage actresses People from Tylorstown Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Place of death missing 20th-century Welsh actresses

Biography

Family

Notes

References

Further reading

External links