Michael Charles Burgess (born 8 December 1956) is a British actor, poet, activist and former editor of ''

The Star-News ''Star-News'' is an American, English language daily newspaper for Wilmington, North Carolina, and its surrounding area (known as the Lower Cape Fear). It is North Carolina's oldest newspaper in continuous publication. It was owned by Halifax Me ...

'' who appeared in the films ''

Friend of the World ''Friend of the World'' is a 2020 American independent black-and-white film written and directed by Brian Patrick Butler in his feature film debut, starring Nick Young and Alexandra Slade. The surreal experimental film takes place post-apocaly ...

'' (2020), ''

Hacksaw A hacksaw is a fine-toothed saw, originally and mainly made for cutting metal. The equivalent saw for cutting wood is usually called a bow saw. Most hacksaws are hand saws with a C-shaped walking frame that holds a blade under tension. Su ...

'' (2020), ''

South of 8 ''South of 8'' is a 2016 American crime drama heist film written and directed by Tony Olmos in his directorial debut. The film stars Brian Patrick Butler, George Jac, Jennifer Paredes, Kathryn Schott, Raye Richards and won Best Dramatic Sc ...

'' (2016), and '' Twelve Views of Kensal House'' (1984). He helped assemble the Non-Stop Picket of

South Africa House South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

with the demand that

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

be set free and is believed to be a descendant of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

Personal life

Burgess was born to Geoffrey Burgess, an

Oxford Times Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

freelance writer and accountant at

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more forma ...

. He and his father became the topic of an article for

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

after

Christina Hardyment Christina Hardyment (born 1946) is a British writer who has written on a wide range of subjects including parenting, food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or funga ...

read '' Byron's Children'' by Susan Normington. The Burgesses are presumed to be direct descendants of Lord Byron through Hannah Burgess, Byron's probable granddaughter and Geoffrey's great-great-grandmother. Hannah said she is the daughter of William Marshall, who claimed he was the

illegitimate son Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

of Byron. In the 1980s, Burgess aided The Non-Stop Picket of

that called for

's release from prison. He described how the Picket became part of his daily routine and that he noticed early picketers lost their motivation and gave up.

Career

1988–1990

In 1988, Burgess interviewed several British black gay men and women in an article he wrote for ''

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''. He is a

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th centu ...

bedsit poet and his verse, ''Blue Rhapsody'', was published in ''Once I Was a Washing Machine'' in 1989. He talked about how difficult it is waiting for literature to be published for those that do not take up writing at a young age. Another verse, ''The Victims'', was published in the 1990 book ''The Cream of the Troubadour Poets'' by David Stuart Ryan.

1990–2004

Burgess and Steve Stannard were elected co-treasurers for

OutRage! OutRage! was a British political group focused on lesbian and gay rights. Founded in 1990, the organisation ran for 21 years until 2011. It described itself as "a broad based group of queers committed to radical, non-violent direct action an ...

in May, 1990 when it became a

not-for-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. Stannard was ousted on September 4. Burgess became the editor of ''

'' in California, United States on 29 March 2002. In 2003, he wrote a column about

Steve Padilla Stephen C. Padilla (born 1967) is an American politician, public policy, advocacy and communications consultant serving in the California State Senate since 2022. From 1994 to 2002, he served two terms on the city council of Chula Vista, Calif ...

, quoting him from a Mid-Bayfront speech at the

San Diego Country Club The San Diego Country Club is a private golf club in Chula Vista, California. The club, which features an 18-hole golf course with a par of 72, was founded in 1897. In addition to a golf course, the club also organizes special events such as wed ...

. Padilla claimed Burgess made wrong interpretations about his statement. In 2004, Burgess gathered lawsuit information from

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

candidate Steve Castaneda who wanted legal action on his opponent, Dan Hom. After Burgess received hard copies of liens and court cases, his publisher told him to kill the story. The next day, Burgess was removed from his duties as Editor.

2004–2020

From 2004 to 2011, Burgess performed in plays in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

such as ''Arcadia'', ''The Engagement of Marjorie'' and ''Hay Fever''. In 2015, he was editor and publisher for ''Bailey Among The Angels'' and ''The Rican Eye Detective Agency'' by author Neil Raymond Ricco. He acted in the films ''

'' (2016), ''Hacksaw'' (2020) and ''

'' (2020).

Filmography

Stage credits

References

External links

Michael C. Burgess
at About the Artists *

''Birthday Suite'' review at TotalTheater.com

''Hacksaw'' review at Dark Discussions

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Michael C. 1956 births Living people 20th-century British poets 21st-century British poets 21st-century British actors Anti-apartheid activists British LGBTQ rights activists British male film actors British male poets British male stage actors British newspaper editors British political activists Editors of California newspapers Lord Byron People from Bushey Male actors from San Diego Poets from California Activists from California Alumni of the London College of Communication 21st-century American newspaper editors People from Chula Vista, California British expatriate male actors in the United States British people of English descent