'New lens on legend' for Burton centenary

THERE must be something in the air in Port Talbot. The town and its environs have spawned a number of actors over the years, including Rob Brydon, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Michael Sheen. But arguably the most notable local boy of all is Richard Burton.

- SARAH MORGAN

He was born in nearby Pontrhydyfen on November 10, 1925.

To celebrate next Monday's centenary of his birth, the BBC is devoting screen time to various films and programmes involving the thespian who received seven Oscar nominations, but missed out on winning the golden statuette each time.

Perhaps the key entry in the short season in Burton's honour is Wild Genius, a newly-commissioned documentary exploring the real man behind the public image.

Burton was the 12th of 13 children born to Edith and Richard Jenkins Sr; his mother died when he was still a toddler, six days after his brother Graham's birth. As Richard Sr, known more widely as Dic, was a heavy drinker seemingly incapable of raising his youngest children, Richard Jr lived with his grownup sister Cis and her husband Elfed.