Sybil Christopher
Welsh actress, theatre director and nightclub proprietor (1929–2013)
title: "Sybil Christopher" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1929-births", "2013-deaths", "20th-century-welsh-actresses", "actresses-from-rhondda-cynon-taf", "alumni-of-the-london-academy-of-music-and-dramatic-art", "american-theatre-managers-and-producers", "richard-burton", "nightclub-owners", "people-from-tylorstown", "place-of-death-missing", "welsh-expatriate-actresses-in-the-united-states", "welsh-film-actresses", "welsh-stage-actresses"] description: "Welsh actress, theatre director and nightclub proprietor (1929–2013)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Christopher" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Welsh actress, theatre director and nightclub proprietor (1929–2013) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Sybil Christopher |
| image | Sybil Burton Christopher.JPG |
| caption | Christopher in 1955 |
| birth_name | Sybil Williams |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Tylorstown, Mid Glamorgan, Wales |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| occupation | |
| alma_mater | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| years_active | 1946–2013 |
| spouse | {{plainlist |
| * {{marriage | Richard Burton |
| * {{marriage | Jordan Christopher |
| children | 3, including Kate Burton |
| relations | Michael Ritchie (son-in-law) |
| :: |
| name = Sybil Christopher | image = Sybil Burton Christopher.JPG | caption = Christopher in 1955 | birth_name = Sybil Williams | birth_date = | birth_place = Tylorstown, Mid Glamorgan, Wales | death_date = | death_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S. | death_cause = | occupation = | alma_mater = London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art | years_active = 1946–2013 | spouse = {{plainlist|
|children = 3, including Kate Burton | relations = Michael Ritchie (son-in-law) Sybil Christopher ( 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. 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, Wales in family David Williams and Mabel Airlys. 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", receiving a $1 million settlement and custody of their children.
In 1965, she 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.
She then returned to theatre, founding the New Theatre on 54th Street in New York, and Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor in 1991.
Family
She had two daughters with Richard Burton, Katherine "Kate" Burton (born 10 September 1957) and Jessica Burton (born 1959).
On June 13, 1965, in New York City, she married 24-year-old Jordan Christopher, a singer and actor, whom she met when his band the Wild Ones auditioned to play at Arthur. The couple raised his daughter from a previous marriage and they had a child together, Amy Christopher (born May 1967).
Notes
- 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.
References
References
- 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.
- [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]
- (2018). "Christopher [née Williams; first married name Burton], Sybil (1929–2013), actress".
- Michael Coveney, [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/mar/11/sybil-christopher "Sybil Christopher Obituary"], ''London Guardian'', 11 March 2013.
- 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.
- Burton, Richard (2012). Chris Williams. ed. ''The Richard Burton Diaries''. Yale University Press. {{ISBN. 9780300192315. Page 70.
- Teel, Leonard. (1965-06-24). "'Arthur' Changes Sybil's Life Into 'the Best Party Ever'". The Miami Herald.
- (1965-06-14). "Sybil Burton Weds". Chicago Tribune.
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