sir richard burton was born in torquay, england. his father was irish and an officer in the british army. burton erroneously claimed he was born in hertfordshire in his autobiography.
shareI believe Burton was writing an autobiography before his death but, to my knowledge, it was never finished and so never published. Much of what he wrote was taken verbatum by his wife, Isabel, and used in her biography of her late husband. Am I wrong?
shareI always associate Torquay with Basil Fawlty and misadventures in tourist country. Perhaps Torquay's always held a Coney Island imagery for Brits, even back then, since Burton was such an egotistical macho Hemingway type, he'd be apt to dramatize his roots. I thought Patrick Bergin did a splendid job in showing that side of his personality. At any rate, this movie should be more programmed on cable instead of the likes of Marie Antoinette or Anne of a Thousand Days. Both the scenes in Africa and the Royal Society were awesome.