Richard Burton 1977 Interview.... re: Burton's Alcoholism....
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EnglishVoice Age
Senior (55+)Accents
British (General) WelshTranscript
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Richard Burton and I read in the papers a couple of years or so ago, you had a drink problem. Your career was somewhat slipping, but now everything is going fine for you. But is that so? And if not, why? Yes, we'll want to have a drink problem. They always have one, once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic, but I'm not quite sure whether I am or not, but I think I'm within striking distance of being one. But certainly I've stopped drinking. I decided that I would discipline myself and at least show the people who are concerned in my business that I actually wasn't the falling down drunk. I decided to go back on the stage and very luckily for me, Tony Perkins was doing equities in New York on his contract was coming to an end. So when stood of going through the labour of rehearsals, Now long tour out of town or to New York or London know wherever you are. I was able to step straight into the slot that he left, and I was on for about three months, and I'd stop drinking sometime before, but I was still unsure as to whether I'd make it on the stage because I hadn't bean on the state for the last 12 years. The last job being Hamlet on DH correspondingly younger. I was rather apprehensive, and I literally counted the number of performances that we had after opening night, which was a great success, and everyone was flattering on DH. Then I did film. There was not very good on DH. Then I did the film of Equus, which is very good. But you say just now you don't think you're a new alcoholic. I read in the papers you said your own three bottles of the hard stuff and one doctor said, If you go on like this, you've got two weeks to live, so you must have been very bad. Oh, yes, yes. I was into my third bottle for the day. So a friend of my total man being into my third bottle, I wasn't aware that I was in towards my friend told me and I was so much surprised at this same friend said, Would you have a blood test and they took a blood trust and of course I was X. It was anonymous in the blood test And they said, if this person keeps on and of course, they've written in account of what? My behaviour wiles. If he goes on as he used, then he'll have approximately two weeks to live, which I found very, very intriguing. I was so slosh when they told me anyway.