John Burgess (actor)
John Herman Louis Burgess (2 February 1933 – 15 November 2010)
Early life
Burgess was born John Herman Louis Bogush in Hampstead, north west London, the son of Edith Ferst and Bertram Bogush.[2][3] He had two younger siblings, Michael and Wendy. His paternal grandfather, Morris, who arrived in the UK from Poland at the turn of the 20th century, became a successful travelling jeweller. His maternal grandparents were Hungarian. Burgess was born Jewish but had no faith. He changed his name from Bogush to Burgess after becoming an actor, later explaining that "The principal of RADA tactfully suggested that a rather more English sounding name might be more suitable for the 'anyone for tennis' brand of plays then popular on the British repertory circuit."[3]
Burgess was educated at
Upon coming back to the UK, Burgess had to start from scratch. He initially lived with his brother Michael and his wife in Watford, where he worked in a meat factory. Moving closer to central London, he lived in a Belsize Park bedsit and worked as a uniformed chauffeur.[3]
Stage career
Burgess resumed his career in weekly rep at
Under
Screen career
Over a period of more than 30 years, from the mid-1970s onwards, Burgess could be seen regularly on British television. He appeared in many established shows, from
Burgess appeared in an iconic 1983
. He spent six years on the show, from 1992 to 1998, and received many plaudits for his performance. He also appeared in theLater career
In 2000, after almost a decade away from the theatre, Burgess returned to tread the boards again, and featured in Di Trevis's production of Death of a Salesman at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Thereafter, he was invited by Trevor Nunn, the then artistic director of the National Theatre, to join the company. At the National, Burgess played The Marqis de Norpois in Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. Trevis again directed and collaborated with Harold Pinter in adapting his screenplay for the stage.[10] For the National, Burgess also appeared in Humble Boy, The Alchemist, Luther, The Relapse, Romeo and Juliet and, notably, in Mike Leigh's much lauded Two Thousand Years.[11]
Activism
Burgess was a lifelong socialist and passionate about actors' rights, serving on the Equity council. He ran the successful campaign for his friend Harry Landis to become president of Equity. In 2002, he played an active role in preventing an "attempted coup" by a group of right wing actors who believed that "had been politicised by Labour members, to the disadvantage of ordinary performers." Burgess also gave his time to the Unity Theatre Trust, an organisation which took over the work of the left-wing Unity Theatre.[1]
Personal life, illness and death
Burgess was married four times. With his first wife, Lana Cyzer, whom he married in 1959, he had three sons, one of which is Andrew.[12] The marriage ended in divorce.
Burgess married Sylvia Findlay, who stayed on in Canada when he moved back to the UK. This marriage also ended in divorce.[1]
Burgess' third marriage was to actress Vivienne Martin, in 1976.
In September 1996, Burgess announced his fourth marriage, to Dorothy Macaulay, who worked in the hotel industry.[13] Their wedding was attended by members of the Brookside cast and covered by Hello! magazine.[14]
In later life Burgess was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he died from the disease, aged 77, two and a half years after diagnosis, on 15 November 2010.[15]
Partial filmography
- The Bitch (1979) as Jeweller (uncredited)
- The Dybbuk (Between Two Worlds) (1980) as Michael
- Together (TV – 1980–81) as Duggie Webber
- The Tragedy of Coriolanus (TV – 1984) as Sicinius
- Sakharov (TV – 1984)
- Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984) as Chauffeur
- Love's Labour's Lost (TV – 1985) as Sir Nathaniel
- Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (TV – 1989)
- Miss Firecracker (1989) as William
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead(1990) as Ambassador from England
- The Jazz Detective (TV – 1992) as Dr. Hunter
- Brookside (TV – 1992–1998) as David "Bing" Crosbie
- Catherine the Great (TV – 2005) as Voice of Narrator
- My Family (2005-2007) as Toy Boy, Brad
References
- ^ a b c d e Leigh, Mike (2 January 2011). "John Burgess obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Burgess, Harvey. "The Final Curtain – An Actor's Passing | John Burgess – Actor". Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ Morris, Sylvia (12 December 2011). "The Shakespeare Blog". The RSC’s golden years: Terry Hands and Alan Howard. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ Fischer, Philip (17 January 2016). "Othello". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ Somerville, Matthew (4 July 1977). "The Lorenzaccio Story". Theatricalia. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-19-860418-1.
- ^ Stoppard, Tom (Writer) (1998). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Film). United Kingdom: Cinecom Entertainment.
- ^ Webb, Peter (Director) (1984). Give My Regards to Broadstreet (Film). United Kingdom: 20th Century Fox.
- ^ "Remembrance of Things Past, Cottesloe Theatre, London, November 2000". haroldpinter.org. 17 January 2016. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ Spencer, Charles (16 September 2005). "Terrific - this is vintage Leigh". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ Hees, Grace. "Re-envisioning Mid-Century Modern". Tucson Lifestyle. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ HAGAN, ANGELA. "BROOKIE STAR TO WED WIFE No 4." Daily Mirror, The (London, England), September 23, 1996: 3. NewsBank: Access UK & Ireland. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=UKNB&docref=news/13979D79D2C61B48.
- ^ "Hello! magazine - John 'Bing' Burgess Wedding cover (11 January 1997 - Issue 440)". CrazyAboutMagazines. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ Leigh, Mike (2 January 2011). "John Burgess obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2021.