Burton

""He seems to own the stage by divine right,'' deemed the New York Times review when Burton re-created his role in the 1980 revival of Camelot, over 20 years after its sellout run on Broadway. Such quotes from critics, associates, friends and familyas well as detractorscolor Alpert's biography which otherwise covers facts well-known since Burton's affair with Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of Cleopatra and their on-again, off-again marriage. The author retells the story of Richard Walter Jenkins's emergence from childhood in a Welsh mining town to become a mesmerizing performer in theater and movies. The book details Burton's screen roles in the films he made ``for money,'' as well as his triumphs in Becket, Equus, etc. Alpert shows us a star with a formidable intellect and commanding presence, an omnivorous reader, a gifted writer and raconteur alongside the philanderer and drunk whose escapades were material for news media around the world. When Burton died at the age of 58 in 1984, he made headlines again, but this time by reason of the eulogies of those who loved and admired him. Photos not seen by PW. Paperback rights to Fawcett. February 14