Richard Burton's ex, theater producer, dies at 83

Celebrity March 12, 2013

Richard Burton's ex, theater producer, dies at 83

Photo: AP Sybil Williams Burton and her husband, actor Richard Burton, pose for a photo at Victoria Station in London shortly before sailing to New York on the Queen Mary. Richard Burton left Sybil for Elizabeth Taylor in 1963. She went on to become a successful nightclub owner and theater producer, and married Jordan Christopher in 1966. The New York Times has reported that Sybil Christopher died Thursday, March 7, 2013 in New York City. She was 83.

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NEW YORK (AP) — The woman Richard Burton left to marry Elizabeth Taylor has died. Theater producer and nightclub founder Sybil Christopher was 83.

The Bay Street Theater on Long Island has posted an obituary for Christopher on its website. The New York Times has reported she died Thursday in New York City. The Welsh-born Christopher was Sybil Burton when Richard Burton, her first husband, left her for Taylor in 1963.

She left California for New York where she opened a nightclub in 1965 with backing from famous friends like Julie Andrews and Leonard Bernstein. The club, called Arthur, became a celebrity hangout and turned Christopher into a post-divorce success story.

She married Jordan Christopher, the lead singer of the club's house band, in 1966. Christopher founded the Bay Street Theater in 1991 with two partners and was its artistic director for 22 years. She is survived by three daughters, including actress Kate Burton.

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