Sybil Christopher (27 March 1929 – 7 March 2013) was a Welsh actress, theatre director, and founder of popular celebrity New York nightclub "Arthur". She first came into the public eye as the first wife of Richard Burton.

Biography

Sybil Williams was born on 27 March 1929, in Tylorstown, Mid Glamorgan. She attended the London Academy of Dramatic Arts (now LAMDA), meeting Richard Burton during the filming of The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949). After their marriage, she retired from acting, performing only a few times, and generally on stage rather than on film. The marriage ended famously in 1963, when Burton began a liaison with Elizabeth Taylor. She divorced Burton in 1963 on grounds of "abandonment and cruel and inhumane treatment", receiving a $1million settlement and custody of their children.

In 1965, Burton founded a nightclub in Manhattan at 154 East 54th Street, the site of "El Morocco"; numerous celebrities and well-known artists contributed, including Julie Andrews, Leonard Bernstein, Roddy McDowall, and Stephen Sondheim. "Arthur", as the club was known, (the precursor to Studio 54) became a popular nightclub for celebrities during its short tenure from 1965 to 1969. Frequent habitués included Truman Capote, Wilt Chamberlain, Roger Daltrey, Princess Margaret, Rudolph Nureyev, Lee Remick, Andy Warhol, Angela Lansbury and Tennessee Williams. D.J. Terry Noel claimed to have invented "mixing" in the club, layering music from two separate turntables.

Christopher then returned to theatre, founding the New Theatre on 54th Street in New York, and Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor in 1991.