Jump to content

Michael C. Burgess (editor)

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the poet and actor. For the politician, see Michael C. Burgess.
For other people named Michael Burgess, see Michael Burgess (disambiguation).
"Byronik" redirects here. For other uses, see Byronic hero.
Michael C. Burgess
Burgess in 2018
Born
Michael Charles Burgess

(1956-12-08) 8 December 1956 (age 68)
Bushey, Hertfordshire, U.K.
NationalityBritish
Other names
  • Michael Burgess
  • Mike Burgess
  • Byronik
  • Baron Husk
  • Burgess & Lane
Alma materLondon College of Communication
Occupations
  • Actor
  • editor
  • poet
  • activist
  • comedian
Years active1978–present
EmployerThe Star-News
OrganizationOutRage!
Known for
  • Journalism
  • Political activism
Notable credits
Movement
FatherGeoffrey Burgess
RelativesHannah Burgess (great-great-great-grandmother)
Co-Treasurer of OutRage!
In office
May 1990 – 4 September 1990
Editor of The Star-News
In office
29 March 2002 – 23 September 2004
Websitebyronik.com

Michael Charles Burgess (born 8 December 1956) is a British actor, poet, activist, comedian, and former editor of The Star-News who appeared in the films Friend of the World (2020), Hacksaw (2020), South of 8 (2016), and Twelve Views of Kensal House (1984). He helped assemble the Non-Stop Picket of South Africa House with the demand that Nelson Mandela be set free and is believed to be a descendant of Lord Byron.

Personal life

[edit]

Burgess was born to Geoffrey Burgess, an Oxford Times freelance writer and accountant at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He and his father became the topic of an article for The Daily Telegraph after Christina Hardyment read Byron's Children by Susan Normington. The Burgesses are presumed to be direct descendants of Lord Byron through Hannah Burgess, Byron's probable granddaughter and Geoffrey's great-great-grandmother. Hannah said she is the daughter of William Marshall, who claimed he was the illegitimate son of Byron.[1]

Career

[edit]

Anti-Apartheid Movement

[edit]
Main article: Anti-Apartheid Movement

In the 1980s, Burgess was a City Group committee member, later reading The Leninist and aiding The Non-Stop Picket of South Africa House that called for Nelson Mandela's release from prison.[1] He said the Picket became part of his daily routine and noticed early picketers lost their motivation and gave up.[2]

Stand-up comedy

[edit]

In 1986, Burgess did stand-up comedy as Baron Husk at Shepherd's Bush Pavilion with Ian Macpherson and Kevin Day,[3] and the Bearcat Club in Twickenham with Rory Bremner, Phil Cornwell, and Arnold Brown.[4] On October 19, 1991, he did a show at the Hackney Empire with Tommy Cockles, Hattie Hayridge, and Mark Steel.[5] In 1994 and 1995, Burgess had a duo residency for Upstairs at the Redan in Queensway, London with John Lane,[6] hosting for comedians like Shaun Pye as Burgess & Lane.[7]

1988–1990

[edit]

In 1988, Burgess interviewed several British black gay men and women in an article he wrote for The Voice.[8] He is a Brixton bedsit poet[1] and his verse, Blue Rhapsody, was published in Once I Was a Washing Machine by Ken Worpole in 1989.[9] Burgess talked about how difficult it is waiting for literature to be published for those that do not take up writing at a young age.[10] Another verse, The Victims, was published in the 1990 book The Cream of the Troubadour Poets by David Stuart Ryan.[11]

1990–2004

[edit]

Burgess and Steve Stannard were elected co-treasurers for OutRage! in May, 1990 when it became a not-for-profit organization.[12] Stannard was ousted on September 4.[13]

Burgess became the editor of The Star-News in California, United States on 29 March 2002.[14] In 2003, he wrote a column about Steve Padilla, quoting him from a Mid-Bayfront speech at San Diego Country Club.[15] Padilla claimed Burgess made wrong interpretations about his statement.[16][17] In 2004, Burgess gathered lawsuit information from City Council candidate Steve Castaneda who wanted legal action on his opponent, Dan Hom. After Burgess received hard copies of liens and court cases, his publisher told him to kill the story.[18] The next day, Burgess was removed from his duties as Editor.[19]

2004–2020

[edit]

From 2004 to 2011, Burgess performed in plays in San Diego County such as Arcadia, The Engagement of Marjorie and Hay Fever.[20][21][22] In 2015, he was editor and publisher for Damsels in Distress, Bailey Among The Angels and The Rican Eye Detective Agency by author Neil Raymond Ricco.[23][24][25] He acted in the films South of 8 (2016), Hacksaw (2020) and Friend of the World (2020).[26]

2023–present

[edit]

In 2023, Burgess posted on social media, "The very idea of human trials for Elon Musk's Neuralink chip is going to be a freak show that posterity will judge to be more horrific than the Holocaust."[27]

Filmography

[edit]
Feature films
Year Title Role Notes
1984 Twelve Views of Kensal House Self [28][29]
2016 South of 8 Johannes Koppel [26]
2020 Hacksaw — [26]
Friend of the World Berenger [26][30]
2022 Mike & Fred vs The Dead Grandpa Ben [26]
TBA Fruitful Mold Berenger by Brian Patrick Butler
Penance Detective Mason Brannigan
Short films and music videos
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Stones of Fire Lance Altman 48 Hour Film Project
2013 News Travels Fast Prof. Michael 48 Hour Film Project
RAVEN: The American Dream Reginald Grimes
2014 Albatross Boss cop 48 Hour Film Project
GunzXGreen – "Jungle Music" Evil white dude Music video
New Mexico – "Alpha Male" Dad Music video
2017 Insurance Jameson by Rob Padilla Jr.
2018 Last Vacation Ron

Stage credits

[edit]
Year Title Role Location Notes
1985 Two Stars for Comfort Mr. Joyce The Curtain Theatre, Aldgate by John Mortimer, Lansbury Players
2004 Hay Fever David Bliss OnStage Playhouse [20]
The Engagement of Marjorie Carl Driskle Lamplighters Community Theater, San Diego [21]
2005 Birthday Suite Dick OnStage Playhouse by Robin Hawdon, Aubrey Award nominee
2007 Arcadia Captain Brice Cygnet Theatre Company [22]
2011 The Cask of Amontillado Montressor Victory Theater, San Diego Both part of DangerHouse Productions' Fear, Beautiful Fear
Crime in the Madhouse Dr. Caldwell

Published works

[edit]
  • "Blue Rhapsody" Ken Worpole, Once I was a Washing Machine. Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers. 1989. p. 14. ISBN 0-906411-02-5
  • "The Victims" David Stuart Ryan, The Cream of the Troubadour Poets. Kozmik Press. June 30, 1990. ISBN 0-905116-194

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Hardyment, Christina (1995-06-29). "Byron's lost family: a poetic mystery". The Daily Telegraph. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-08-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Brown, Gavin; Yaffe, Helen (2017-10-16). Youth Activism and Solidarity: The non-stop picket against Apartheid (1st ed.). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781138828865 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "Conkers Cabaret". Acton Gazette. 1986-04-04. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-04-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Baron act leaves crowd cold". Horncastle Target. 1986-01-09. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-04-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Hackney Empire". The Guardian. 1991-10-19. p. 92. Retrieved 2025-04-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Comedy Choice". The Guardian. 1994-12-17. p. 140. Retrieved 2025-04-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Upstairs at the Redan". The Independent. 1995-05-26. p. 53. Retrieved 2025-04-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Burgess, Michael (1988-01-19). "Why We're Proud to be Gay". The Voice. p. 19.
  9. ^ Worpole, Ken (1989). Once I was a Washing Machine. Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers. p. 14. ISBN 0-906411-02-5.
  10. ^ 'Once I was a Washing Machine'. London: Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!. 1989. p. 14. ISSN 0143-5426 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ^ Ryan, David Stuart (1990-06-30). The Cream of the Troubadour Poets. Kozmik Press Centre. ISBN 0-905116-194.
  12. ^ Lucas, Ian (1998). OutRage!: An Oral History. London: Cassell & Co. p. 22. ISBN 9780304333578 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ "OutRage!: An Oral History | OutRage!". 1999-02-06. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  14. ^ "Let's get fiscal". The Star-News. 2002-03-29. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  15. ^ Burgess, Michael C. (2003-02-14). "Mid-Bayfront may be Padilla's legacy". The Star-News. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  16. ^ Mallgren, Laura (2003-02-21). "Chula Vista mayor disowns country club quotes". The Star-News. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  17. ^ Mallgren, Laura (2003-02-21). "Chula Vista mayor disowns country club quotes". The Star-News. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  18. ^ Oakes, Amy (2004-09-22). "Financial dealings spotlighted in race". The San Diego Union Tribune. p. B-10:1. ProQuest 272353912. Retrieved 2023-08-26 – via ProQuest.
  19. ^ "SOUTH COUNTY OPINION | LETTERS". The San Diego Union Tribune (6th ed.). 2004-09-30. p. B-13. ProQuest 272372291. Retrieved 2023-08-26 – via ProQuest.
  20. ^ a b Dupuis, Kelley (2004-05-28). "Noel Coward comedy a hit at OnStage". The Star-News. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  21. ^ a b Saenger, Diana (2004-12-15). "'The Engagement of Marjorie' winsome and fun". East County Gazette. p. 18.
  22. ^ a b Welsh, Anne Marie (2007). "Cygnet's revival of Stoppard classic combines wit, warmth". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on 2010-09-19 – via Cygnet Theatre Company.
  23. ^ Ricco, Neil Raymond (November 21, 2015). Burgess, Michael (ed.). Damsels in Distress. Byronik. ASIN B018DBXEB4.
  24. ^ Ricco, Neil Raymond (2015). Burgess, Michael (ed.). Bailey Among The Angels. San Diego, California: Byronik. ASIN B01A2NGDBE.
  25. ^ Ricco, Neil Raymond (2015). Burgess, Michael (ed.). The Rican Eye Detective Agency. San Diego, California: Byronik. ASIN B019R5RYKC.
  26. ^ a b c d e "Michael C. Burgess - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  27. ^ Khan, Nilofer (2023-10-17). "Neuralink: Elon Musk's human-AI merger is an Orwellian nightmare. Here's why you should care". Mashable ME. Archived from the original on 2023-10-22. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
  28. ^ "12 Views of Kensal House". BFI Southbank Programme Notes. 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  29. ^ "Michael Burgess | BFI". British Film Institute. 2023-08-29. Archived from the original on 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  30. ^ Noonan, John (2023-04-21). "Friend of the World". FilmInk. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Michael_C._Burgess_(editor)&oldid=1284339327"