Through interviews with close friends and colleagues, a biography of the talented, charismatic British-Irish actor discusses his dislike of authority, what drove him to extremes, and why he drank so excessively for years.

Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole, and Oliver Reed: On screen they were stars, off screen they were legends. This is the story of drunken binges of near biblical proportions, parties and orgies, broken marriages, riots, and wanton sexual conquests--indeed, acts so outrageous that if ordinary mortals had perpetrated them they would have ended up in jail. They got away with the kind of behavior that today's film stars could scarcely dream of, because of their mercurial acting talent and because the press and public loved them. They were truly the last of a breed. This is a celebratory catalogue of their miscreant deeds, a greatest-hits package of their most breathtakingly outrageous behavior, told with humor and affection. You can't help but enjoy it--after all, they certainly did.--From publisher description.