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

Personal life 
Burgess was born to Geoffrey Burgess, an Oxford Times freelance writer. 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.

In the 1980s, Burgess aided The Non-Stop Picket of South Africa House that called for Nelson Mandela's release from prison. He described how the Picket became part of his daily routine and that he noticed early picketers lost their motivation and gave up.

Career 
Burgess is a Brixton bedsit poet and his verse, Blue Rhapsody, was published in Once I Was a Washing Machine. He talked about how difficult it is waiting for literature to be published for those that do not take up writing at a young age. Another verse, The Victims, was published in The Cream of the Troubadour Poets by David Stuart Ryan.

Burgess was elected co-treasurer for OutRage! when it became a not-for-profit organization. In 1988, he interviewed several British black gay men and women in an article he wrote for The Voice.

Burgess became Editor of The Star-News in 2002. In 2003, he wrote a column about Steve Padilla, quoting him from a Mid-Bayfront speech at the San Diego Country Club. Padilla claimed Burgess made wrong interpretations about his statement. 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. The next day, Burgess was removed from his duties as Editor.

Filmography

Stage credits

References

External links 

 Michael C. Burgess at About the Artists
 
 
 
 The Engagement of Marjorie review at East County Gazette
 Birthday Suite review at TotalTheater.com
 Hacksaw review at Dark Discussions
 Official site - actor resume

1956 births
Living people
20th-century British poets
21st-century British poets
21st-century British actors
Anti-apartheid activists
British LGBT rights activists
British male film actors
British male poets
British male stage actors
British newspaper editors
British political activists
Editors of California newspapers
Lord Byron
People from Bushey
Male actors from San Diego
Poets from California
Activists from California