 Richard Burton (I) (qv)s adoptive father,  Philip Burton (I) (qv), had to intervene and help his son with his  interpretation of the melancholy Dane, as well as help other cast  members who were confused by director John Gielgud (qv)s  direction (or lack of it). Philip had been estranged from Richard  since the younger Burton left his wife and two daughters to hook up  with Elizabeth Taylor (I) (qv) on the set of Cleopatra  (1963)_ (qv). Though the two hadnt spoken since the breakup of  Richards marriage, Taylor called Philip and told him that Richard  was struggling under Gielguds direction. Four years earlier, Philip  had stepped in to help director Moss Hart (qv) with the direction  of the 1960 Broadway musical _Camelot (1967)_ (qv) after Hart had  had a heart