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A profile of
"Beauty & The Beast's"
'ELLIOT BURCH'
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Elliot Burch began life as Stanley 'Stosh' Kasmareck, son of a janitor of Polish descent (we don't know anything about his mother except that she died of cancer in the late 70's). Despairing of his life growing up in a poor neighbourhood of New York and fearing that he'd follow in his father's footsteps, a fierce determination to rise above his roots burned fiercely in young Stanley's heart. This determination was a double-edged sword; worried that his Polish background would be a hindrance to his plans, Stanley changed his name, something which angered his father beyond anything the young man could possibly have predicted. Incensed by what he saw as the ultimate betrayal by his son, Mr Kasmareck Snr. disowned 'Stosh', declaring him 'dead' in his eyes. We don't know how Elliot (as he was now called) reacted to such a radical act in those early days, but there is no doubt he was unprepared for his father's reaction, and the hurt at being disowned and eventually even blamed for his mother's death, wounded him deeply, as we discover in the episode "A Kingdom By the Sea"; in fact, it's in this episode that we learn more about Elliot than we ever have previously.
So, armed with his new name and fuelled by the anger and hurt caused by his father, Elliot climbed both the social and business ladders with a ruthless ambition and determination to be successful, and he did it. He became one of the richest and most influential property developers in New York, with additional business interests not just in America, but in other countries around the world.
The writers and producers of "Beauty and the Beast" were derelict in their character development of Elliot, since we never learned anything about his relationships with women, although we assume, given his money, power and physical appearance, that he is equally successful with 'the fair sex' as he is in business. It would, however, have been so much more interesting to know if he ever came close to marriage, before he met Catherine. He did tell us in 'Ozymandias' that he didn't have friends; that they had become 'inconvenient' at some point along the route to power. Before that particular episode he had seemed slick, polished, invulnerable even to emotion. He also appeared, to engage in business deals with individuals who were less than ethical, when it was financially advantageous to him, N.B. Something which is probably only known to followers/fans of "Beauty and the Beast" is that Edward Albert personally intervened in an early episode 'Siege' (his first appearance) to request the producers to a change a particular action his character was supposed take. In the original script, Elliot Burch was supposed to make a telephone call ordering the eviction of several elderly tenants from a building he planned to re-develop. Edward knew immediately that if this happened, his supposedly 'recurring' character was doomed. While reprehensible characters are often interesting and actors love to play them, the show already had Paracelsus in the world below, and would, later on, have the personification of evil, Gabriel, and Edward probably suspected another morally bankrupt character was superfluous to the series, particularly if there was no direct link to either Vincent or Catherine. He suggested that Elliot's lawyer made the call, thus ensuring he received the benefit of the doubt as far as his principles were concerned. This way, it was possible that Elliot was totally unaware of what his employees were doing in his name and therefore, not only would the character retain a modicum of credibility as an reputable businessman, but, most importantly, Edward would be able to continue in his role. Fortunately the producers agreed with him and he went on to appear in a further nine episodes.
In 'Ozymandias' we discovered that Elliot had fallen hopelessly in love with Catherine and wanted to marry her, but in the end he had to choose between her and his dream of building the biggest tower in New York City and he chose the tower, although ultimately he lost that too. You could be forgiven for thinking that Elliot was shallow and materialistic for choosing a personal achievement over love, but remember he also knew Catherine didn't truly love him. Whether his choice would have been the same if his feelings were wholeheartedly reciprocated, we shall never know.
As the show progressed and took on a darker, more violent tone with Catherine's abduction and subsequent murder, we saw Elliot evolve into a much more interesting character than he had ever previously been allowed to be. He became more and more emeshed in the search for her killer and particularly after his meeting with Vincent , began to realise not only that that someone extremely powerful was trying to orchestrate his professional downfall, but also that his life was in increasing danger. His empire began to crack; his business started losing a fortune and his board of directors and investors began to lose faith in him. The meeting with Vincent was a powerful moment in the show. Elliot had known there was someone else in Catherine's life; she had admitted it (albeit without saying the words) when they parted at the end of 'A Kingdom By The Sea', but coming face to face with him was something else; not just his unusual appearance but it was the final proof that Vincent really did exist and it forced him to accept that fact. After the initial shock, Elliot had subsequently found himself forming an strange alliance with the man Catherine had loved, when Vincent had asked for his help. He discovered he had to lie for Vincent; to protect him just like his own people had from the moment he'd been born.
In "A Kingdom by the Sea" , Vincent said of Elliot: "he has his own kind of nobility", and it wasn't really until the third season of the show that we were given the chance to see the truth of this perception. Elliot had every reason to hate Vincent; after all, if it wasn't for him, Catherine and Elliot would be married, although it's doubtful the marriage would have worked.
"Why should I help you?" he asks Vincent at their first meeting. Why indeed? But we know he will, and of course he does. Elliot is actually a sucker for a genuine plea for help; he could never refuse Catherine, however ungracious her requests ("Shades of Gray") and he doesn't refuse Vincent. Indeed, he puts himself in grave danger by doing so. When Vincent saves his life by killing the corrupt District Attorney, John Moreno, Elliot is framed for murder and, since he can't tell the truth about what really happened, he's arrested and spends the night in prison.
When a man is watching a life that he fought so hard to build, being taken away from him piece by piece in the most sinister and violent ways, he's going to listen to promises of renewed wealth and success even from the man he knows is responsible. When these promises are couched in threats to his life and accompanied by cruel reminders of how Elliot was always second-best in Catherine's eyes, is it really surprising that he was tempted to betray Vincent? His company was already lost; it's value on the stock exchange all but worthless. Now, he was literally fighting for his life, so he took the bait. In the end though, he couldn't go through with it. He knew Gabriel was going to have Vincent killed and, at the last minute, he sacrificed his own life to save the man who had taken away any chance he had with Catherine. It was an act of true nobility.
So what kind of man was Elliot Burch? A man like most others actually; good and bad. At the height of his success he was charming, generous, materialistic and happy to help out when he was needed, but as it turned out, when he was vulnerable and at the lowest point in his life he became kinder, more thoughtful and extremely courageous...and, as Vincent once remarked "with his own kind of nobility".
The End