Richard Burton
Biography
Richard Burton CBE (born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable performance of Hamlet in 1964. He was called "the natural successor to Olivier" by critic Kenneth Tynan. A heavy drinker, Burton's perceived failure to live up to those expectations disappointed some critics and colleagues and added to his image as a great performer who had wasted his talent. Nevertheless, he is widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation. Burton was nominated for an Academy Award seven times, but never won an Oscar. He was a recipient of BAFTAs, Golden Globes, and Tony Awards for Best Actor. In the mid-1960s, Burton ascended into the ranks of the top box office stars. By the late 1960s, Burton was one of the highest-paid actors in the world, receiving fees of $1 million or more plus a share of the gross receipts. Burton remained closely associated in the public consciousness with his second wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor. The couple's turbulent relationship, in which they were married twice and divorced twice, was rarely out of the news.
Known For
George
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Self (archive footage)
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
Self
To Be Hamlet
Man In Strip Club
What's New Pussycat?
Leon Trotsky
L'Assassinat de Trotsky
Sergeant Steiner
Steiner - Das Eiserne Kreuz Teil II
Vic Dakin
Villain
King Henry VIII
Anne of the Thousand Days
John Morlar
The Medusa Touch
Self (archive footage)
Julie Andrews, la mélodie d’une vie
Petruchio
The Taming of the Shrew
Flying Officer David Campbell
The Longest Day
O'Brien
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Baron von Sepper
Bluebeard
Alec Leamas
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts
The Desert Rats
Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon
The Night of the Iguana
Alexander
Alexander the Great
Martin Dysart
Equus
Paul Andros
The V.I.P.s
SS-Obersturmbannführer Herbert Kappler
Rappresaglia
First Man
Under Milk Wood
Thomas Becket
Becket
George Herbert, The Journalist (archive sound)
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live
MacPhisto
Candy
Zeb Kennedy
Ice Palace
Dr. Major Rama Safti
The Rains of Ranchipur
Capt. Leith
Bitter Victory
Jimmy Porter
Look Back in Anger
Capt. Alex Foster
Raid on Rommel
Chris Flanders
Boom!
Hammersmith
Hammersmith Is Out
Philip Ashley
My Cousin Rachel
Father Goddard
Absolution
Brown
The Comedians
Breck Stancill
The Klansman
Doctor Faustus
Doctor Faustus
Edward Hewitt
The Sandpiper
Harry Leeds
Staircase
Biscuit
Sea Wife
Ashley St. Clair
Circle of Two
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
Ben Satterthwaite
Waterfront
Hamlet
Hamlet from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Self (archive footage)
Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
King Mark of Cornwall
Lovespell
Winston Churchill
The Gathering Storm
Josip Broz Tito
Sutjeska
Caliban
The Tempest
Cesare Braggi
Il viaggio
Alec Harvey
Brief Encounter
Gareth
The Last Days of Dolwyn
Malcolm Lowry (voice)
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry
Paddy
Now Barabbas
Nick Chamerd
The Woman with No Name
Robert 'Bob' Hammond
Green Grow the Rushes
Dr. Guy Montford
The Bramble Bush
The Fifth Column
Edwin Booth
Prince of Players
Father Philip Lamont
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Marcus Antonius
Cleopatra
Maj. Smith
Where Eagles Dare
Self
A Tribute to Dylan Thomas
George Holyoake
A Subject of Scandal and Concern
Self (archive footage)
Paris Hilton, Inc.
Narrator (voice)
Thursday's Children
White Knight
Alice in Wonderland
Self
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years
Marcellus Gallio
The Robe
Col. Allen Faulkner
The Wild Geese
Self
All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra
Narrator
To the Ends of the Earth
Narrator (English version) (voice)
Un mur à Jérusalem
Self
The Man with No Name
Narration spoken (voice)
Zulu
First Voice (voice) (archive sound)
Under Milk Wood
Self - Interviewee
Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton
Self / Narrator
The Big Sur
Self (uncredited)
The Comedians in Africa
Self
On the Trail of the Iguana
Self
A Statue for 'The Sandpiper'
Self - Narrator
Per Firenze
Self / Arthur
The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe
Narrator (voice)
March to Aldermaston
Heathcliff
Wuthering Heights
Self
Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese
Self
On Location: Where Eagles Dare
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Mooch Goes to Hollywood
Self - Narrator
Borrowed Pasture
Narrator - Verse Spoken
The Violent Universe
Self (Archive Footage)
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
Self (archive footage)
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
Self - Narrator (voice)
I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind
Lionpower from MGM
Narrator (archive footage)
Guilty Rebel
Self - Narrator
Mystery of the Sacred Shroud
Self (archive footage)
Richard Burton: Wild Genius
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
98
Gender
Male
Birthday
1925-11-10
Place of Birth
Pontrhydyfen, Wales, UK
Also Known As
Dick Burton