Richard Burton

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

122

Gender

Male

Birthday

1925-11-10

Day of death

1984-08-05 (58 years old)

Place of Birth

Pontrhydyfen, Wales, UK

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

  • Bambi

    Bambi

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Great Performances

    Great Performances

  • Dinah!

    Dinah!

  • Spécial cinéma

    Spécial cinéma

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There

    Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There

  • Here's Lucy

    Here's Lucy

  • Cleopatra

    Cleopatra

  • All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra

    All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra

  • Entertainment Tonight

    Entertainment Tonight

  • The Robe

    The Robe

  • Bluebeard

    Bluebeard

  • Ice Palace

    Ice Palace

  • Zulu

    Zulu

  • Sea Wife

    Sea Wife

  • Nineteen Eighty-Four

    Nineteen Eighty-Four

  • Bitter Victory

    Bitter Victory

  • The Klansman

    The Klansman

  • The Longest Day

    The Longest Day

  • The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

    The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

  • Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC

    Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC

  • The Tempest

    The Tempest

  • Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare

  • Candy

    Candy

  • Massacre in Rome

    Massacre in Rome

  • Doctor Faustus

    Doctor Faustus

  • The Sandpiper

    The Sandpiper

  • Boom!

    Boom!

  • Exorcist II: The Heretic

    Exorcist II: The Heretic

  • Becket

    Becket

  • Brief Encounter

    Brief Encounter

  • The Comedians

    The Comedians

  • Villain

    Villain

  • Waterfront

    Waterfront

  • Wuthering Heights

    Wuthering Heights

  • Equus

    Equus

  • Now Barabbas

    Now Barabbas

  • Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

  • The Wild Geese

    The Wild Geese

  • The American Film Institute Salute to ...

    The American Film Institute Salute to ...

  • Guilty Rebel

    Guilty Rebel

  • Alexander the Great

    Alexander the Great

  • Film '72

    Film '72

  • Talking Pictures

    Talking Pictures

  • Look Back in Anger

    Look Back in Anger

  • Staircase

    Staircase

  • The Fifth Column

    The Fifth Column

  • The Taming of the Shrew

    The Taming of the Shrew

  • Lovespell

    Lovespell

  • The Rains of Ranchipur

    The Rains of Ranchipur

  • For Florence

    For Florence

  • My Cousin Rachel

    My Cousin Rachel

  • The Last Days of Dolwyn

    The Last Days of Dolwyn

  • To the Ends of the Earth

    To the Ends of the Earth

  • On the Trail of the Iguana

    On the Trail of the Iguana

  • The Desert Rats

    The Desert Rats

  • In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton

    In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton

  • Circle of Two

    Circle of Two

  • The Night of the Iguana

    The Night of the Iguana

  • Borrowed Pasture

    Borrowed Pasture

  • The Medusa Touch

    The Medusa Touch

  • Raid on Rommel

    Raid on Rommel

  • A Statue for 'The Sandpiper'

    A Statue for 'The Sandpiper'

  • Anne of the Thousand Days

    Anne of the Thousand Days

  • Richard Burton: Wild Genius

    Richard Burton: Wild Genius

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Absolution

    Absolution

  • The V.I.P.s

    The V.I.P.s

  • Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live

    Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live

  • Breakthrough

    Breakthrough

  • What's New Pussycat?

    What's New Pussycat?

  • A Wall in Jerusalem

    A Wall in Jerusalem

  • The Battle of Sutjeska

    The Battle of Sutjeska

  • Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry

    Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry

  • Under Milk Wood

    Under Milk Wood

  • The Man with No Name

    The Man with No Name

  • Julie Andrews Forever

    Julie Andrews Forever

  • Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

  • The Assassination of Trotsky

    The Assassination of Trotsky

  • The Voyage

    The Voyage

  • Prince of Players

    Prince of Players

  • Wagner

    Wagner

  • Mooch Goes to Hollywood

    Mooch Goes to Hollywood

  • Paris Hilton, Inc.

    Paris Hilton, Inc.

  • The Woman with No Name

    The Woman with No Name

  • John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick

    John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick

  • Hamlet from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

    Hamlet from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

  • A Subject of Scandal and Concern

    A Subject of Scandal and Concern

  • Hammersmith Is Out

    Hammersmith Is Out

  • CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years

    CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years

  • The Violent Universe

    The Violent Universe

  • Green Grow the Rushes

    Green Grow the Rushes

  • On Location: Where Eagles Dare

    On Location: Where Eagles Dare

  • Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton

    Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton

  • Under Milk Wood

    Under Milk Wood

  • Ellis Island

    Ellis Island

  • To Be Hamlet

    To Be Hamlet

  • Thursday's Children

    Thursday's Children

  • March to Aldermaston

    March to Aldermaston

  • The Big Sur

    The Big Sur

  • The Bramble Bush

    The Bramble Bush

  • Mystery of the Sacred Shroud

    Mystery of the Sacred Shroud

  • Divorce His, Divorce Hers

    Divorce His, Divorce Hers

  • I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind

    I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind

  • The Comedians in Africa

    The Comedians in Africa

  • Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years

    Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years

  • Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood

    Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood

  • Sphinx – Secrets of the History

    Sphinx – Secrets of the History

  • Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese

    Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese

  • The Gathering Storm

    The Gathering Storm

  • Lionpower from MGM

    Lionpower from MGM

  • The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe

    The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe

  • Robert Kennedy Remembered

    Robert Kennedy Remembered

  • Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1

    Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1

  • A Tribute to Dylan Thomas

    A Tribute to Dylan Thomas