Richard Burton

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

118

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

  • Great Performances

    Great Performances

  • Bambi

    Bambi

  • Spécial cinéma

    Spécial cinéma

  • The Robe

    The Robe

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • Here's Lucy

    Here's Lucy

  • Becket

    Becket

  • Dinah!

    Dinah!

  • Candy

    Candy

  • Boom!

    Boom!

  • Brief Encounter

    Brief Encounter

  • The Longest Day

    The Longest Day

  • Massacre in Rome

    Massacre in Rome

  • Villain

    Villain

  • Doctor Faustus

    Doctor Faustus

  • Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

  • Staircase

    Staircase

  • The Wild Geese

    The Wild Geese

  • Wuthering Heights

    Wuthering Heights

  • Cleopatra

    Cleopatra

  • Entertainment Tonight

    Entertainment Tonight

  • Guilty Rebel

    Guilty Rebel

  • Equus

    Equus

  • The American Film Institute Salute to ...

    The American Film Institute Salute to ...

  • Bluebeard

    Bluebeard

  • Thursday's Children

    Thursday's Children

  • The Comedians

    The Comedians

  • Borrowed Pasture

    Borrowed Pasture

  • The Violent Universe

    The Violent Universe

  • Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare

  • Nineteen Eighty-Four

    Nineteen Eighty-Four

  • Under Milk Wood

    Under Milk Wood

  • My Cousin Rachel

    My Cousin Rachel

  • Divorce His, Divorce Hers

    Divorce His, Divorce Hers

  • Talking Pictures

    Talking Pictures

  • The Voyage

    The Voyage

  • Lovespell

    Lovespell

  • Film '72

    Film '72

  • The Rains of Ranchipur

    The Rains of Ranchipur

  • Under Milk Wood

    Under Milk Wood

  • Prince of Players

    Prince of Players

  • Exorcist II: The Heretic

    Exorcist II: The Heretic

  • The Big Sur

    The Big Sur

  • To Be Hamlet

    To Be Hamlet

  • Zulu

    Zulu

  • A Subject of Scandal and Concern

    A Subject of Scandal and Concern

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Wagner

    Wagner

  • Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

  • The Taming of the Shrew

    The Taming of the Shrew

  • Alexander the Great

    Alexander the Great

  • Anne of the Thousand Days

    Anne of the Thousand Days

  • The Assassination of Trotsky

    The Assassination of Trotsky

  • Waterfront

    Waterfront

  • The Sandpiper

    The Sandpiper

  • Ellis Island

    Ellis Island

  • The Night of the Iguana

    The Night of the Iguana

  • What's New Pussycat?

    What's New Pussycat?

  • The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

    The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

  • The Medusa Touch

    The Medusa Touch

  • Absolution

    Absolution

  • March to Aldermaston

    March to Aldermaston

  • Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes

    Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes

  • The V.I.P.s

    The V.I.P.s

  • The Battle of Sutjeska

    The Battle of Sutjeska

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

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

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

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

  • Sphinx – Secrets of the History

    Sphinx – Secrets of the History

  • Look Back in Anger

    Look Back in Anger

  • The Klansman

    The Klansman

  • Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years

    Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years

  • The Desert Rats

    The Desert Rats

  • Raid on Rommel

    Raid on Rommel

  • Richard Burton: Wild Genius

    Richard Burton: Wild Genius

  • Mooch Goes to Hollywood

    Mooch Goes to Hollywood

  • The Bramble Bush

    The Bramble Bush

  • The Man with No Name

    The Man with No Name

  • Breakthrough

    Breakthrough

  • Circle of Two

    Circle of Two

  • On the Trail of the Iguana

    On the Trail of the Iguana

  • Ice Palace

    Ice Palace

  • Bitter Victory

    Bitter Victory

  • The Gathering Storm

    The Gathering Storm

  • Hammersmith Is Out

    Hammersmith Is Out

  • The Comedians in Africa

    The Comedians in Africa

  • Mystery of the Sacred Shroud

    Mystery of the Sacred Shroud

  • All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra

    All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra

  • In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton

    In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton

  • Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood

    Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood

  • On Location: Where Eagles Dare

    On Location: Where Eagles Dare

  • CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years

    CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years

  • Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1

    Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1

  • Julie Andrews Forever

    Julie Andrews Forever

  • A Statue for 'The Sandpiper'

    A Statue for 'The Sandpiper'

  • Lionpower from MGM

    Lionpower from MGM

  • 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

  • Paris Hilton, Inc.

    Paris Hilton, Inc.

  • Now Barabbas

    Now Barabbas

  • The Tempest

    The Tempest

  • A Wall in Jerusalem

    A Wall in Jerusalem

  • The Woman with No Name

    The Woman with No Name

  • Green Grow the Rushes

    Green Grow the Rushes

  • Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese

    Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese

  • The Fifth Column

    The Fifth Column

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

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

  • Sea Wife

    Sea Wife

  • Robert Kennedy Remembered

    Robert Kennedy Remembered

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

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

  • Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton

    Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton

  • The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe

    The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe

  • For Florence

    For Florence

  • The Last Days of Dolwyn

    The Last Days of Dolwyn

  • To the Ends of the Earth

    To the Ends of the Earth

  • A Tribute to Dylan Thomas

    A Tribute to Dylan Thomas

  • I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind

    I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind