Richard Burton

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

119

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

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Tony Awards

    Tony Awards

  • Bambi

    Bambi

  • Spécial cinéma

    Spécial cinéma

  • Here's Lucy

    Here's Lucy

  • Dinah!

    Dinah!

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • Entertainment Tonight

    Entertainment Tonight

  • Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare

  • Exorcist II: The Heretic

    Exorcist II: The Heretic

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

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

  • Breakthrough

    Breakthrough

  • Nineteen Eighty-Four

    Nineteen Eighty-Four

  • In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton

    In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton

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

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

  • The Rains of Ranchipur

    The Rains of Ranchipur

  • CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years

    CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years

  • Cleopatra

    Cleopatra

  • The American Film Institute Salute to ...

    The American Film Institute Salute to ...

  • All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra

    All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra

  • The Longest Day

    The Longest Day

  • Raid on Rommel

    Raid on Rommel

  • My Cousin Rachel

    My Cousin Rachel

  • The Medusa Touch

    The Medusa Touch

  • Zulu

    Zulu

  • 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

  • The Robe

    The Robe

  • To the Ends of the Earth

    To the Ends of the Earth

  • Waterfront

    Waterfront

  • Paris Hilton, Inc.

    Paris Hilton, Inc.

  • The Sandpiper

    The Sandpiper

  • The Tempest

    The Tempest

  • The Night of the Iguana

    The Night of the Iguana

  • Circle of Two

    Circle of Two

  • A Wall in Jerusalem

    A Wall in Jerusalem

  • Thursday's Children

    Thursday's Children

  • The Desert Rats

    The Desert Rats

  • Talking Pictures

    Talking Pictures

  • To Be Hamlet

    To Be Hamlet

  • On Location: Where Eagles Dare

    On Location: Where Eagles Dare

  • Hammersmith Is Out

    Hammersmith Is Out

  • Mooch Goes to Hollywood

    Mooch Goes to Hollywood

  • Hamlet from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

    Hamlet from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

  • Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

  • Candy

    Candy

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

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

  • Becket

    Becket

  • The Klansman

    The Klansman

  • Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1

    Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • Hallmark Hall of Fame

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

  • The Wild Geese

    The Wild Geese

  • Villain

    Villain

  • Equus

    Equus

  • Bluebeard

    Bluebeard

  • Boom!

    Boom!

  • The Taming of the Shrew

    The Taming of the Shrew

  • Now Barabbas

    Now Barabbas

  • Ellis Island

    Ellis Island

  • The Comedians

    The Comedians

  • March to Aldermaston

    March to Aldermaston

  • The Last Days of Dolwyn

    The Last Days of Dolwyn

  • Staircase

    Staircase

  • Wuthering Heights

    Wuthering Heights

  • Massacre in Rome

    Massacre in Rome

  • Doctor Faustus

    Doctor Faustus

  • Bitter Victory

    Bitter Victory

  • Brief Encounter

    Brief Encounter

  • Ice Palace

    Ice Palace

  • The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

    The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

  • Alexander the Great

    Alexander the Great

  • Divorce His, Divorce Hers

    Divorce His, Divorce Hers

  • Wagner

    Wagner

  • The Violent Universe

    The Violent Universe

  • The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe

    The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe

  • Anne of the Thousand Days

    Anne of the Thousand Days

  • The Assassination of Trotsky

    The Assassination of Trotsky

  • Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

  • The Voyage

    The Voyage

  • Prince of Players

    Prince of Players

  • Sea Wife

    Sea Wife

  • Julie Andrews Forever

    Julie Andrews Forever

  • Under Milk Wood

    Under Milk Wood

  • What's New Pussycat?

    What's New Pussycat?

  • The Man with No Name

    The Man with No Name

  • The V.I.P.s

    The V.I.P.s

  • The Battle of Sutjeska

    The Battle of Sutjeska

  • I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind

    I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind

  • Sphinx – Secrets of the History

    Sphinx – Secrets of the History

  • Absolution

    Absolution

  • Under Milk Wood

    Under Milk Wood

  • The Bramble Bush

    The Bramble Bush

  • Green Grow the Rushes

    Green Grow the Rushes

  • Guilty Rebel

    Guilty Rebel

  • On the Trail of the Iguana

    On the Trail of the Iguana

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

    John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick

  • Borrowed Pasture

    Borrowed Pasture

  • Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years

    Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years

  • Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton

    Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton

  • Lovespell

    Lovespell

  • The Woman with No Name

    The Woman with No Name

  • A Statue for 'The Sandpiper'

    A Statue for 'The Sandpiper'

  • Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood

    Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood

  • A Subject of Scandal and Concern

    A Subject of Scandal and Concern

  • For Florence

    For Florence

  • The Big Sur

    The Big Sur

  • Look Back in Anger

    Look Back in Anger

  • Lionpower from MGM

    Lionpower from MGM

  • The Comedians in Africa

    The Comedians in Africa

  • The Gathering Storm

    The Gathering Storm

  • A Tribute to Dylan Thomas

    A Tribute to Dylan Thomas

  • Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese

    Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese

  • Mystery of the Sacred Shroud

    Mystery of the Sacred Shroud