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.
Acting (93 movies)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1966
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
1988
To Be Hamlet
1985
What's New Pussycat?
1965
The Assassination of Trotsky
1972
Breakthrough
1979
Villain
1971
Anne of the Thousand Days
1969
The Medusa Touch
1978
Julie Andrews Forever
2019
The Taming of the Shrew
1967
The Longest Day
1962
Nineteen Eighty-Four
1984
Bluebeard
1972
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
1965
The Desert Rats
1953
Alexander the Great
1956
The Night of the Iguana
1964
Equus
1977
The V.I.P.s
1963
Massacre in Rome
1973
Under Milk Wood
1972
Becket
1964
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live
2006
Candy
1968
Ice Palace
1960
The Rains of Ranchipur
1955
Bitter Victory
1957
Look Back in Anger
1959
Raid on Rommel
1971
Hammersmith Is Out
1972
Boom!
1968
My Cousin Rachel
1952
Absolution
1978
The Comedians
1967
The Klansman
1974
The Sandpiper
1965
Doctor Faustus
1967
Staircase
1969
Sea Wife
1957
Circle of Two
1981
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
1999
Waterfront
1950
Hamlet from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
1964
Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood
2001
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
1988
Lovespell
1981
The Gathering Storm
1974
The Battle of Sutjeska
1973
The Tempest
1960
The Voyage
1974
Brief Encounter
1976
The Last Days of Dolwyn
1949
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry
1976
Now Barabbas
1949
Green Grow the Rushes
1951
The Fifth Column
1960
The Bramble Bush
1960
Prince of Players
1955
Exorcist II: The Heretic
1977
Cleopatra
1963
Where Eagles Dare
1968
A Tribute to Dylan Thomas
1961
A Subject of Scandal and Concern
1960
Paris Hilton, Inc.
2009
Thursday's Children
1954
Alice in Wonderland
1983
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years
1976
The Robe
1953
The Wild Geese
1978
All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra
1983
To the Ends of the Earth
1983
A Wall in Jerusalem
1968
Zulu
1964
Under Milk Wood
1992
Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton
1967
The Big Sur
1965
The Comedians in Africa
1967
On the Trail of the Iguana
1964
A Statue for 'The Sandpiper'
1965
For Florence
1966
The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe
1962
March to Aldermaston
1959
Wuthering Heights
1958
Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese
1978
On Location: Where Eagles Dare
1968
Mooch Goes to Hollywood
1971
Borrowed Pasture
1960
The Violent Universe
1969
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
1988
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
2003
Lionpower from MGM
1967
Guilty Rebel
2024
Directing (1 movie)
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1967 | Producer |
| Doctor Faustus | 1967 | Producer |