Richard Burton
Actor
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.
As Director
Filmography
Nineteen Eighty-Four
as O'Brien 1984
The Longest Day
as Flying Officer David Campbell 1962
Where Eagles Dare
as Maj. Smith 1968
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
as George 1966
Cleopatra
as Marcus Antonius 1963
Exorcist II: The Heretic
as Father Philip Lamont 1977
Zulu
as Narration spoken (voice) 1964
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
as Alec Leamas 1965
The Wild Geese
as Col. Allen Faulkner 1978
The Robe
as Marcellus Gallio 1953
The Medusa Touch
as John Morlar 1978
Becket
as Thomas Becket 1964
The Taming of the Shrew
as Petruchio 1967
What's New Pussycat?
as Man In Strip Club 1965
The Night of the Iguana
as Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon 1964
Equus
as Martin Dysart 1977
Anne of the Thousand Days
as King Henry VIII 1969