Richard Burton

Welsh actor

Photo by: 20th Century Fox · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

Born:November 10, 1925

Died:August 5, 1984

Age at death:58

Manner of death:Natural Causes

Cause of death:Cerebral Hemorrhage

Zodiac Sign:Scorpio

Height:1.77 m (5′10″)

Born in:Pontrhydyfen, United Kingdom

Buried in:Switzerland

Languages:Welsh, English

Diarist Producer Actor Film Actor Stage Actor Film Director Film Producer Musician Director

Signature

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Photo credits (2)

Richard Burton:
Photo by: 20th Century Fox · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons
Elizabeth Taylor:
Photo by: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Links

Wikipedia Official Website IMDb Facebook

Famous For

Movies & TV

The Longest DayCleopatraWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Nineteen Eighty-FourAnne of the Thousand Days

Books

The Richard Burton Diaries

Awards

Special Tony Award (1976)Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (1961)Theatre World Award (1951)star on Hollywood Walk of FameGrammy Awards

Richard Burton

Welsh actor

Biography

Richard Walter Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his powerful presence and baritone voice, Burton had an expansive film and stage career. He made his feature film debut in the British drama The Last Days of Dolwyn in 1949 and gained attention for his role as Philip Ashley, the protagonist in the romantic mystery My Cousin Rachel earning his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. On stage, Burton established himself as a Shakespearean actor, starring in roles such as roles such as Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part 1 (1951) and Henry IV, Part 2 (1951), Henry V of England in Henry V (1951), Ferdinand in The Tempest (1951), Prince Hamlet in Hamlet (1953), Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night (1953), Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus in Coriolanus (1953), and Othello in Othello (1955). He was called "the natural successor to Olivier" by critic Kenneth Tynan. Burton's perceived failure to live up to those expectations disappointed some critics and colleagues; his heavy drinking added to his reputation as a great performer who had wasted his talent. Throughout his career Burton received numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award. He received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of King Arthur in the Lerner and Loewe musical Camelot (1960). Despite seven Academy Award nominations Burton failed to win an Oscar; he was nominated for his performances in My Cousin Rachel (1952), The Robe (1953), Becket (1964), The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) and Equus (1977). Burton has remained closely associated in the public mind with his second and third wife, Elizabeth Taylor due to their publicly turbulent relationship, in which they married and divorced twice, and starred in eleven films together.

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “Richard Burton”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Quotes

“You reach the top of the heap, but it's a circle, and you slip on the down side; maybe for years. You get scared. He said then he thought he was coming out of a slump.”

— In "Richard Burton, 58, is Dead; Rakish Stage and Screen Star"

“This diamond has so many carats it's almost a turnip.”

— In Olivia St. Claire Sex Devotional: 365 Days of Passion, Positions, and Pure Pleasure, Adams Media, 18 November 2009, p. 309; The diamond weighing 69.4 carats was gifted by Burton to Elizabeth Taylor on her fortieth birthday, which she later sold after her divorce for $5 million to fund a hospital in Botswana.

“About Sally Hay whom he married in 1983, in Life: Richard Burton.”

Quotes sourced from the Wikiquote article "Richard Burton", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Photo of Richard Burton from the film Prince of Players.

The grave of Welsh actor Richard Burton (1925-1984) at the Old Cemetery ("Vieux Cimetière") in Céligny, canton of Geneva (Switzerland), a few hundred yards from the villa he bought in the 1950s.

Title: Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, New York City Creator(s): Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer Date Created/Published: 1971. Medium: 1 photograph : color transparency ; 35mm (slide format) Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-gtfy-00605 (digital file from original) Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication. For information see "Bernard Gotfryd," (https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/res.592.gotf) Access Advisory: Please use digital image: original slide is kept in cold storage for preservation. Call Number: LC-GB05- 605 [P&P] Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA Notes: Title from slide mount or other caption information provided by the photographer. Date on slide mount: 1971. Gift; Bernard Gotfryd; 2004; (DLC/PP-2004:032). Subjects: United States--New York (State)--New York. Actors Personalities Format: Slides--Color--1970-1980. Part of: Bernard Gotfryd photograph collection (Library of Congress) Bookmark This Record: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2020730146/

Gravesite of Richard Burton in Céligny’s Old Cemetery.

Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : Aankomst van Elizabeth Taylor en Richard Burton in hun privévliegtuig op Beschrijving : Elizabeth Taylor en Richard Burton op het platform Datum : 16 maart 1971 Locatie : Noord-Holland, Schiphol Trefwoorden : aankomsten, acteurs, filmsterren, vliegtuigen, vliegvelden Persoonsnaam : Burton, Richard, Taylor, Elizabeth Fotograaf : Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo Auteursrechthebbende : Nationaal Archief Materiaalsoort : Negatief (zwart/wit) Nummer archiefinventaris : bekijk toegang 2.24.01.05 Bestanddeelnummer : 924-3582