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
All Movies (100)
- Richard Burton: Wild Genius2025 · as Self (archive footage)
- Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes2024 · as Self (archive footage)
- Guilty Rebel2024 · as Narrator (archive footage)
- This Is Joan Collins2022 · as Self (Archive Footage)
- Julie Andrews Forever2019 · as Self (archive footage)
- Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live2006 · as George Herbert, The Journalist (archive sound)
- Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There2003 · as Self (archive footage)
- Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood2001 · as Self (archive footage)
- Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 11999 · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Under Milk Wood1992 · as First Voice (voice) (archive sound)
- John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick1988 · as Self (archive footage)
- In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton1988 · as Self (Archive Footage)
- Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC1988 · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- To Be Hamlet1985 · as Self
- Nineteen Eighty-Four1984 · as O'Brien
- All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra1983 · as Self
- Alice in Wonderland1983 · as White Knight
- I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind1983 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
- To the Ends of the Earth1983 · as Narrator
- Circle of Two1981 · as Ashley St. Clair
- Lovespell1981 · as King Mark of Cornwall
- Breakthrough1979 · as Sergeant Steiner
- Mystery of the Sacred Shroud1978 · as Self - Narrator
- The Wild Geese1978 · as Col. Allen Faulkner
- Absolution1978 · as Father Goddard
- The Medusa Touch1978 · as John Morlar
- Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese1978 · as Self
- Equus1977 · as Martin Dysart
- Exorcist II: The Heretic1977 · as Father Philip Lamont
- The Man with No Name1977 · as Self
- CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years1976 · as Self
- Brief Encounter1976 · as Alec Harvey
- Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry1976 · as Malcolm Lowry (voice)
- The Gathering Storm1974 · as Winston Churchill
- The Klansman1974 · as Breck Stancill
- The Voyage1974 · as Cesare Braggi
- Massacre in Rome1973 · as SS-Obersturmbannführer Herbert Kappler
- The Battle of Sutjeska1973 · as Josip Broz Tito
- Bluebeard1972 · as Baron von Sepper
- Hammersmith Is Out1972 · as Hammersmith
- The Assassination of Trotsky1972 · as Leon Trotsky
- Under Milk Wood1972 · as First Man
- Mooch Goes to Hollywood1971 · as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- Villain1971 · as Vic Dakin
- Raid on Rommel1971 · as Capt. Alex Foster
- Anne of the Thousand Days1969 · as King Henry VIII
- Staircase1969 · as Harry Leeds
- The Violent Universe1969 · as Narrator - Verse Spoken
- Candy1968 · as MacPhisto
- Where Eagles Dare1968 · as Maj. Smith
- A Wall in Jerusalem1968 · as Narrator (English version) (voice)
- On Location: Where Eagles Dare1968 · as Self
- Robert Kennedy Remembered1968 · as Narrator
- Boom!1968 · as Chris Flanders
- The Comedians1967 · as Brown
- Doctor Faustus1967 · as Doctor Faustus
- The Comedians in Africa1967 · as Self (uncredited)
- Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton1967 · as Self - Interviewee
- The Taming of the Shrew1967 · as Petruchio
- Lionpower from MGM1967 · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- For Florence1966 · as Self - Narrator
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?1966 · as George
- The Spy Who Came In from the Cold1965 · as Alec Leamas
- The Sandpiper1965 · as Edward Hewitt
- What's New Pussycat?1965 · as Man In Strip Club
- The Big Sur1965 · as Self / Narrator
- A Statue for "The Sandpiper"1965 · as Self
- Hamlet1964 · as Hamlet
- The Night of the Iguana1964 · as Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon
- On the Trail of the Iguana1964 · as Self
- Becket1964 · as Thomas Becket
- Zulu1964 · as Narration spoken (voice)
- The V.I.P.s1963 · as Paul Andros
- Cleopatra1963 · as Marcus Antonius
- The Longest Day1962 · as Flight Officer David Campbell
- The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe1962 · as Self / Arthur
- A Tribute to Dylan Thomas1962 · as Self
- A Subject of Scandal and Concern1960 · as George Holyoake
- The Bramble Bush1960 · as Dr. Guy Montford
- The Tempest1960 · as Caliban
- The Fifth Column1960
- Ice Palace1960 · as Zeb Kennedy
- Borrowed Pasture1960 · as Self - Narrator
- Look Back in Anger1959 · as Jimmy Porter
- March to Aldermaston1959 · as Narrator (voice)
- Wuthering Heights1958 · as Heathcliff
- Bitter Victory1957 · as Capt. Leith
- Sea Wife1957 · as Biscuit
- Alexander the Great1956 · as Alexander
- The Rains of Ranchipur1955 · as Dr. Major Rama Safti
- Prince of Players1955 · as Edwin Booth
- Thursday's Children1954 · as Narrator (voice)
- The Robe1953 · as Marcellus Gallio
- The Desert Rats1953 · as Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts
- My Cousin Rachel1952 · as Philip Ashley
- Green Grow the Rushes1951 · as Robert 'Bob' Hammond
- The Woman with No Name1950 · as Nick Chamerd
- Waterfront1950 · as Ben Satterthwaite
- Now Barabbas1949 · as Paddy
- The Last Days of Dolwyn1949 · as Gareth
All TV Shows (23)
- Talking Pictures2013 · as Self (archive footage)
- Sphinx – Secrets of the History1994 · as Marc Antony (archive footage)
- Ellis Island1984 · as Sen. Phipps Ogden
- Wagner1983 · as Richard Wagner
- Entertainment Tonight1981 · as Self
- Dinah!1974 · as Self
- Spécial cinéma1974 · as Self (archive footage)
- The American Film Institute Salute to ...1973 · as Self
- Divorce His, Divorce Hers1973 · as Martin Reynolds
- Film '721971 · as Self
- Great Performances1971 · as White Knight
- Here's Lucy1968 · as Richard Burton
- Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years1960 · as Winston Churchill
- Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Host
- Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Nominee / Award Accepter
- Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Co-Host / Special Award Recipient / Presenter
- Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Co-Host
- Tony Awards1956 · as Arthur (archive footage)
- Hallmark Hall of Fame1951 · as Caliban
- Hallmark Hall of Fame1951 · as Alec Harvey
- Hallmark Hall of Fame1951 · as Winston Churchill
- The Ed Sullivan Show1948 · as Self
- Bambi1948 · as Self