Stage and film actor, born in Pontrhydfen, Neath and Port Talbot, SC Wales, UK. The 12th child (possibly grandchild) of a coalminer, Richard Jenkins, he was brought up in his sister's house after his mother's death. He was befriended by his English teacher, Philip H Burton, who encouraged his acting and study of English, and eventually adopted him. He went to Oxford, and in 1943 changed his name to Burton. He acted in Liverpool and Oxford, served in the RAF, and returned to the stage in 1948, when he made his film debut. He made his stage reputation in Fry's The Lady's Not for Burning (1949), and had a triumphant season at Stratford (1951). He acted in Shakespearean productions at the London Old Vic in 19536, and gave a memorable performance of Hamlet in John Gielgud's Broadway production of that play in 1964. His early Hollywood films include My Cousin Rachel (1952) and The Robe (1953) for which he received one of his six Oscar nominations. In 1954 he was the narrator in the famous radio production of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood. His romance with Elizabeth Taylor during the making of Cleopatra (1962) and their eventual marriage (196474) projected them both into the superstar category. Among his later films were Becket (1964), Equus (1977), and 1984 (released after his death). In his later years, interest in his social life grew, especially after his remarriage to Elizabeth Taylor (19756).
| Richard Burton | |
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Richard Burton in the movie Cleopatra (1963) |
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| Birth name | Richard Walter Jenkins Jr. |
| Born |
November 10, 1925 Pontrhydyfen, Wales, UK |
| Died |
August 5, 1984, age 58 Céligny, Switzerland |
Richard Burton CBE (November 10, 1925 – August 5, 1984) was a Welsh actor. To this day, many aspiring actors study Burton's style of elocution which has been hailed by critics worldwide.
There is a widespread myth (perhaps encouraged or even believed by some members of his stoutly working-class family) that Richard Burton "won a scholarship to Oxford at the age of sixteen" but left after six months. The facts, as recorded by Burton himself in his own autobiography and in Richard and Philip, which he co-wrote, are as follows: At the age of sixteen, he was forced to leave school and find work as a shop assistant. In 1943, at the age of eighteen, Richard Burton (who had now taken his teacher's surname), was allowed into Exeter College, Oxford, for a term of six months study.
Early acting career
In the 1940s and early 1950s Burton worked on stage and in cinema in the United Kingdom.
While making his first film, The Last Days of Dolwyn, in 1947, he met his future wife, the young actress Sybil Williams, and they married in February, 1949. They had two daughters, but divorced in 1963, after Burton hit the big time.
In the year of his marriage to Sybil, Burton appeared in the West End in a highly successful production of The Lady's Not For Burning, alongside Sir John Gielgud. This prompted Alexander Korda to try to get Burton to sign a contract with him, and in 1952 Burton signed a five year contract with Korda at £100 a week.
Hollywood and later career
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In 1952, Burton successfully made the transition to a Hollywood star; The film was a critical success, and established Burton as a Hollywood leading man. During the filming, Burton met and fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor, although the two would not be free to marry until 1965, when their respective divorces were complete.
He played Taylor's tycoon husband in The V.I.P.s, an all-star film set in the VIP lounge of London Airport which proved to be a box-office hit.
His last role in film was one of his best, as the villain O'Brien in the critically acclaimed 1984 film adaptation of George Orwell's novel Nineteen-Eighty Four.
Personal life
An insomniac and notoriously heavy drinker, Burton was married five times - twice, consecutively, to Elizabeth Taylor. The relationship between them portrayed in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? is reputed to have been similar to Burton and Taylor's real-life marriage.
Burton was banned permanently from BBC productions in 1974 for questioning the sanity of Winston Churchill and others in power during World War II – Burton reported hating them "virulently" for the alleged promise to wipe out all Japanese people on the planet. Ironically, Burton had got along well with Churchill when he met the former Prime Minister at a play in London, and kept a bust of the great wartime leader on his mantlepiece. Burton courted further controversy in 1976 when he wrote a controversial article about his late friend and fellow Welsh thespian Stanley Baker, who had recently died from lung cancer at the age of 49.
Burton's fourth marriage was to Suzy Hunt, ex-wife of motor racing driver James Hunt, (maiden name Suzy Millar, whose father was a judge in Kenya) and his fifth was to Sally Hay, a make-up artist who later became a successful novelist.
Burton appears in the 2002 List of "100 Great Britons" (sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the public).
Burton is sometimes erroneously referred to as "Sir Richard Burton", perhaps due to the similarity of his assumed name to that of Sir Richard Francis Burton, but unlike the 19th century scholar, he never received a knighthood. Burton's best friend was fellow Welsh actor Sir Stanley Baker. Taylor owned a 185 foot Edwardian motor yacht named Kalizma, after Burton's children, Kate, Liza & After winning the 1970 Best Actor Oscar, John Wayne thrust the statue towards Burton, saying "You should have this, not me."
Academy Awards nominations
1952 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - My Cousin Rachel 1953 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - The Robe 1964 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Becket 1965 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold 1966 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 1969 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Anne of the Thousand Days 1977 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - EquusSelected filmography
Now Barabbas (1949) The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949) The Woman with No Name (1949) Waterfront (1950) Green Grow the Rushes (1951) My Cousin Rachel (1952) The Desert Rats (1953) The Robe (1953) Thursday's Children (1954) (short subject) (narrator) Prince of Players (1955) The Rains of Ranchipur (1955) Alexander the Great (1956) Bitter Victory (1957) Sea Wife (1957) Look Back in Anger (1958) A Midsummer Night's Dream (1959) (narrator) Ice Palace (1960) The Bramble Bush (1960) Dylan Thomas (1962) (short subject) The Longest Day (1962) Cleopatra (1963) The V.I.P.s (1963) Zulu (1964) (narrator) Becket (1964) The Night of the Iguana (1964) Hamlet (1964) What's New, Pussycat? (1965) (Cameo) The Sandpiper (1965) The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) The Taming of the Shrew (1967) (also producer) Doctor Faustus (1967) (also producer and director) The Comedians (1967) Boom (1968) Where Eagles Dare (1968) Candy (1968) Staircase (1969) Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) Raid On Rommel (1971) Villain (1971) (B&W) Under Milk Wood (1971) The Assasination of Trotsky (1972) Bluebeard (1972) Hammersmith is out (1972) Massacre in Rome (1973) The Battle of Sutjeska (1973)AKA The Fifth Offensive The Klansman (1974) Equus (1977) The Wild Geese (1978) 1984 (1984)Also narrated Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds (1978).
Stage career
Private Lives (1983) Camelot (1980) Equus (1970) Doctor Faustus (1966) A Poetry Reading (1964) Hamlet (1964) Camelot (1960) Time Remembered (1957) Othello (1956) Henry V (1955) Twelfth Night (1953) The Tempest (1953) King John (1953) Hamlet (1953) Coriolanus (1953) Hamlet (1953) Montserrat (1952) Legend of Lovers (1951) The Tempest (1951) Henry V (1951) Henry IV (1951) The Lady's Not For Burning (1950) A Phoenix Too Frequent (1950) The Boy With A Cart (1950) The Lady's Not For Burning (1949) Castle Anna (1948) Measure for Measure (1944) Druid's Rest (1944)|
Preceded by: Eddie Fisher |
Husbands of Elizabeth Taylor |
Succeeded by: John Warner |
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