Richard Burton

Richard Burton is born in Wales as Richard Jenkins to a coal miner father, his childhood was one of poverty as he was the 12th of 13 children. He later claimed he escaped from this life by reading books. He was a life-long fan of William Shakespeare.
In 1943, he was unofficially adopted by his schoolmaster, Philip Burton, whose surname he adopted and who coached him until he gained a scholarship to Oxford, at the age of sixteen.

Burton spent time as an officer cadet in the RAF during WW2 and, by 1949, was performing opposite such luminaries as John Gielgud.

His first film appearances occurred in 'The Last Days of Dolwyn' (1949), 'Waterfront' (1950) and 'Green Grow the Rushes' (1951), but he first started getting noticed by producers and audiences with his lead role in 'My Cousin Rachel' (1952).

Although he had starred in several feature films before, most notably 'The Robe' (1953) and 'Alexander the Great' (1956), it was his Broadway success that led to his being cast opposite Elizabeth Taylor in 1963's 'Cleopatra'.

His romance with Taylor led to the collapse of his first marriage (to Sybil Williams, whom he had married in 1948 and had two children with), and was to catapult him to international stardom. Indeed, the pair's fiery relationship was to prove a staple in the tabloid press, as the couple's first marriage ended in divorce in 1974, only to be succeeded by reconciliation and a second divorce in 1976.

Burton appeared in some ten feature films with Taylor, including 'The VIP's' (1963), 'The Sandpiper' (1965), and 1966's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf', for which Taylor won an Oscar, and Burton his first Oscar nomination.

He was praised for his superb performance as Henry VIII in the 1969 film 'Anne of a Thousand Days' and was awarded the CBE by the Queen in 1970, accompanied by his eldest sister Cis and then-wife Taylor.

However, Burton found that roles started going to younger and more athletic male actors in the 1970s.

After the break-up of his relationship with Taylor in 1974, Burton remarried twice, to Susan Hunt in 1976, and then to Sally Hay Burton in 1983.

A string of unsuccessful movie flops was ended with a second unsuccessful Oscar nomination for his role in 'Equus' (1977), although Burton was unable to recapture such form until his role as O'Brien in the posthumously released '1984'. Plagued by ill health due to years of alcoholism and heavy smoking, he had to wear a neck brace during rehearsals.

Burton died of a brain haemorrhage at the age of 58. He was survived by his fourth wife, and is buried in the Protestant Churchyard in Celigny, Switzerland.

He died shortly before he started filming 'Wild Geese II', which was a sequel to his successful 1978 film 'Wild Geese'. Burton would have been the only returning actor in the movie and was replaced by Edward Fox in the main role.

Until 2007, he held the record for having the most Oscar nominations (seven) without winning one but this was broken by Peter O'Toole.

Spouse(s):
Sybil Williams(m. 1949–1963, divorced)
Elizabeth Taylor(m. 1964–1974; 1975–1976, divorced)
Suzy Hunt (m. 1976–1982, divorced)
Sally Hay(m. 1983–1984; his death)

Awards:
1978 - Best Actor (Equus) / 35.Alt Globe Award

Filmography:
1984 - Ellis Island (TV Mini-Series) 
Sen. Phipps Ogden
1984 - Nineteen Eighty-Four 
O'Brien
1983 - Wagner (TV Series) 
Richard Wagner
1983 - Great Performances (TV Series) 
White Knight
1983 - Alice in Wonderland ... White Knight
1981 - Lovespell 
King Mark of Cornwall
1981 - Circle of Two 
Ashley St. Clair
1979 - Steiner - Das Eiserne Kreuz, 2. Teil 
Sgt. Rolf Steiner
1978 - Absolution 
Father Goddard
1978 - The Wild Geese 
Colonel Faulkner
1978 - The Medusa Touch 
Morlar
1977 - Equus 
Martin Dysart
1977 - Exorcist II: The Heretic 
Father Philip Lamont
1975Jackpot 
Reid Lawerence
1974 - The Gathering Storm (TV Movie) 
Winston Churchill
1974 - Brief Encounter (TV Movie) 
Alec Harvey
1974 - Klansman 
Breck Stancill
1974 - Il viaggio 
Cesare Braggi
1973 - Rappresaglia 
Lt. Col. Herbert Kappler
1973 - Sutjeska 
Josip Broz Tito
1973 - Divorce His - Divorce Hers (TV Movie) 
Martin Reynolds
1972 - Bluebeard 
Kurt Von Sepper
1972 - Hammersmith Is Out 
Hammersmith
1972 - The Assassination of Trotsky 
Leon Trotsky
1972 - Under Milk Wood 
First Man
1971 - Mooch Goes to Hollywood (TV Movie) 
Narrator (uncredited)
1971 - Villain 
Vic Dakin
1971 - Raid on Rommel 
Foster
1970 - Here's Lucy (TV Series) 
Richard Burton
1970 - Lucy Meets the Burtons  ... Richard Burton
1969 - Anne of the Thousand Days 
King Henry VIII
1969 - Staircase 
Harry Leeds, Owner of Chez Harry
1969 - Laughter in the Dark 
Sir Edward More (scenes deleted)
1968 - Candy 
MacPhisto
1968 - Where Eagles Dare 
Maj. Smith
1968 - Boom 
Chris Flanders
1967 - Wir sterben vor (Short) 
Narrator
1967 - The Comedians 
Brown
1967 - Doctor Faustus 
Doctor Faustus
1967 - The Taming of the Shrew 
Petruchio
1966 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 
George
1965 - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold 
Alec Leamas
1965 - The Sandpiper 
Dr. Edward Hewitt
1965 - What's New Pussycat 
Man in Strip Club (uncredited)
1965 - The Days of Wilfred Owen (Short) 
Narrator
1964 - Hamlet 
Hamlet
1964 - The Night of the Iguana 
Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon
1964 - Becket 
Becket / Thomas Becket
1964 - Zulu 
Narration spoken by (voice)
1963 - Cleopatra 
Mark Antony
1963 - The VIPs 
Paul Andros
1962 - The Longest Day 
Flying Officer David Campbell
1960 - BBC Sunday-Night Play (TV Series) 
George Holyoake
1960 - A Subject of Scandal and Concern ... George Holyoake
1960 - Borrowed Pasture (TV Short) 
Narrator
1960 - The Bramble Bush 
Dr. Guy Montford
1960 - The Tempest (TV Movie) 
Caliban
1960 - Buick-Electra Playhouse (TV Series) 
Philip Rawlings
1960 - The Fifth Column ... Philip Rawlings
1960 - The Fifth Column (TV Movie) 
1960 - Ice Palace 
Zeb Kennedy
1959 - Sen noci svatojánské 
Narrator
1959 - Look Back in Anger 
Jimmy Porter
1958 - The DuPont Show of the Month (TV Series) 
Heathcliff
1958 - Wuthering Heights ... Heathcliff
1957 - Bitter Victory 
Captain Leith
1957 - Sea Wife 
Biscuit
1956 - The James Mason Show (TV Series) 
Performer (1956)
1956 - Alexander the Great 
Alexander
1955 - The Rains of Ranchipur 
Dr. Major Rama Safti
1955 - Prince of Players 
Edwin Booth
1953 - The Robe 
Marcellus Gallio
1953 - The Desert Rats 
Capt. 'Tammy' MacRoberts
1952 - My Cousin Rachel 
Philip Ashley
1952 - Celanese Theatre (TV Series) 
Mat Burke
-  1952 - Anna Christie  ... Mat Burke
1951 - Green Grow the Rushes 
Robert 'Bob' Hammond
1951 - For the Children (TV Series) 
Prince Henry
-  1951 - King Henry IV, Part 1 ... Prince Henry
1950 - The Woman with No Name 
Nick Chamerd
1950 - Waterfront 
Ben Satterthwaite
1950 - BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (TV Series) 
Richard
-  1950 - The Lady's Not for Burning  ... Richard
1949 - Now Barabbas 
Paddy
1949 - The Last Days of Dolwyn 
Gareth
1946 - The Corn Is Green (TV Movie) 
Morgan Evans