Richard Burton
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.
Photos
Movies (102)
Richard Burton: Wild Genius
2025 · Self (archive footage)
Elizabeth Taylor: Las Cintas Pérdidas
2024 · Self (archive footage)
Guilty Rebel
2024 · Narrator (archive footage)
This Is Joan Collins
2022 · Self (Archive Footage)
Julie Andrews Forever
2019 · Self (archive footage)
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live
2006 · George Herbert, The Journalist (archive sound)
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
2003 · Self (archive footage)
Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood
2001 · Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
1999 · Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Under Milk Wood
1992 · First Voice (voice) (archive sound)
Richard Burton's Christmas Story
1991 · Novel
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
1988 · Self (archive footage)
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
1988 · Self (Archive Footage)
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
1988 · Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
To Be Hamlet
1985 · Self
Nineteen Eighty-Four
1984 · O'Brien
All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra
1983 · Self
Alice in Wonderland
1983 · White Knight
I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind
1983 · Self - Narrator (voice)
To the Ends of the Earth
1983 · Narrator
Circle of Two
1981 · Ashley St. Clair
Lovespell
1981 · King Mark of Cornwall
Breakthrough
1979 · Sergeant Steiner
Mystery of the Sacred Shroud
1978 · Self - Narrator
The Wild Geese
1978 · Col. Allen Faulkner
Absolution
1978 · Father Goddard
The Medusa Touch
1978 · John Morlar
Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese
1978 · Self
Equus
1977 · Martin Dysart
Exorcist II: The Heretic
1977 · Father Philip Lamont
The Man with No Name
1977 · Self
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years
1976 · Self
Brief Encounter
1976 · Alec Harvey
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry
1976 · Malcolm Lowry (voice)
The Gathering Storm
1974 · Winston Churchill
The Klansman
1974 · Breck Stancill
The Voyage
1974 · Cesare Braggi
Massacre in Rome
1973 · SS-Obersturmbannführer Herbert Kappler
The Battle of Sutjeska
1973 · Josip Broz Tito
Bluebeard
1972 · Baron von Sepper
Hammersmith Is Out
1972 · Hammersmith
The Assassination of Trotsky
1972 · Leon Trotsky
Under Milk Wood
1972 · First Man
Mooch Goes to Hollywood
1971 · Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Villain
1971 · Vic Dakin
Raid on Rommel
1971 · Capt. Alex Foster
Anne of the Thousand Days
1969 · King Henry VIII
Staircase
1969 · Harry Leeds
The Violent Universe
1969 · Narrator - Verse Spoken
Candy
1968 · MacPhisto
Where Eagles Dare
1968 · Maj. Smith
A Wall in Jerusalem
1968 · Narrator (English version) (voice)
On Location: Where Eagles Dare
1968 · Self
Robert Kennedy Remembered
1968 · Narrator
Boom!
1968 · Chris Flanders
The Comedians
1967 · Brown
Doctor Faustus
1967 · Doctor Faustus, Director, Producer
The Comedians in Africa
1967 · Self (uncredited)
Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton
1967 · Self - Interviewee
The Taming of the Shrew
1967 · Petruchio, Producer
Lionpower from MGM
1967 · Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
For Florence
1966 · Self - Narrator
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1966 · George
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
1965 · Alec Leamas
The Sandpiper
1965 · Edward Hewitt
What's New Pussycat?
1965 · Man In Strip Club
The Big Sur
1965 · Self / Narrator
A Statue for "The Sandpiper"
1965 · Self
Hamlet
1964 · Hamlet
The Night of the Iguana
1964 · Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon
On the Trail of the Iguana
1964 · Self
Becket
1964 · Thomas Becket
Zulu
1964 · Narration spoken (voice)
The Caretaker
1964 · Associate Producer
The V.I.P.s
1963 · Paul Andros
Cleopatra
1963 · Marcus Antonius
Dylan Thomas
1963 · Self
The Longest Day
1962 · Flight Officer David Campbell
The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe
1962 · Self / Arthur
A Subject of Scandal and Concern
1960 · George Holyoake
The Bramble Bush
1960 · Dr. Guy Montford
The Tempest
1960 · Caliban
The Fifth Column
1960
Ice Palace
1960 · Zeb Kennedy
Borrowed Pasture
1960 · Self - Narrator
Look Back in Anger
1959 · Jimmy Porter
March to Aldermaston
1959 · Narrator (voice)
Wuthering Heights
1958 · Heathcliff
Bitter Victory
1957 · Capt. Leith
Sea Wife
1957 · Biscuit
Alexander the Great
1956 · Alexander
The Rains of Ranchipur
1955 · Dr. Major Rama Safti
Prince of Players
1955 · Edwin Booth
Thursday's Children
1954 · Narrator (voice)
The Robe
1953 · Marcellus Gallio
The Desert Rats
1953 · Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts
My Cousin Rachel
1952 · Philip Ashley
Green Grow the Rushes
1951 · Robert 'Bob' Hammond
The Woman with No Name
1950 · Nick Chamerd
Waterfront
1950 · Ben Satterthwaite
Now Barabbas
1949 · Paddy
The Last Days of Dolwyn
1949 · Gareth
TV shows (18)
Talking Pictures
2013 · Self (archive footage)
Parkinson
2004 · Self - Guest (archive footage)
Sphinx – Secrets of the History
1994 · Marc Antony (archive footage)
Ellis Island
1984 · Sen. Phipps Ogden
Wagner
1983 · Richard Wagner
Entertainment Tonight
1981 · Self
Dinah!
1974 · Self
Spécial cinéma
1974 · Self (archive footage)
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973 · Self
Divorce His, Divorce Hers
1973 · Martin Reynolds
Film '72
1971 · Self
Great Performances
1971 · White Knight
Here's Lucy
1968 · Richard Burton
Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years
1960 · Winston Churchill
Tony Awards
1956 · Self - Host, Self - Nominee / Award Accepter, Self - Co-Host / Special Award Recipient / Presenter, Self - Co-Host, Arthur (archive footage)
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · Caliban, Alec Harvey, Winston Churchill
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · Self
Bambi
1948 · Self