Richard Burton
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- November 10, 1925
- Died
- August 5, 1984
- Birthplace
- Pontrhydyfen, Wales, UK
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.
Filmography
Richard Burton: Wild Genius 2025
as Self (archive footage)
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes 2024
as Self (archive footage)
Guilty Rebel 2024
as Narrator (archive footage)
This Is Joan Collins 2022
as Self (Archive Footage)
Julie Andrews Forever 2019
as Self (archive footage)
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live 2006
as George Herbert, The Journalist (archive sound)
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There 2003
as Self (archive footage)
Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood 2001
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1 1999
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Under Milk Wood 1992
as First Voice (voice) (archive sound)
Richard Burton's Christmas Story 1991
Novel
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick 1988
as Self (archive footage)
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton 1988
as Self (Archive Footage)
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC 1988
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
To Be Hamlet 1985
as Self
Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984
as O'Brien
All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra 1983
as Self
Alice in Wonderland 1983
as White Knight
- I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind
I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind 1983
as Self - Narrator (voice)
To the Ends of the Earth 1983
as Narrator
Circle of Two 1981
as Ashley St. Clair
Lovespell 1981
as King Mark of Cornwall
Breakthrough 1979
as Sergeant Steiner
- Mystery of the Sacred Shroud
Mystery of the Sacred Shroud 1978
as Self - Narrator
The Wild Geese 1978
as Col. Allen Faulkner
Absolution 1978
as Father Goddard
The Medusa Touch 1978
as John Morlar
Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese 1978
as Self
Equus 1977
as Martin Dysart
Exorcist II: The Heretic 1977
as Father Philip Lamont
- The Man with No Name
The Man with No Name 1977
as Self
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years 1976
as Self
Brief Encounter 1976
as Alec Harvey
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry 1976
as Malcolm Lowry (voice)
The Gathering Storm 1974
as Winston Churchill
The Klansman 1974
as Breck Stancill
The Voyage 1974
as Cesare Braggi
Massacre in Rome 1973
as SS-Obersturmbannführer Herbert Kappler
The Battle of Sutjeska 1973
as Josip Broz Tito
Bluebeard 1972
as Baron von Sepper
Hammersmith Is Out 1972
as Hammersmith
The Assassination of Trotsky 1972
as Leon Trotsky
Under Milk Wood 1972
as First Man
Mooch Goes to Hollywood 1971
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Villain 1971
as Vic Dakin
Raid on Rommel 1971
as Capt. Alex Foster
Anne of the Thousand Days 1969
as King Henry VIII
Staircase 1969
as Harry Leeds
The Violent Universe 1969
as Narrator - Verse Spoken
Candy 1968
as MacPhisto
Where Eagles Dare 1968
as Maj. Smith
A Wall in Jerusalem 1968
as Narrator (English version) (voice)
On Location: Where Eagles Dare 1968
as Self
Robert Kennedy Remembered 1968
as Narrator
Boom! 1968
as Chris Flanders
The Comedians 1967
as Brown
Doctor Faustus 1967
as Doctor Faustus, Director, Producer
The Comedians in Africa 1967
as Self (uncredited)
Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton 1967
as Self - Interviewee
The Taming of the Shrew 1967
as Petruchio, Producer
Lionpower from MGM 1967
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
For Florence 1966
as Self - Narrator
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 1966
as George
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold 1965
as Alec Leamas
The Sandpiper 1965
as Edward Hewitt
What's New Pussycat? 1965
as Man In Strip Club
The Big Sur 1965
as Self / Narrator
A Statue for "The Sandpiper" 1965
as Self
Hamlet 1964
as Hamlet
The Night of the Iguana 1964
as Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon
On the Trail of the Iguana 1964
as Self
Becket 1964
as Thomas Becket
Zulu 1964
as Narration spoken (voice)
The Caretaker 1964
Associate Producer
The V.I.P.s 1963
as Paul Andros
Cleopatra 1963
as Marcus Antonius
Dylan Thomas 1963
as Self
The Longest Day 1962
as Flight Officer David Campbell
The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe 1962
as Self / Arthur
A Subject of Scandal and Concern 1960
as George Holyoake
The Bramble Bush 1960
as Dr. Guy Montford
The Tempest 1960
as Caliban
The Fifth Column 1960
Actor
Ice Palace 1960
as Zeb Kennedy
Borrowed Pasture 1960
as Self - Narrator
Look Back in Anger 1959
as Jimmy Porter
March to Aldermaston 1959
as Narrator (voice)
Wuthering Heights 1958
as Heathcliff
Bitter Victory 1957
as Capt. Leith
Sea Wife 1957
as Biscuit
Alexander the Great 1956
as Alexander
The Rains of Ranchipur 1955
as Dr. Major Rama Safti
Prince of Players 1955
as Edwin Booth
Thursday's Children 1954
as Narrator (voice)
The Robe 1953
as Marcellus Gallio
The Desert Rats 1953
as Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts
My Cousin Rachel 1952
as Philip Ashley
Green Grow the Rushes 1951
as Robert 'Bob' Hammond
The Woman with No Name 1950
as Nick Chamerd
Waterfront 1950
as Ben Satterthwaite
Now Barabbas 1949
as Paddy
The Last Days of Dolwyn 1949
as Gareth
Credits from TMDB.