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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0000009
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q151973
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Filmography (Movies)
Richard Burton: Wild Genius
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:10/11/2025
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:16/05/2024
Guilty Rebel
Character:Narrator (archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/2024
Julie Andrews Forever
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:14/06/2019
Paris Hilton, Inc.
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:29/11/2009
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live
Character:George Herbert, The Journalist (archive sound)
Release Date:06/11/2006
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:03/04/2003
Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:03/04/2001
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
Character:Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:01/01/1999
Under Milk Wood
Character:First Voice (voice) (archive sound)
Release Date:19/04/1992
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:24/10/1988
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
Character:Self (Archive Footage)
Release Date:20/09/1988
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:16/05/1988
To Be Hamlet
Character:Self
Release Date:19/01/1985
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Character:O'Brien
Release Date:09/11/1984
All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra
Character:Self
Release Date:11/12/1983
Alice in Wonderland
Character:White Knight
Release Date:03/10/1983
I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind
Character:Self - Narrator (voice)
Release Date:26/04/1983
To the Ends of the Earth
Character:Narrator
Release Date:01/01/1983
Lovespell
Character:King Mark of Cornwall
Release Date:31/12/1981
Circle of Two
Character:Ashley St. Clair
Release Date:07/05/1981
Breakthrough
Character:Sergeant Steiner
Release Date:01/03/1979
Mystery of the Sacred Shroud
Character:Self - Narrator
Release Date:31/12/1978
The Wild Geese
Character:Col. Allen Faulkner
Release Date:28/06/1978
Absolution
Character:Father Goddard
Release Date:05/06/1978
The Medusa Touch
Character:John Morlar
Release Date:13/04/1978
Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1978
Equus
Character:Martin Dysart
Release Date:16/10/1977
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Character:Father Philip Lamont
Release Date:17/06/1977
The Man with No Name
Character:Self
Release Date:23/02/1977
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years
Character:Self
Release Date:28/11/1976
Brief Encounter
Character:Alec Harvey
Release Date:04/01/1976
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry
Character:Malcolm Lowry (voice)
Release Date:01/01/1976
The Gathering Storm
Character:Winston Churchill
Release Date:29/11/1974
The Klansman
Character:Breck Stancill
Release Date:25/10/1974
The Voyage
Character:Cesare Braggi
Release Date:11/03/1974
Massacre in Rome
Character:SS-Obersturmbannführer Herbert Kappler
Release Date:04/10/1973
The Battle of Sutjeska
Character:Josip Broz Tito
Release Date:03/07/1973
Bluebeard
Character:Baron von Sepper
Release Date:01/09/1972
Hammersmith Is Out
Character:Hammersmith
Release Date:12/05/1972
The Assassination of Trotsky
Character:Leon Trotsky
Release Date:30/03/1972
Under Milk Wood
Character:First Man
Release Date:27/01/1972
Mooch Goes to Hollywood
Character:Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Release Date:31/12/1971
Villain
Character:Vic Dakin
Release Date:26/05/1971
Raid on Rommel
Character:Capt. Alex Foster
Release Date:12/02/1971
Anne of the Thousand Days
Character:King Henry VIII
Release Date:18/12/1969
Staircase
Character:Harry Leeds
Release Date:20/08/1969
The Violent Universe
Character:Narrator - Verse Spoken
Release Date:11/04/1969
Candy
Character:MacPhisto
Release Date:17/12/1968
Where Eagles Dare
Character:Maj. Smith
Release Date:04/12/1968
A Wall in Jerusalem
Character:Narrator (English version) (voice)
Release Date:20/11/1968
On Location: Where Eagles Dare
Character:Self
Release Date:01/11/1968
Robert Kennedy Remembered
Character:Narrator
Release Date:26/08/1968
Boom!
Character:Chris Flanders
Release Date:26/05/1968
The Comedians
Character:Brown
Release Date:31/10/1967
Doctor Faustus
Character:Doctor Faustus
Release Date:10/10/1967
The Comedians in Africa
Character:Self (uncredited)
Release Date:31/08/1967
Acting in the 60's: Richard Burton
Character:Self - Interviewee
Release Date:01/04/1967
The Taming of the Shrew
Character:Petruchio
Release Date:08/03/1967
Lionpower from MGM
Character:Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:01/01/1967
For Florence
Character:Self - Narrator
Release Date:23/11/1966
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Character:George
Release Date:22/06/1966
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
Character:Alec Leamas
Release Date:16/12/1965
The Sandpiper
Character:Edward Hewitt
Release Date:23/06/1965
What's New Pussycat?
Character:Man In Strip Club
Release Date:22/06/1965
The Big Sur
Character:Self / Narrator
Release Date:01/05/1965
A Statue for 'The Sandpiper'
Character:Self
Release Date:30/04/1965
Hamlet from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Character:Hamlet
Release Date:23/09/1964
The Night of the Iguana
Character:Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon
Release Date:06/08/1964
On the Trail of the Iguana
Character:Self
Release Date:30/04/1964
Becket
Character:Thomas Becket
Release Date:11/03/1964
Zulu
Character:Narration spoken (voice)
Release Date:22/01/1964
The V.I.P.s
Character:Paul Andros
Release Date:01/09/1963
Cleopatra
Character:Marcus Antonius
Release Date:12/06/1963
The Longest Day
Character:Flying Officer David Campbell
Release Date:25/09/1962
The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe
Character:Self / Arthur
Release Date:11/02/1962
A Tribute to Dylan Thomas
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1962
A Subject of Scandal and Concern
Character:George Holyoake
Release Date:06/11/1960
The Bramble Bush
Character:Dr. Guy Montford
Release Date:24/02/1960
The Tempest
Character:Caliban
Release Date:03/02/1960
The Fifth Column
Character:
Release Date:29/01/1960
Ice Palace
Character:Zeb Kennedy
Release Date:02/01/1960
Borrowed Pasture
Character:Self - Narrator
Release Date:01/01/1960
Look Back in Anger
Character:Jimmy Porter
Release Date:15/09/1959
March to Aldermaston
Character:Narrator (voice)
Release Date:01/02/1959
Wuthering Heights
Character:Heathcliff
Release Date:09/05/1958
Bitter Victory
Character:Capt. Leith
Release Date:28/08/1957
Sea Wife
Character:Biscuit
Release Date:20/08/1957
Alexander the Great
Character:Alexander
Release Date:28/03/1956
The Rains of Ranchipur
Character:Dr. Major Rama Safti
Release Date:14/12/1955
Prince of Players
Character:Edwin Booth
Release Date:11/01/1955
Thursday's Children
Character:Narrator (voice)
Release Date:01/05/1954
The Robe
Character:Marcellus Gallio
Release Date:16/09/1953
The Desert Rats
Character:Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts
Release Date:26/03/1953
My Cousin Rachel
Character:Philip Ashley
Release Date:25/12/1952
Green Grow the Rushes
Character:Robert 'Bob' Hammond
Release Date:06/11/1951
The Woman with No Name
Character:Nick Chamerd
Release Date:31/10/1950
Waterfront
Character:Ben Satterthwaite
Release Date:26/07/1950
Now Barabbas
Character:Paddy
Release Date:24/05/1949
The Last Days of Dolwyn
Character:Gareth
Release Date:13/04/1949
Television Appearances
Talking Pictures
Character:Self (archive footage)
Sphinx – Secrets of the History
Character:Marc Antony (archive footage)
Ellis Island
Character:Sen. Phipps Ogden
Wagner
Character:Richard Wagner
Entertainment Tonight
Character:Self
Dinah!
Character:Self
Spécial cinéma
Character:Self (archive footage)
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Character:Self
Divorce His, Divorce Hers
Character:Martin Reynolds
Film '72
Character:Self
Great Performances
Character:White Knight
Here's Lucy
Character:Richard Burton
Tony Awards
Character:Arthur (archive footage)
Tony Awards
Character:Self - Co-Host/Special Award Recipient/Presenter
Tony Awards
Character:Self - Co-Host
Tony Awards
Character:Self - Nominee / Award Accepter
Tony Awards
Character:Self - Host
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character:Caliban
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character:Alec Harvey
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character:Winston Churchill
The Ed Sullivan Show
Character:Self
Bambi
Character:Self
Images
