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.

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Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood

Documentary about the making of 20th Century Fox's 1963 film "Cleopatra," then the most expensive fi...

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Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live

The live version of Jeff Wayne's 1978 bestselling album was brought to the stage in 2006 as part of ...

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A feature-length documentary on the life of one of the last surviving actresses from the golden age ...

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Newly discovered interviews with Elizabeth Taylor and unprecedented access to the star’s personal ar...

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