Person
Richard Burton
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…
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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
Movies and shows, newest first
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2025
Richard Burton: Wild Genius
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2024
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2024
Guilty Rebel
Movie Narrator (archive footage)
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2022
This Is Joan Collins
Movie Self (Archive Footage)
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2019
Julie Andrews Forever
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2013
Talking Pictures
TV show Self (archive footage)
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2006
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds: Live
Movie George Herbert, The Journalist (archive sound)
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2004
Parkinson
TV show Self - Guest (archive footage)
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2003
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2001
Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1999
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
Movie Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
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1994
Sphinx – Secrets of the History
TV show Marc Antony (archive footage)
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1992
Under Milk Wood
Movie First Voice (voice) (archive sound)
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1991
Richard Burton's Christmas Story
Movie Novel
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1988
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1988
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
Movie Self (Archive Footage)
More credits
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1988
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Movie Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
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1985
To Be Hamlet
Movie Self
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1984
Ellis Island
TV show Sen. Phipps Ogden
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1984
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Movie O'Brien
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1983
All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra
Movie Self
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1983
Wagner
TV show Richard Wagner
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1983
Alice in Wonderland
Movie White Knight
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1983
I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind
Movie Self - Narrator (voice)
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1983
To the Ends of the Earth
Movie Narrator
-
1981
Entertainment Tonight
TV show Self
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1981
Circle of Two
Movie Ashley St. Clair
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1981
Lovespell
Movie King Mark of Cornwall
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1979
Breakthrough
Movie Sergeant Steiner
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1978
Mystery of the Sacred Shroud
Movie Self - Narrator
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1978
The Wild Geese
Movie Col. Allen Faulkner
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1978
Absolution
Movie Father Goddard
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1978
The Medusa Touch
Movie John Morlar
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1978
Stars' War: The Flight of the Wild Geese
Movie Self
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1977
Equus
Movie Martin Dysart
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1977
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Movie Father Philip Lamont
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1977
The Man with No Name
Movie Self
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1976
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years
Movie Self
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1976
Brief Encounter
Movie Alec Harvey
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1976
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry
Movie Malcolm Lowry (voice)
