One of the greatest actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Richard Burton, renowned for his commanding presence and mellifluous voice. He excelled as a Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and starred in over 40 films, earning seven Academy Award nominations. He is also remembered for his high-profile relationship with Elizabeth Taylor, which captivated global audiences.
Early Life and Career
Richard Burton was born on November 10, 1925, in Pontrhydyfen, Glamorganshire, Wales. He was the 12th of 13 children to Richard Walter Jenkins, a coal miner, and Edith Maude Jenkins. His mother died from puerperal fever in 1927, when he was two. His eldest sister, Cecilia, raised him in Taibach, Port Talbot. Burton’s father’s alcoholism and gambling strained family life. Burton showed early talent in poetry and sports, excelling in cricket and rugby. At 15, he left school to work as a draper’s assistant, hating the job.
Burton attended Port Talbot Grammar School, where he met Philip Burton, an English teacher who recognised his potential. Philip mentored him, coaching his voice and acting skills. In 1943, Philip became his legal guardian, enabling Burton to adopt his surname and attend Exeter College, Oxford, for six months in 1944. Burton’s acting career began in 1943 with a role in Emlyn Williams’ play The Druid’s Rest in Liverpool, spotted by Williams himself. While he was in Oxford, he did Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure for the Oxford University Dramatic Society. He joined Air Force in 1944 but poor eyesight prevented him from becoming a pilot.
Richard Burton On Stage
After RAF service, he signed with a theatrical agency in 1947. His stage work included The Lady’s Not for Burning (1949) on Broadway with John Gielgud. In 1951, Burton joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, a defining moment. He played Prince Hal and Henry V in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 and Henry V, directed by Anthony Quayle and Michael Redgrave. Critics, including Kenneth Tynan, praised his “electrifying presence” and “vocal clarity.” His performances drew thousands, boosting Stratford’s reputation. He also played Ferdinand in The Tempest and Philip of Cognac in King John, demonstrating versatility.
Burton’s work at London’s Old Vic Theatre solidified his Shakespearean stature. In 1953–54, he played Hamlet, Coriolanus, and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night under Michael Benthall’s direction. His Hamlet was lauded for its intensity, with The Times noting his “brooding intellectualism.” In 1955, he portrayed Iago in Othello opposite John Neville and starred in Volpone.
Burton’s Broadway debut came in 1949 with The Lady’s Not for Burning, opposite John Gielgud. In 1960, he starred as King Arthur in Camelot, a Lerner and Loewe musical, running for 873 performances. His performance won a Tony Award nomination. In 1964, he played Hamlet at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, directed by Gielgud. The production, ran for 137 performances, breaking Broadway records.
Burton’s final major stage role was Elyot in Noël Coward’s Private Lives (1983) with Elizabeth Taylor, which toured the U.S. and drew 50,000 attendees, per Variety, despite mixed reviews for its reliance on their star power.
Richard Burton On Screen
His film debut came in 1949 with Emlyn Williams’s The Last Days of Dolwyn, where he met his first wife, Sybil Williams. In his early career he acted in films like Now Barabbas (1949), The Woman with No Name (1950), Waterfront (1950) and Green Grow the Rushes (1951) without much success.
His breakthrough came with Henry Koster’s My Cousin Rachel (1952), where Burton plays Philip Ashley, a man suspecting his cousin’s widow (Olivia de Havilland) of murder. His intense performance earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
He reunited with Henry Koster for The Robe (1953), a biblical epic, the first in CinemaScope features Burton as Marcellus, a Roman officer haunted by Jesus’s crucifixion and his own part in the whole process. His commanding presence shone, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
After the success of The Robe, he acted in films like The Desert Rats (1955), Prince of Players (1955), The Rains of Ranchipur (1955), Alexander the Great (1956), Bitter Victory (1957), and The Longest Day (1962). One of his most memorable films in the 1950s was Tony Richardson’s Look Back in Anger (1959) opposite Claire Bloom. For his performance Burton got nominations for Best Actor at the BAFTA and Golden Globes.
Critical Acclaim
Cleopatra (1963), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is a historical epic that features Burton as Mark Antony and Taylor as Cleopatra. Their chemistry, mirroring their off-screen romance, electrified the screen. The film’s $44 million budget made it the most expensive at the time. Critics, like Bosley Crowther, noted their “larger-than-life” performances, despite mixed reviews for the film’s pacing. The film earned nine Oscar nominations, winning four.
Burton plays Thomas Becket opposite Peter O’Toole’s Henry II in Peter Glenville’s Becket (1964). His nuanced portrayal of loyalty and betrayal earned an Oscar nomination. In 1965 he starred in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, directed by Martin Ritt. In the film Burton portrays Alec Leamas, a disillusioned spy. His gritty performance earned a BAFTA and an Oscar nomination.
In Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), directed by Mike Nichols, Burton plays George, a professor in a volatile marriage with Martha (Elizabeth Taylor). His raw, layered performance earned an Oscar nomination and a BAFTA. Their raw performances, fuelled by real-life parallels, earned critical acclaim. Taylor won an Oscar, and Burton was nominated. Roger Ebert called it “a masterclass in acting”. He was again nominated for an Oscar for Charles Jarrott’s Anne of the Thousand Days, where he played King Henry VIII (1966).
The V.I.P.s (1963), directed by Anthony Asquith, this drama casts Burton as Paul Andros, a businessman, and Taylor as Frances, his wife contemplating an affair. Their tense interplay drove the airport-set ensemble film. In Vincente Minnelli’s The Sandpiper (1965), Burton plays Dr Edward Hewitt, a headmaster, and Taylor plays Laura, a free-spirited artist. Their romantic drama, set in Big Sur, explored infidelity.
Other Work
In 1967 came Franco Zeffirelli’s The Taming of the Shrew, where Burton plays Petruchio and Taylor plays Kate in this Shakespeare adaptation. Their fiery chemistry suited the comedic battle of wills. In 1973 he starred in Divorce His, Divorce Hers (1973), a melodrama which was his last film with Taylor.
Some of his other notable films include The Night of the Iguana (1964) The Sandpiper (1965), Doctor Faustus (1967), The Comedians (1967), Boom! (1968), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Raid on Rommel (1971), Villain (1971), Bluebeard (1972), Hammersmith Is Out (1972), The Assassination of Trotsky (1972), Divorce His, Divorce Hers (1973), The Battle of Sutjeska (1973), The Klansman (1974), and Brief Encounter (1974).
In 1977, he acted in Sidney Lumet’s adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s play “Equus”, along with Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Joan Plowright and Colin Blakely. Burton and Firth were nominated for Oscars for Best Actor for Burton and Best Supporting Actor. Both of them won the Golden Globe in their respective categories.
Some of his later films include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Wild Geese (1978), The Medusa Touch (1978), Absolution (1981), Wagner (1983), Ellis Island (1984), and 1984 (1984).
Acting Process and Carft
Richard Burton’s acting style combined intensity, precision, and a resonant voice. He immersed himself in roles, drawing on personal experiences, particularly for troubled characters like George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. His Shakespearean training emphasised vocal clarity and emotional depth, honed by Philip Burton. He memorised lines effortlessly until his later years, when alcoholism affected his recall during Equus (1976). Burton avoided over-rehearsing, preferring spontaneity, as noted by Mike Nichols. His ability to recite Shakespeare’s works verbatim, even backwards, showcased his linguistic mastery.
Burton’s stage craft centered on his resonant voice, honed by Philip Burton’s elocution lessons. He memorized Shakespeare verbatim, famously reciting sonnets backwards. His approach avoided over-rehearsal, favoring spontaneity, as noted by director John Gielgud. Burton drew on personal experiences, like his Welsh upbringing, for emotional depth in roles like Hamlet. He used minimal gestures, relying on vocal modulation to convey intensity, as seen in Coriolanus. Alcoholism later affected his memory, requiring prompters during Camelot’s later runs. His ability to command large theaters, like the Old Vic’s 1,300 seats, made him a stage icon, per biographer Melvyn Bragg.
Personal Life
Richard Burton married five times. He first wed Sybil Williams in 1949, having two daughters, Kate (1957) and Jessica (1959). They divorced in 1963 amid his affair with Elizabeth Taylor. Burton and Taylor first metat the success party of “The Robe”. Their relationship started in 1961 on the set of Cleopatra. Their affair, dubbed “Le Scandale”, began during filming, despite both being married—Burton to Sybil Williams, Taylor to Eddie Fisher. The affair sparked global headlines and Vatican condemnation. They married on March 15, 1964, in Montreal, Canada, after divorcing their spouses.
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor
Their marriage was marked by lavish lifestyles, including the 69.42-carat Taylor-Burton Diamond, purchased for $1.1 million. They adopted daughter Maria and co-parented Taylor’s children. Their volatile relationship, fuelled by Burton’s alcoholism and mutual infidelities, led to divorce in June 1974.
They remarried in October 1975 in Botswana but divorced again in August 1976. Despite separations, they remained connected, with Burton calling Taylor his “one true love” in his diaries, publish
He married model Suzy Hunt in 1976, divorcing in 1982. His final marriage was to Sally Hay in 1983, lasting until his death. Burton’s alcoholism and infidelity strained relationships, but he remained close to Kate. He lived in Céligny, Switzerland, as a tax exile from 1957.
Richard Burton on IMDB
