Who was Richard Burton?

Richard Walter Jenkins, Jr., was born on November 10, 1925 at Pontrhydyfen, Wales Richard Walter Jenkins and née Thomas. His father was a Welsh coal miner and Richard was brought in a poor family. He was the 12th of 13 siblings. His mother died when he was just two years old. His sister Cecilia look after him after his mother died. Richard’s name was change to Richard Burton after Philip H. Burton who was his teacher, mentor and a world renowned actor, who also helped him obtain a scholarship to the University of Oxford.

Education of Richard Burton

He educated at the Eastern Primary School, passed secondary education from Port Talbot Secondary School by taking scholarship. He was the first member among his family to passed secondary school. He was interested in acting since his school days and did many theater plays.He recieved manny prize for excellence in school theater plays. At the age of sixteen he dropped out from school and joined the Royal Air Force.At the same time he learnt the art of acting from the youth drama club. At 18, he was admitted into Exeter College, Oxford with the help of Philip H. Burton.

Height Weight & Zodiac sign of Richard Burton

Photos of Richard Burton

Acting Career of Richard Burton

His first stage performance began from the early 1940’s but took some break from 1944 to 1947 due to his service in Royal Air Force navigator. He resumed his stage performance in 1948. In 1949 came his film debut “The Last Days of Dolwyn” and broadway debut in West End productions of  “The Lady’s Not for Burning” of Christopher Fry. He did play the role of Prince Hal opposite Anthony Quayle in ‘Henry IV Part I.

In his early career he also worked in some British movies wchich include-‘Now Barabbas Was A Robber’, ‘The Woman With No Name’ and ‘Green Grow the Rushes’

His method of acting and performance put attention on the Hollywood and in 1952 he signed a contract with 20th Century Fox came his first hollywood film ‘My Cousin Rachel‘. He starred opposite Olivia de Havilland and for which he recieved an Academy Award nomination for the first time. 1953 came The Desert Rats for which he played the role of a young English Capt. MacRoberts.He worked with James Mason in this movie and became good friends. In the same year came his famous Biblical blockbuster movie ‘The Robe‘ for which he played the role of Marcellus Gallio. He was nominated oscar award for this movie.

Some of his memorable films are

• 1954 – Demetrius and the Gladiator, Prince of Gamblers;
• 1955 – The Rains of Ranchipur
• 1956 – Alexander the Great
• 1957 –  Sea Wife 
• 1959 – Looking back in anger.
• 1960 – Ice Palace.

He also worked continuously at the Old Vic Theater at this time which include ‘Coriolanus’, ‘Lago’, ‘Othello’.

Although he impressed Hollywood audiences with his lively personality, all his early films were not as successful.

He first came to fame playing the role of Mark Antony in ‘Cleopatra’ (1963). It was the most expensive film of its time. It is said that at the time, even 20th Century Fox had gone bankrupt. He is best remembered for his 1964 Broadway production of ‘Hamlet’, the longest-running theater in the world. He won a Tony award for his role in Hamlet. Night of the Iguana also appeared in 1964. He was also nominated for an Oscar that same year for his performance in ‘In Beckett (1964)’.

• 1965-‘The Spy Who Came in from the Cold’ and ‘The Sandpiper’,
• 1966- ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ which was an adaptaion of the play of Edward Albee.
• 1967- came an adaptation of the Shakespeare’s play ‘The Taming of the Shrew‘ and ‘The Comedians’ which was based on a 1966 novel of the same name of Graham Greene.
• In 1968 came one of his commercial blockbuster world war second film ‘Where Eagles Dare’ along with Clint Eastwood.
• In 1969 he portrayed as Henry VIII in ‘Anne of the Thousand Days’.
• After 1970, he appeared in some average films which include  ‘Bluebeard and Hammersmith Is Out’ (1972).
• 1973- ‘Battle of Sutjeska’ and ‘Divorce His, Divorce Hers’ which was the last film with Elizabeth Taylor.
• 1974-‘The Klansman’ and 1977 came‘Exorcist II: The Heretic’ for which he garned an Academy Award nominnation and won a Golden Globe Award. He also did narration of ‘The Little Prince'(1976) and ‘The War of the Worlds’(1978). He bagged a Grammy Award in the category of Best Recording for Children.

In 1978 came his box office hit film ‘The Wild Geese‘. His last performance was ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ (1984) of O’Brien. He died while he was preparing to film ‘Wild Geese II’.

How many films did Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor work together?

Richar Burton and Elizabeth Taylor worked together in eleven films.

The V.I.P.s and Cleopatra in 1963; The Sandpiper in 1965; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1966; The Taming of the Shrew, Doctor Faustus and The Comedians in 1967; Boom! (1968), Under Milk Wood and Hammersmith is Out in 1972. His last film with Taylor was Divorce His, Divorce Hers which came in 1973.

Richard Burton Spouse

Richard Burton was married five times in his lifetime and married four different woman, twice consecutively to Elizabeth Taylor.

Sybil Christopher-first wife(1949-1963)

Richard married Sybil Christopher on February 5, 1949. Richard was twenty and Syybil was nineteen when they married. She was an actress, a theatre producer and nightclub founder. They began dating from the set of British drama The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949). She left her acting career after marriage to pursue and support Richard in his acting career. The couple had two daughter. The couple divorced in 1963 after Richard had an affair with Elizabeth Taylor on the sets of Cleopatra.

Elizabeth Taylor- second and third wife

Richard Burton met Elizabeth Taylor met on the sets of Cleopatra. At that time Taylor was already in marriage with singer Eddie Fisher. Richard and Taylor were considered to be one of Hollywood’s most romantic couple. Their love stories had many ups and downs. They were together for ten years and marrie for two times. First they maried on March 15, 1964 and divored June 26, 1974. For the second time, they remarried on October 10, 1975 and again divorced on July 29, 1976.

Susan Miller- fourth wife(1978-1982)

Susan Miller was a model, dancer,actrees and choreographer. She is remembered for her roles in Twenty Nine (1969) and the war movie The wild Geese(1978). The two met in 1978 and began dating. Burton left Taylor Susan. she had already in marriage with Hunt. Miller divorced Hunt in 1976 and Miller married Richard in 1976.The couple divorced in 1982.

Sally Hay Burton-fifth wife(1983-1984)

Sally was the fifth wife of Richard but for Sally it was her first marriage.She was a theatre producer and also an author. Richard and Sally met on the set of Tv-series Wagner. They married on July 3, 1983 and remained together until Richard died on August 5, 1984.

Richard Burton net worth

Richard Burton was one of the richest actor of his time. He has a net worth of $50 million dollars from the data of public sources,

Richard Burton cause of death?

 on 5 August 1984, Richard Burton died from cerebral haemorrhage (hemorrhagic stroke,a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain).

How old was Richard Burton when he died?

Richard Burton was only 58 years old when he died at his hoetown in Céligny, Switzerland.

Reference-

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burton
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Burton-Welsh-actor

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