Richard Burton

November 28, 2014

Richard Burton CBE (1925 – 1984) was a Welsh stage and cinema actor noted for his mellifluous baritone voice and his great acting talent. Establishing himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, with a memorable performance of Hamlet in 1964, Burton was called "the natural successor to Olivier" by critic and dramaturg Kenneth Tynan.

Burton was nominated as Best Actor for The Robe in 1954, but did not receive another nomination until 1965, for Becket, at which time he was one of the most famous actors in the world, due to his relationship with Elizabeth Taylor. Considered a favorite in the 1966 and '67 contests for The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), he lost to Lee Marvin and Paul Scofield, respectively. His performance in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) was bested by John Wayne in True Grit and his comeback performance in Equus (1977) was topped by Richard Dreyfuss in The Goodbye Girl.

Burton was married five times and he had four children. From 1949 until their divorce in 1963, he was married to Welsh actress Sybil Williams, with whom he had two daughters, Katherine Burton (born 10 September 1957) and Jessica Burton (born 1959). He was married twice, consecutively, to actress Elizabeth Taylor, from 15 March 1964 to 26 June 1974 and from 10 October 1975 to 29 July 1976. From 1983 until his death in 1984, Burton was married to make-up artist Sally Hay. [Wikipedia]