Richard Burton: Movies, Awards & Box Office

Richard Burton was born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr. on 10 November 1925 in the industrial village of Pontrhydyfen, Glamorgan, Wales, the twelfth of thirteen children in a Welsh‑speaking mining family. His early years were marked by hardship; his mother died when he was barely two, and he was raised by his elder sister Cecilia and her husband, who provided the stability that shaped his later determination. Burton’s prodigious vocal talent emerged early, winning an eisteddfod prize as a boy soprano, and he found his calling on the stage after a transformative mentorship with his schoolmaster Philip Burton, who later became his legal guardian and gave him the surname that would launch his career. After a brief stint in the Royal Air Force during World II, he pursued drama at Exeter College, Oxford, and quickly attracted attention with a compelling performance as Henry Higgins in Pygmalion. His breakthrough came with the 1949 Welsh film The Last Days of Dolwyn, which led to a contract with Alexander Korda and a series of British film roles that highlighted his striking baritone voice and commanding presence. By the early 1950s Burton had become a celebrated Shakespearean actor, earning critical acclaim for Hamlet at the Old Vic and for his powerful stage portrayals of Prince Hal and Henry V, which cemented his reputation as the natural successor to Olivier. Transitioning to Hollywood, he delivered a memorable debut in My Cousin Rachel (1952) and earned his first Academy Award nomination, followed by further nominations for The Robe, Becket and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. His personal life was as dramatic as his career, with five marriages—most famously to Elizabeth Taylor—and three children, including actress Kate Burton. Despite battles with alcoholism and the pressures of stardom, Burton remained one of the most revered actors of his generation, celebrated for his resonant voice, emotional depth, and unmistakable screen magnetism, until his untimely death in 1984.