Richard Burton

Richard Walter Jenkins, Jr. came into the world on November 10, 1925, in the village of Pontrhydfen (Wales). He was the penultimate of the 13 children of a humble miner. As a child he was an exemplary student and a true reader, who devoured one book after another. One of his high school teachers, Phillip Burton –from whom he took his artistic last name– changed his life, as he encouraged him to participate in the center’s theatrical performances. Among other things, he encouraged her to lose her Welsh accent and speak with the accent typical of radio hosts.

At the age of 16, his very poor parents told him that he had to drop out of school and find a job. His mentor, Phillip Burton, who believed in his talent, decided to adopt him so he could go back to school. Thanks to a scholarship, he entered the University of Exeter, but immediately abandoned his studies to dedicate himself fully to acting.

Soon, Richard Burton made his debut on the British stage, with various works by Shakespeare, although he drew attention especially with “The Lady’s Not For Burning”, written by Christopher Fry .

His stage work did not go unnoticed by film producers, who hired him to make his big screen debut in Emlyn Williams’ The Last Days of Dolwyn . During filming he fell in love with Sybil Williams, one of his co-stars, whom he married in 1949, and with whom he had two children.

He got off to a good start in Hollywood, with Henry Koster ‘s My Cousin Rachel , with Olivia de Havilland , for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Role. In the 1950s, Richard Burton played memorable roles in such films as The Holy Robe , the first Cinemascope film, in which he played a Roman centurion overseeing the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. He was also the protagonist of titles such as Alexander the Great , The Prince of Actors , Las ratas del desierto or Bitter Victory .

Shortly after joining the large cast of The Longest Day , Richard Burton agreed to play Mark Antony in Cleopatra (1963) , the great blockbuster by Joseph L. Mankiewicz , whose filming was fraught with problems and lasted forever. Burton got so into his character that he ended up falling in love with Cleopatra, played by the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor , who by then had already been married four times and was about to divorce Eddie Fisher , singer and actor. What would become one of the most famous romances in the history of cinema was revealed on the screen, when she told Burton “without you this is not the world I want to live in.”

Shocked by her husband’s infidelity, Sybil Williams asked Burton for a divorce. He was seen holding hands with Elizabeth Taylor at numerous social events. “We’re looking like Laurel and Hardy,” Burton told Taylor. “And what’s wrong with that?” she replied.

After Cleopatra , they both co-starred in numerous films: International Hotel , Castles in the Sand , Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? , The Indomitable Woman , The Comedians , Doctor Faust , The Cursed Woman , Pact with the Devil , Under the Milk Forest and He Divorces, She Divorces , the latter very appropriate title. Burton and Taylor lived a real soap opera, marked by strong discussions. They got married in 1964, and ten years later they decided to divorce. In 1975 they got married again, and in 1976 they finally broke up.

Among the numerous roles that Burton rocked on film, he starred in Becket , the celebrated saintly Archbishop of Canterbury, where he shared the screen with great actors such as Peter O’Toole and John Gielgud . He also embroidered other historical figures, such as Leon Trotsky, in The Assassination of Trotsky , Henry VIII, in Anne of a Thousand Days , and Richard Wagner , in the television series Wagner . He was also the protagonist of Equus , the cinematographic version of the famous work by Peter Shaffer , and visited various genres, such as warfare ( Commando in the desert , The challenge of the eagles ,Wild Ducks ), terror ( Exorcist II: The Heretic ) and even science fiction ( 1984 ).

Oscar nominated seven times, never won one. After leaving Elizabeth Taylor he was joined by Susan Hunt and Sally Hay, who occasionally served as actresses. The star continued working until his death, on August 5, 1984, as a result of a brain hemorrhage. He had just finished shooting the television series Ellis Island .