Richard Walter Jenkins, later known as Richard Burton, was a renowned British actor born in 1925 in Pontrhydyfen, Wales, to a Welsh-speaking family. As the twelfth of thirteen children, he was raised by his elder sister, Cecilia, after his mother's death and father's abandonment.
Burton's love for Shakespeare, poetry, and reading led him to receive a scholarship to Oxford University to study acting. He made his stage debut in 1944 and went on to appear in numerous British and Hollywood films, including Woman of Dolwyn, My Cousin Rachel, The Robe, and Alexander the Great.
In the late 1950s, Burton was part of the "British New Wave" in UK cinema, starring in Look Back in Anger and The Longest Day. He then gained international recognition for his roles in Cleopatra, The V.I.P.s, The Sandpiper, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and The Taming of The Shrew, opposite Elizabeth Taylor, whom he married twice.
Throughout his career, Burton received critical acclaim for his performances in Becket, The Night of the Iguana, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and Where Eagles Dare. He also won an Oscar nomination for his role in Equus.
Despite his declining popularity in the 1970s, Burton continued to appear in films, including Anne of the Thousand Days, Raid on Rommel, Villain, Hammersmith Is Out, Bluebeard, and The Assassination of Trotsky. His final performances were in The Wild Geese and the TV mini-series Ellis Island.
Richard Burton passed away on August 5, 1984, in Celigny, Switzerland, from a cerebral hemorrhage.
