Actor Richard Burton: biography, life story and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

The legendary Hollywood actor - Richard Burton - was nominated for an Oscar countless times, but did not win, which, however, did not prevent him from entering the history of world cinema. On account of his Grammy and Golden Globe awards, as well as the main roles in dozens of films. He was loved by women, which was confirmed by his repeated marriages and novels, and the most famous of them is still discussed in the pages of glossy magazines.

Young years

Richard W alter Jenkins was born in 1925 in Wales, in a miner's family, which at that time already had 11 children.

Living in poverty, he began his acting career from school. Already from the first roles, his teacher Philip Barton saw a real talent in the boy and did everything to bring him to perfection. Richard understood that he owed his acting skills to a teacher who believed in him and put his soul into his student. As a token of gratitude, he took the surname Barton as a stage name and made her famous throughout the world. In addition, fate gave Richardmeeting with Tenager Ricci. This philanthropist appreciated the natural abilities of the son of a poor "coal miner" and provided him with a large amount, which allowed the guy to get an excellent education at Oxford University.

Career start

In 1943, actor Richard Burton made his debut on the professional stage. However, he was soon drafted into the army, and until 1947 he served in the US Air Force. After demobilization, the young man entered one of the London theaters. A year later, Richard successfully made his film debut in the film "The Last Days of Dolvin", in which he played one of the main roles. In parallel with this, he worked extensively on radio, and a little later he was given a role in the famous Shakespeare Memorial Theater in Stratford-upon-Avon. Having become famous in his homeland, Richard Burton went to conquer Hollywood. There he made his debut in the film "My Cousin Rachel", in which he played the main male role.

The consequences of failure

The complex nature of the creator and his lack of recognition at the time did their job: the last years of his life, Richard Burton suffered from alcoholism and related diseases. The actor tried to be treated, but the constant state of stress led to constant breakdowns, and, as a result, death at the age of 58. Alcohol during his lifetime left an imprint on his fate: drinking caused him to break up with his beloved woman - Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

The whole world press once wrote about the novel of these great actors. This is undoubtedly one of the most famous couples of all time. Even the story of Jolie and Pete, compared to these daredevils, seems boring and primitive. Millions of people around the world savored the details of their relationship: public love confessions, repeated divorces and weddings, quarrels and scandals - all this is just part of their hectic life. But, unfortunately, two such creative and quick-tempered characters cannot live peacefully and happily. Despite great love, they broke up, but when you mention the name Richard Burton, you immediately think of Elizabeth Taylor, and vice versa.

Collaborations

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, whose films were almost always successful, starred together in 11 films. The first of these was the famous Cleopatra. At the time of work on the picture, Elizabeth was married to Eddie Fisher, and Burton is married to Sybil Williams, with whom he had two daughters. A few months after filming, they got married and lived together for more than ten years. The most famous joint picture of the couple was the film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", For which Elizabeth received a second Oscar, and Barton received another nomination for this award, which he never managed to hold in his hands. Richard himself believed that participation in this film was his mistake, since it was this work that formed his image of a henpecked man, from which he tried in vain to get rid of.

At the same time, at the end of his life, he once admitted to reporters that his main role in life was the role of his wife ElizabethTaylor.

The Other Women of Richard Burton

The actor, whom Marlene Dietrich herself called "a man who makes a woman's heart beat faster", had countless fleeting romances with many recognized beauties of Hollywood of his time and was married 5 times (twice to Elizabeth Taylor). In addition to Liz and Sybil Williams, which has already been mentioned, Barton's wives were model Susan Hunt and make-up artist Sali Hay. The first wife of Richard Burton not only endured an affair with Liz Taylor unfolding before her eyes for a whole year, but long before that she pretended not to notice her husband's relationship with the English actress Claire Bloom. In a duet with her in 1958, the actor starred in the film Look Back in Anger, which critics recognized as one of his best works.

Love is not only for people

Probably, failure in his personal life haunted him because Richard's only true and unconditional love was the stage. Indeed, at that difficult time, when he was a little boy from a large family, whom there was no one to raise, because his parents struggled to earn a living, his only consolation was the game. When there was no one to give him a parting word in life, he fell into the hands of a volume of Shakespeare, which determined his future fate. And the teacher, who took up his upbringing with the diligence of his father, finally instilled in Barton a love of acting.

Interesting facts

Burton's name is overgrown with legends. However, many stories about him that seem to be fiction have been confirmed.facts:

• his marriage to Elizabeth Taylor took place 9 days after Liz's divorce;
• the only woman who could be proud to have rejected Barton was actress Joan Collins, who co-starred with him in Attributes of Passion;
• star couple immediately adopted a girl from Germany;
• once Richard gave Elizabeth a $1,100,000 ring, for which he "fought" with Onassis himself at the auction;
• Liz survived Barton by 27 years, and he predicted that this would happen immediately after their second divorce;
• the actor was buried along with a volume of poetry by Dylan Thomas.

A person's consciousness and his dreams are formed in childhood. So, Richard Burton, whose films many still enjoy watching, from a young age knew exactly what he wanted and what he dreamed of, and worked on making his dream come true until the last days of his life.

Today the actor is considered a legend, and his work is studied by all connoisseurs of cinema. And all thanks not only to talent, but also to the perseverance and complete dedication of Richard Burton, who fanatically devoted his life to cinema and the stage. He, like a real genius, rushed to meet any test that came across his creative path, and was able to leave an indelible mark on art.