Background and career
Richard Walter Burton (; né Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor.
Noted for his powerful presence and baritone voice, Burton had an expansive film and stage career. He made his feature film debut in the British drama The Last Days of Dolwyn in 1949 and gained attention for his role as Philip Ashley, the protagonist in the romantic mystery My Cousin Rachel earning his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
On stage, Burton established himself as a Shakespearean actor, starring in roles such as roles such as Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part 1 (1951) and Henry IV, Part 2 (1951), Henry V of England in Henry V (1951), Ferdinand in The Tempest (1951), Prince Hamlet in Hamlet (1953), Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night (1953), Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus in Coriolanus (1953), and Othello in Othello (1955). He was called "the natural successor to Olivier" by critic Kenneth Tynan. Burton's perceived failure to live up to those expectations disappointed some critics and colleagues; his heavy drinking added to his reputation as a great performer who had wasted his talent.
Throughout his career Burton received numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award. He received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of King Arthur in the Lerner and Loewe musical Camelot (1960). Despite seven Academy Award nominations Burton failed to win an Oscar; he was nominated for his performances in My Cousin Rachel (1952), The Robe (1953), Becket (1964), The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) and Equus (1977).
How Richard Burton makes money
The film was a commercial success, grossing $17 million against a $5 million budget, and Burton received his second Academy Award nomination, his first for Best Actor, for the 26th Academy Awards. Bolstered by The Robe's box office collections, Zanuck offered Burton a seven-year, seven-picture $1 million contract (equivalent to $12,124,060 in 2025), but he politely turned it down as he was planning to head home to portray Hamlet at The Old Vic.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (2024-09-18), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
