He was born Richard Walter Jenkins in Pontrhydyfen, Wales. He attended the University of Oxford and served in the Royal Air Force. Burton had great success on the stage and in films. He is particularly noted for his performances in such Shakespearean plays as Hamlet, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, and Othello.
He was married five times, twice (1964-74, 1975-76) to Elizabeth Taylor, with whom he appeared in such films as Cleopatra, The Taming of the Shrew and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? . In 1983 Burton made his final appearance on the New York stage in a revival of Private Lives, costarring with Taylor.
"Burton, Richard,"
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