Richard Burton

Born: 19th November 1925
Where: Pontrhydyfen, South Wales

Born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr, the distinguished actor was a miner's son and the 12th of 13 children. He insisted that his way out of an impoverished Welsh childhood was due not to acting, but to books; he read one a day.

He took his professional name from his former schoolteacher, Philip Burton, who proved a great influence and helped the young man lose his Welsh accent and get into Oxford at age 16.

Richard was immediately labelled a "promising actor" and several brilliant performances, particularly in stage productions of Shakespeare, confirmed that promise. But critics would later complain that the promise went unfulfilled.

His breakthrough in theatre preceded a series of minor film roles and he soon got his big break in movies with the 1952 Hollywood production, My Cousin Rachel.

The film earned him his first of six Oscar nominations (he never actually won one) and his screen career continued to build with The Desert Rats and The Robe.

Richard's career then took a dive but was revived in 1960 with a triumphant return to the stage, which won him the part of Mark Antony in 1963's spectacular production of Cleopatra.

The film launched him to international stardom, as well as marking the beginning of his tempestuous, highly publicised relationship with co-star Elizabeth Taylor.

He divorced his first wife, Welsh actress Sybil Williams, to marry Taylor in 1963; the couple were divorced, re-married and divorced for a second time in the 1970s. In 1976 he married Susan Hunt, whom he divorced in 1982.

When Richard's film career hit another low, he again returned to Broadway, taking over the role of Dr. Dysart in Peter Shaffer's Equus. The 1977 screen version garnered him another Oscar nomination.

Burton died of a brain hemorrhage on August 5th 1984 in Geneva, Switzerland, less than a week before he was due to begin shooting Wild Geese II, a sequel to his successful mercenary thriller.

He was survived by his widow, Sally Hay Burton and two daughters - Kate, a respected actress, and Jessica.