Richard Burton, orig. Richard Walter Jenkins, Jr., (born Nov. 10, 1925, Pontrhydyfen, Wales—died Aug. 5, 1984, Geneva, Switz.), British-U.S. actor. He first won success on the stage in The Lady’s Not for Burning in London (1949) and on Broadway (1950). His first Hollywood film role was in My Cousin Rachel (1952). During the filming of Cleopatra (1963) he had a highly publicized love affair with Elizabeth Taylor, whom he later twice married. Known for his resonant voice and his Welsh mournfulness, he starred again on Broadway in Camelot (1960) and an acclaimed Hamlet (1964). Among his other films are The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), and Equus (1977).
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