Richard Burton

To help Richard further, in 1943 Philip Burton became his legal guardian – and Richard Jenkins became Richard Burton. Being ‘son of a schoolteacher’ improved his chances to get into Oxford University, where he spent six months as part of an RAF training course and performed in many productions. While he was at Oxford, Philip Burton sent him an advert from the Western Mail seeking young Welsh actors, which led to Burton’s stage debut starring in The Druid’s Rest at London’s St Martin’s Theatre in 1943.

After being demobbed from the RAF in 1947, Burton performed in The Last Days of Dolwyn which aired in April 1949, made by British Lion Films. On set, he met his first wife, Sybil Williams.

Soon, Burton’s star was on the rise: he and Sybil moved to London, where he began to tread the boards of West End theatres and portrayed Shakespeare’s heroes and villains at Stratford Memorial Theatre. In 1953 he turned down a million-dollar contract (equivalent to around $11m today) to earn £150/week performing Shakespeare at London’s Old Vic Theatre.

By the 1950s he was becoming a leading man in British theatre, and he became part of broadcasting history when he played the First Voice in Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood. The dulcet tones and timbre cadence of his voice cemented him as a stellar voice performer, and his voice remains closely associated with Thomas’ work today. 

As success continued to find him, Burton couldn’t ignore the calls from Hollywood. In 1952 he starred in his first studio movie, My Cousin Rachel, which gained him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Roles in Desert Rats, The Robe, Alexander the Great and Look Back in Anger followed, but it was the firm Cleopatra that transformed his life and career. Starring opposite Elizabeth Taylor, who would become his second wife, Burton became a household name when the film premiered. 

Even as he became a part of the most famous couple in the world, Burton didn’t forget his Welsh roots. He returned regularly to Taibach in Port Talbot, having even named his home in Switzerland ‘Le Pays de Galles’ when he moved to the Alpine region of Céligny in 1957.

His film career – including performances in The VIPs, Becket, The Night of the Iguana and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? – earned him seven Oscar nominations. While his career continued to flourish, he made time for his family – raising his daughters Kate, Maria, and Jessica, and his step-sons Michael and Christopher.

After a ten-year marriage to Taylor, the two separated and Burton married Susan Hunt, a British model.

In 1976, the same year he married Hunt, Burton headed to Broadway to star in Equus and perform in the film of the play. He also returned to Wales, to pay a visit to the Miners Arms in Pontrhydyfen (now the Pontrhydyfen RFC Clubhouse) where he opened a room in memory of his father. In 1982, he met Sally Hay, his fourth wife, and the pair married in July 1983.

Despite declining health in the early 1980s, Burton continued to perform. His final role was opposite his eldest daughter Kate, in the TV series Ellis Island.

He died at home in Switzerland, from a sudden cerebral haemorrhage, in August 1984. He was buried wearing his favourite colour, red, with the works of his favourite poet Dylan Thomas at his side.

The memorial held at Pontrhydyfen Chapel saw thousands of attendees turn out to honour the star, who remained deeply proud of his Welsh heritage throughout his life. He was credited with saying ‘‘I think [my voice] is invested with small coal and rain or something – the voice is the voice of my people’.’

Richard Burton’s voice, stage and screen performances have earned him the status of an icon: taking Wales to the world as a Hollywood performer. On 1^st March 2013, fellow Port Talbot film star Michael Sheen gave a rousing speech as he unveiled the tribute to Richard Burton on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, celebrating Burton’s legacy and timeless contribution international arts.