Richard Burton CBE born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr 10 November 1925 5 August 1984 was a Welsh actor Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and he gave a memorable performance of Hamlet in 1964 He was called the natural successor to Olivier by critic Kenneth Tynan A heavy drinker Burtons perceived failure to live up to those expectations disappointed some critics and colleagues and added to his image as a great performer who had wasted his talent Nevertheless he is widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation Burton was nominated for an Academy Award seven times but never won an Oscar He was a recipient of BAFTAs Golden Globes and Tony Awards for Best Actor In the mid1960s Burton ascended into the ranks of the top box office stars By the late 1960s Burton was one of the highestpaid actors in the world receiving fees of 1 million or more plus a share of the gross receipts Burton remained closely associated in the public consciousness with his second wife actress Elizabeth Taylor The couples turbulent relationship in which they were married twice and divorced twice was rarely out of the news Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard Burton licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia