Richard Burton's Real Name: Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.

Quick answer: Richard Burton's original name is Richard Walter Jenkins Jr. He was born on November 10, 1925, in Pontrhydyfen, Wales, and died on August 5, 1984, in Switzerland. The Welsh stage and film actor received seven Academy Award nominations and was married twice to Elizabeth Taylor (Britannica; Biography).

Real name and early life

Britannica lists him as also known as Richard Walter Jenkins, Jr. Biography.com says he was born Richard Walter Jenkins on November 10, 1925, in Pontrhydyfen, South Wales, the twelfth child of a coal miner, and lost his mother when he was two. A teacher, Philip Burton, became his guardian and introduced him to the theater; he took the Burton surname. The Library of Congress heading is "Burton, Richard, 1925-1984," with the official variants "Jenkins, Richard Walter, Jr., 1925-1984" and "Jenkins, Richard, 1925-1984."

Biography.com says he made his London debut in The Druid's Rest, later earned a scholarship to Oxford, and served in the British air force during wartime, leaving the military in 1947.

Career highlights

His film debut was The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949), Biography.com says. He received his first Oscar nomination, for supporting actor, for My Cousin Rachel (1952), and another, for best actor, for The Robe (1953). Stage work included the Old Vic and the Royal Shakespeare Company and a 1960 Broadway run in Camelot. Biography.com says he went on to appear in more than 40 films, including Alexander the Great (1956). Later nominations it cites include Becket, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Equus. A Library of Congress note records that he was nominated for an Academy Award seven times without winning, while receiving BAFTA and Golden Globe awards. He and Elizabeth Taylor met while making Cleopatra (1963), married in 1964, later divorced, remarried, and divorced again; they also appeared together in The Taming of the Shrew (1967). Britannica notes that he was often identified with intelligent, world-weary, or self-destructive characters, and that his career was sometimes overshadowed by his personal life.

Death

Britannica says he died on August 5, 1984, in Geneva, Switzerland, from a cerebral hemorrhage. Biography.com gives the place as Céligny, Switzerland. Library of Congress notes mention both Céligny, in the Geneva area, and Geneva.

Name notes for searchers

Richard Walter Jenkins Jr. is the documented birth name; he took the professional surname Burton from his teacher and guardian, Philip Burton. He should not be confused with other public figures named Richard Burton or Richard Jenkins.