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At 17, Richard
was fed up with family tension at home and, on Philip's suggestion, thought about
leaving. He eventually moved into 6 Connaught Street, Port Talbot on 1 March 1943
– St. David’s day. Cis let him go but said, ‘nobody knows how much
I cried.’ |
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Philip worked
on Richard, in particular his voice. He took Richard to the top of Welsh mountains
and made him speak parts of Henry V. Philip walked further away, insisting
that Richard did not shout but make his voice heard. Richard realized that distinctness
mattered, not volume. The practise paid off – he had one of the most distinctive
and memorable voices of all time. |
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Six months
before joining the RAF, Richard gained admittance to Exeter College, Oxford. For
him to become an undergraduate after he was demobilized, Philip was advised that
Richard was more likely to be accepted if he adopted the teenager. When it was
deemed legally impossible, Richard became Philip’s legal ward and Richard’s
surname was changed by deed poll to Burton. |
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In 1944, before
going to Oxford, Richard appeared in The Druid’s Rest, a play by Emlyn
Williams, the Welsh actor and writer. When the production moved to a London theatre,
a critic wrote in the New Statesman magazine, that Burton showed, ‘exceptional
ability’. Richard said later that these two words changed his life. |
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At Oxford he
played Angelo in Measure for Measure. It was his first big Shakespeare
role, and was to be performed in front of important people such as John Gielgud,
Terence Rattigan and Binkie Beamount. After the play, Richard received his first
professional offer from Binkie, who asked him to look him up after the war if
he wanted to be an actor. |
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In 1946 Philip
secured Richard leave from the RAF to play Morgan Evans The Corn is Green,
for television. However, it was his next role that truly set his mind on acting
as a career. In 1948 Douglas Cleverdon produced In Parenthesis for the
BBC with parts for Richard Burton, Philip Burton and Dylan Thomas. Richard thought
it was the finest thing he ever did. |
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After he was
demobilized Richard ‘looked up’ Binkie and secured a contract for £500
per year whether he worked or not. It was more money than his family earned in
their lives – he was getting further away from the poverty of the coal mining
towns he had grown up in. |
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In 1948 Richard
made his screen debut as Gareth in The Last Days of Dolwyn, a part specially
written for him by Emlyn Williams. With ‘the startling looks, fearless green
eyes set widely in a dramatic face’, Williams knew the boy was going to be
famous. His second British film Now Barabbas Was a Robber had critics comparing
him to Olivier. |
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By now Richard
was enjoying habits that remained unbroken for the rest of his life – drinking,
smoking, reading and doing crosswords. It was on the set of Dolwyn that
he met Sybil Williams. They married a few months later – he was 23. She adored
him: he thought she was wonderful. |
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In 1950 he
earned £1,000 for ten days work in The Woman With No Name. His next
role was in a play written in verse called The Lady’s Not For Burning,
directed by John Gielgud. In it he worked alongside some of the best stage actors
of the time. |
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His love for
words and language was obvious through his work with BBC radio. Burton began narrating
for radio in the early days of his career and would continue to do so for the
rest of his life. His radio recordings included poetry, plays and school programmes
– all for a fraction of the fees he could command in his film work. |
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During the
years 1949 to 1951 he completed four films Now Barabbas Was a Robber, Waterfront,
Green Grow the Rushes and The Woman With No Name. He was also in
the play, Phoenix too Frequent. By now he was signed to Alexander Korda
for a seven-year contract. |
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A major turning
point in his career came when he played the lead role in the play, The Boy
with a Cart. Anthony Quayle, a leading actor and director saw Richard in the
role. He was so impressed that he cast him as Prince Hal in Henry IV and
the King in Henry V in the 1951 Shakespeare season at Stratford-upon-Avon
as part of the Festival of Britain. |
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He received
impressive reviews. Kenneth Tynan a noted critic of British theatre said of him:
‘a brimming pool running disturbingly deep…Burton’s voice is urgent
and keen... He turned interested speculation into awe as soon as he started to
speak.’ News soon reached Hollywood of this arrogant young talent and a year
later he was starring opposite Olivia D’Havilland in My Cousin Rachel.
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In the next
four to five years he made three films under Fox: My Cousin Rachel, Desert
Rat, and The Robe. On receiving £80,000 for the work, Burton
was making it big. In 1953 Daryl Zanuck offered him a seven-picture deal for $1
million. With a commitment to do Hamlet at The Old Vic (for £45 a
week), Richard turned down the offer. Money was nice but it was not everything
to the actor whose greatest joys were words, words, and words. |
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The Old Vic
39-week season in which he played Coriolanus; Toby Belch in Twelfth Night;
Caliban in the Tempest; and the bastard in King John, was a critical
success. However, while he should have been proud of himself, he was devastated
by the death of Dylan – his hero and friend – who died from alcoholic
poisoning on 9 November 1953. Dylan was 39. |
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The young poet
had just finished writing a new play, Under Milk Wood. Douglas Cleverdon
at the BBC put together the first radio performance of the play. Everyone taking
part did it for free with royalties and fees going to Dylan’s young widow
and children. Richard played the part Dylan had written for himself. Later Richard
would play the same role on film. |
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In the next
three years he completed three more films in America: The Rains of Ranchipur,
The Prince of Players, and Alexander the Great. In 1955 he jetted
back to London to play in Henry V and Othello. It was these performances
that caused Kenneth Tynan to say that Burton ‘was now the natural successor
to Olivier.’ In 1956 Richard was awarded the Evening Standard drama
award for his Henry V. |
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