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Richard Burton, CBE (; 10 November 19255 August 1984) was a Welsh stage and cinema actor〔Obituary ''Variety'', 8 August 1984〕 noted for his mellifluous baritone voice and his acting talent. Establishing himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, with a memorable performance of Hamlet in 1964, Burton was called "the natural successor to Olivier" by critic and dramaturg Kenneth Tynan. An alcoholic,〔 Burton's failure to live up to those expectations disappointed critics and colleagues and fueled his legend as a great thespian wastrel.〔 Burton was nominated seven times for an Academy Award without ever winning. He was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. In the mid-1960s Burton ascended into the ranks of the top box office stars,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://tbmovielists.wordpress.com/quigleys-top-ten-box-office-champions-by-year/ )〕 and by the late 1960s was one of the highest-paid actors in the world, receiving fees of $1 million or more plus a share of the gross receipts.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000009/bio?ref_=nm_ql_1 )〕 Burton remains closely associated in the public consciousness with his second wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor. The couple's turbulent relationship was rarely out of the news. ==Childhood and education== Richard Burton was born Richard Walter Jenkins in the village of Pontrhydyfen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales. He grew up in a working class, Welsh-speaking household, the 12th of 13 children.〔()〕 His father, also named Richard Walter Jenkins, was a short, robust coal miner, a "twelve-pints-a-day man" who sometimes went off on drinking and gambling sprees for weeks. Burton later claimed, by family telling, that "He looked very much like me ... That is, he was pockmarked, devious, and smiled a great deal when he was in trouble. He was, also, a man of extraordinary eloquence, tremendous passion, great violence." Burton was less than two years old in 1927 when his mother, Edith Maude (née Thomas), died on 31 October 1927 at age 44〔The Richard Burton Diaries, p3〕 after giving birth to her 13th child. His sister Cecilia and her husband Elfed took him into their Presbyterian mining family at their terraced house on Caradoc Street in Taibach, in the town of Port Talbot (an English-speaking steel town).〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Richard Burton )〕 Whilst staying with Cecilia, Burton attended nearby Eastern Primary School on Incline Row.〔 Burton said later that his sister became "more mother to me than any mother could have ever been ... I was immensely proud of her ... she felt all tragedies except her own". Burton's father would occasionally visit the homes of his grown daughters but was otherwise absent. Also important in young Burton's life was Ifor (Ivor), his brother, 19 years his senior. A miner and rugby player, Ifor "ruled the household with the proverbial firm hand".〔Jenkins, David (subject's elder brother) ''Richard Burton: A brother remembered'', (2nd edn) Arrow Books London 1994〕 Whilst attending Port Talbot Grammar School (now Dyffryn Lower Comprehensive School) Burton showed a talent for English and Welsh literature, demonstrating an excellent memory, though his consuming interest was sports – rugby (in fact famous Welsh centre Bleddyn Williams said in his autobiography that Burton could have gone far as a player〔("Richard Burton's Last Match" ) in ''Take the Ball and Run'' by Godfrey Smith (Pavilion, 1991). ISBN 978-1-85145-605-5〕), cricket, and table tennis〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Richard Burton )〕 He later said, "I would rather have played for Wales at Cardiff Arms Park than Hamlet at the Old Vic."〔 He earned pocket money by running messages, hauling horse manure, and delivering newspapers. He started to smoke at the age of 8 and drink regularly at 12.〔 Inspired by his schoolmaster, Philip H. Burton, he excelled in school productions, his first being ''The Apple Cart''.〔 Philip Burton could not legally adopt young Richard due to their age difference; Burton was one year short of the minimum twenty years required. Richard Jenkins (as the young man was still known) displayed early-on an excellent speaking and singing voice, winning an Eisteddfod prize as a boy soprano. He left school at age 16 for full-time work. He worked for the local wartime Co-operative committee, handing out supplies in exchange for coupons, but then considered other professions for his future, including boxing, religion and singing.〔 When he joined the Port Talbot Squadron of the Air Training Corps as a cadet, he re-encountered Burton, his former teacher, who was the commander. He joined a youth drama group led by Leo Lloyd, a steel worker and avid amateur thespian, who taught him the fundamentals of acting. Burton, who recognised the youth's talent, then adopted him as his ward and Richard returned to school. Being older than most of the other boys, he was very attractive to some of the girls.〔 Philip Burton later said, "Richard was my son to all intents and purposes. I was committed to him."〔 Philip Burton tutored his charge intensely in school subjects, and also worked at developing the youth's acting voice, including outdoor voice drills which improved his projection.〔 In 1943, at age 18, Richard Burton (who had taken his teacher's surname but would not change it by deed poll for several years〔), was allowed into Exeter College, Oxford, for a special term of six months study, made possible because he was an air force cadet obligated to later military service. He subsequently served in the RAF (1944–1947) as a navigator. Burton's eyesight was too poor for him to be considered pilot-material.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Richard Burton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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