Editing Richard Burton (section)

=== 1970–1984: Later career and final years ===
[[File:Burton Taylor Divorce His Hers 1973.jpg|thumb|right|In ''[[Divorce His, Divorce Hers]]'' (1973), his final film with Taylor]]
In 1970, on his 45th birthday, Burton was ceremonially honoured with a [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] at Buckingham Palace; Taylor and Cis were present during the ceremony. He attributed not having a knighthood to changing his residence from London to Céligny to escape taxes.{{Sfn|Alpert|1986|p=199}} From the 1970s, after his completion of ''Anne of the Thousand Days'', Burton began to work in mediocre films, which hurt his career.<ref name="Life"/> This was partly due to the Burtons' extravagant spending, his increasing addiction to alcohol, and his claim that he could not "find any worthy material that is pertinent to our times".<ref name="Life"/>{{Sfn|Alpert|1986|p=199}} He recognised his financial need to work, and understood in the [[New Hollywood]] era of cinema, neither he nor Taylor would be paid as well as at the height of their stardom.{{Sfnm|1a1=Alpert|1y=1986|1p=197|2a1=Bragg|2y=1988|2p=252}} Some of the films he made during this period include: ''[[Bluebeard (1972 film)|Bluebeard]]'' (1972), ''[[Hammersmith Is Out]]'' (1972), ''[[Battle of Sutjeska (film)|Battle of Sutjeska]]'' (1973), ''[[The Klansman]]'' (1974), and ''[[Exorcist II: The Heretic]]'' (1977).{{Sfn|Bragg|1988|p=Appendices: Films}} His last film with Taylor was the two-part melodrama ''[[Divorce His, Divorce Hers]]'' (1973).{{Sfn|Bragg|1988|p=Appendices: Television}} He did enjoy one major critical success in the 1970s with [[Equus (film)|the film version]] of his stage hit ''[[Equus (play)|Equus]]'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/equus/ | title=Equus (1977) | website=Rotten Tomatoes | date=4 March 2003 | access-date=3 September 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903020555/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/equus/ | archive-date=3 September 2016 | url-status=live}}</ref> winning the [[Golden Globe Award]] as well as garnering an Academy Award nomination.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1978 | title=Winners & Nominees 1978 | publisher=Hollywood Foreign Press Association | access-date=3 September 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903020226/http://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1978 | archive-date=3 September 2016 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978 | title=The 50th Academy Awards 1978 | publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences | date=3 April 1978 | access-date=3 September 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903020219/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978 | archive-date=3 September 2016 | url-status=live}}</ref> Public sentiment towards his perennial frustration at not winning an Oscar made many pundits consider him the favourite to finally win the award, but he lost to [[Richard Dreyfuss]] in ''[[The Goodbye Girl]]''.{{Sfn|Bragg|1988|p=440}}

In 1976, Burton received a [[18th Grammy Awards|Grammy Award]] in the category of [[Grammy Award for Best Album for Children|Best Recording for Children]] for his narration of ''[[The Little Prince]]'' by [[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.grammy.com/videos/18th-annual-grammmy-awards-best-recording-for-children | title=Richard Burton Wins Best Recording For Children | publisher=[[The Recording Academy]] | date=5 January 2010 | access-date=3 September 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903021602/http://www.grammy.com/videos/18th-annual-grammmy-awards-best-recording-for-children | archive-date=3 September 2016 | url-status=live}}</ref> His narration of ''[[Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds]]'' became such a necessary part of the concept album that a hologram of Burton was used to narrate the live stage show (touring in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010) of the musical.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/war-worlds-everything-you-need-8224988 | title=The War of the Worlds: Everything you need to know about Jeff Wayne's Musical Version | publisher=WalesOnline | date=4 December 2014 | access-date=3 September 2016 | first=Kate | last=Rees | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903022615/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/war-worlds-everything-you-need-8224988 | archive-date=3 September 2016 | url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, however, [[Liam Neeson]] was cast in the part for a "New Generation" re-recording, and replaced Burton as the hologram character in the stage show.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-15793250 | title=Liam Neeson joins War of the Worlds musical as hologram | publisher=BBC | date=18 November 2011 | access-date=3 September 2016 | first=Tim | last=Masters | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903022127/http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-15793250 | archive-date=3 September 2016 | url-status=live}}</ref>

Burton had an international box-office hit with ''[[The Wild Geese]]'' (1978), an adventure tale about mercenaries in Africa. The film was a success in Europe but had only limited distribution in the United States owing to the [[Monogram Pictures#Demise|collapse]] of the studio that distributed it.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1418957/index.html | title=Liam Neeson joins War of the Worlds musical as hologram | publisher=Screenonline | access-date=3 January 2017 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20170103101508/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1418957/index.html | archive-date=3 January 2017 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}</ref> He returned to films with ''[[The Medusa Touch (film)|The Medusa Touch]]'' (1978), ''[[Circle of Two]]'' (1980), and the title role in ''[[Wagner (film)|Wagner]]'' (1983).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/24/arts/richard-burton-stars-in-wagner-on-13.html|title=Richard Burton Stars In 'Wagner' On 13|date=24 October 1986|work=[[The New York Times]]|first=John|last=J. O'Connor|access-date=3 January 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140107210703/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/24/arts/richard-burton-stars-in-wagner-on-13.html|archive-date=7 January 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> His last film performance as [[O'Brien (Nineteen Eighty-Four)|O'Brien]] in ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984 film)|Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' (1984) was critically acclaimed though he was not the first choice for the role. According to the film's director, [[Michael Radford]], Paul Scofield was originally contracted to play the part, but had to withdraw due to a broken leg; Sean Connery, Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger were all approached before Burton was cast. He had "heard stories" about Burton's heavy drinking, which had concerned the producers.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/13281/the-den-of-geek-interview-michael-radford | title=The Den of Geek interview: Michael Radford | publisher=[[Dennis Publishing|Den of Geek]] | first=Simon | last=Brew | date=8 April 2008 | access-date=3 January 2017 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20140811201101/http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/13281/the-den-of-geek-interview-michael-radford | archive-date=11 August 2014 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Burton's last acting appearance was in the miniseries ''[[Ellis Island (miniseries)|Ellis Island]]'', which aired posthumously on CBS in November 1984. At the time of his death, he was preparing to film ''[[Wild Geese II]]'', the sequel to ''The Wild Geese'', which was eventually released in 1985. Burton was to reprise the role of Colonel Faulkner, while Laurence Olivier was cast as [[Rudolf Hess]]. After his death, Burton was replaced by [[Edward Fox (actor)|Edward Fox]], and the character changed to Faulkner's younger brother.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/wild-geese-ii | title=Wild Geese II | work=Time Out | first=Anne | last=Billson | date=10 September 2012 | access-date=3 January 2017 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20170103161614/http://www.timeout.com/london/film/wild-geese-ii | archive-date=3 January 2017 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}</ref>{{Sfn|Munn|2014|p=258}}