Richard Burton Spoke Candidly About Alcoholism, Calling It a ‘Dreadful Disease’ Just Four Years Before His Death at 58
Richard Burton Spoke Candidly About Alcoholism, Calling It a ‘Dreadful Disease’ Just Four Years Before His Death at 58
Angela AndaloroWed, August 5, 2026 at 9:43 PM UTC
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Richard Burton in 1980 (left), Dick CavettCredit: Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty -
Richard Burton’s struggles with drinking were an open secret around Hollywood throughout the actor’s career
In an Aug. 1980 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show, the host asked about the Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? actor to speak on his experiences with alcohol
Burton gave a stirring discussion of alcoholism, both as it pertained to himself and millions of others who struggle with drinking, just years before complications from alcoholism contributed to his death
Richard Burton was surprisingly candid about some of his darker feelings.
Burton, who died on Aug. 5, 1984, at the age of 58, struggled with drinking and battled poor health in his later years. In an interview on The Dick Cavett Show, the famed actor talked about his experiences with alcohol after the host offered him the floor to be a “PSA” for others who were having a hard time. The interview first aired on August 4, 1980, which was four years and a day before Burton’s death from intracerebral hemorrhage.
“I think that nobody quite knows which drink it is that takes him over the edge of being merely social or hearty, laughing drinker into a morose and hungover wretched creature that shakes and creaks and sweats and has nightmares,” Burton began.
Speaking about grappling with “shame” and “suffering,” Burton continued, “The question of being an alcoholic... I’m not quite sure that I am. Alcoholism is is a dreadful disease and my sympathy. I believe there is something like 15 million Americans alone that are alcoholics, and my sympathy for them and my affection for them is profound.”
Richard Burton circa 1960Credit: Screen Archives/Getty
The Cleopatra actor noted that he would regularly hear stories from alcoholics because he was publicly perceived as “being a representative figure for this dreadful disease.”
Burton used the analogy of a boxing match to explain how alcoholics were in a continuous fight, day after day. He added, “But one of these days, unless you’re careful, he’s going to nail you right on the chin and down, you go... For the rest of your life, you’re stuck with that shadowy figure, always, always coming at you.”
The actor conceded that his place in the industry presented him with “every conceivable excuse to take a drink,” and credited the “enormous assistance” provided by then-wife British model Suzy Hunt. The two were married from 1976 to 1982.
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Ricahrd Burton in 1970Credit: TPLP/Getty
“Without any exaggeration whatsoever, I might very easily be dead [without her]. I’m not joking, I mean that,” he shared. Using the example of his time in Equus, his first time ever sober on stage, he continued, “It was the first time in my life I’d ever been on the stage without to drink, and I shook, and I shivered. And she knew. Susan knew.”
He explained that although the show and his performance were getting rave reviews, “Every night, we never knew if I’d crack.”
“And never once, for instance, did she hide the booze or anything like that. There was a bottle of vodka. There was a bottle of gin, right in the dressing room. All I had to do is open the door and there it was. And I was in it for 12 weeks.”
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Richard Burton in 1982Credit: Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch via Getty
On the subject, Burton concluded, “All I can say is, to anybody in this country or in the world who has the same problem, you have my deepest sympathies, and I hope you have a wife like mine.”
Previously, the Welsh actor was wed to his first wife, Sybil Williams — whom he met on the set of the British movie The Last Days of Dolwyn — from 1949 to 1963. Burton and Elizabeth Taylor then began what would become one of Hollywood’s most famous romances, marrying twice — once from 1964 to 1974 and again from 1975 to 1976. In the last year of his life, Burton was married to Sally Hay.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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