Donald Graham Burton (10 February 1934 – 8 December 2007) was an English theatre and television actor.

Life and career

Donald was born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, England, on 10 February 1934. He attended the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

. He worked as an Associate Artist of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

for many years. He appeared in such famous Shakespeare plays as ''

The Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was f ...

'' and ''Henry IV, Part 1 and 2''. He played the character of the Duke of Exeter in the whole series of the 8 Shakespeare 'History' plays which were performed at the R.S.C. in 1964. In 1965 he appeared in the outstandingly successful RSC production of Gogol's ''The Government Inspector'' at the Aldwych Theatre, London, with

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield ...

Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdo ...

, Paul Rogers,

Stanley Lebor Stanley Harvey Lebor (24 September 1934 – 22 November 2014) was an English actor. He was best known for his roles as Howard Hughes in the 1980s BBC TV comedy series ''Ever Decreasing Circles'', the Mongon Doctor in ''Flash Gordon'' (1980), and ...

, Bruce Condell and other outstanding Shakespearian actors of the period Burton's television roles included ''

Big Breadwinner Hog ''Big Breadwinner Hog'' is a British television thriller serial devised by Robin Chapman, produced by Granada TV and transmitted in eight parts, starting at 9.00pm on 11 April 1969 on the ITV network. Overview The series focussed on the rut ...

'', ''

Warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

'', ''

The Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth (producer), John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV (TV network), ITV period drama ''Upstairs, ...

''; ''

The Doombolt Chase ''The Doombolt Chase'' is a naval-themed British science fiction/action television series aimed at a teenage audience. It was broadcast between 12 March and 16 April 1978, as a six-episode series. It was also broadcast in Canada on TVOntario in ...

''; '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', '' Public Eye'', ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' ( Gunfight at the O.K. Laundrette) and ''

Fraud Squad A Fraud Squad is a police department which investigates fraud and other economic crimes. *Fraud squad (United Kingdom) *Garda Fraud Squad Fraud squad may also refer to: *Fraud Squad (duo), musical partnership between Daz Sampson and with JJ M ...

''. His more contemporary theatre roles included ''

How the Other Half Loves How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...

'' and ''

Educating Rita ''Educating Rita'' is a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell. It is a play for two actors set entirely in the office of an Open University tutor. Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, ''Educating Rita'' premièred at The ...

''. He would have been best known amongst the British public for his role as Commander Mark Nialls, captain of the fictional in the BBC television drama ''

''. In 1990, Burton returned to Broadway in the production of ''The Merchant of Venice'' at the 46th Street Theatre. Burton married actress Carroll Baker on 10 March 1978. The couple were married for 29 years until his death in December 2007. Donald Burton has three daughters Rachel Larkin, Sarah Burton and Kerri Davenport Burton. Donald Burton died of

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

at his home in

Cathedral City, California Cathedral City, colloquially known as "Cat City", is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second la ...

, on 8 December 2007. He was 73 years old.

Personal life

Burton was the third and last husband of actress

Carroll Baker Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American retired actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in t ...

. They married on 10 March 1982, and remained married until his death. They met while on tour with the play ''Motive''.

Filmography

*'' King Arthur, the Young Warlord'' (1975) - Herwood the Holy *'' The Message'' (1976) - Amr *''Spogliando Valeria'' (1989) - Senator Verani *''Alcune signore per bene'' (1990) - Paul *''

Hudson Hawk ''Hudson Hawk'' is a 1991 American action comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann. Bruce Willis stars in the title role and also co-wrote the story. Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, David Caruso, Lorraine Toussaint, Frank Stallo ...

'' (1991) - Alfred *''Goldilocks and the Three Bears'' (1995) - Mr McReady *''Follow Your Heart'' (1999) - Malcolm

Television

* '' Upstairs Downstairs'' * ''

'' * ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

'' * ''

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

'' (1978) - Harry Blaney

References

External links

* Male actors from Norwich English male television actors English male stage actors Royal Shakespeare Company members Deaths from emphysema People from Cathedral City, California 1934 births 2007 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art {{UK-stage-actor-stub