Richard Burton was one of the most revered actors of his generation — and, thanks to his tempestuous marriage(s) to Elizabeth Taylor, one of the most famous as well. And until Peter O’Toole’s eighth nomination, the two were tied for an unenviable record: most acting nominations with no wins. (A few asterisks here: By the time of the late O’Toole’s final losing nomination, he had already received a special lifetime achievement Oscar. And technically, Al Pacino lost on his seventh nomination at the 1993 ceremonies, too — only he won on his eighth nomination two hours later that same night. And now, having lost eight different times, Glenn Close now holds the record.)

Burton could have essentially prevailed on any of his nominations, but he was most deserving for 1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a crowded category in which he, Alan Arkin, Michael Caine all deserved it and lost to Paul Scofield as part of the A Man For All Seasons sweep.

Conventional wisdom had it that he would win for what ultimately turned out to be his final nomination, for 1977’s Equus. In a major upset, another Richard — Dreyfuss — won, for The Goodbye Girl (in which he is very good). Burton must have thought he had it, too. He started to get up when presenter Sylvester Stallone began reading Dreyfuss’ name!

This article is part of a special year-long series of anecdotes, reflections and thoughts about the Academy Awards.