His career in film and television was long and relatively successful, but he never achieved major recognition. He played the Hunt Leader, a
gorilla, in the science fiction film
Planet of the Apes, notable as being the first ape to be seen by both
Taylor and the audience, and also appeared as a (human) army officer in the second sequel
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971). In film, he is perhaps best known for his performance as
Felix Leiter in the
James Bond film
Diamonds Are Forever (1971). He played Will Giddings, an ill-fated engineer, in the action film
The Towering Inferno (1974), and his later films included
The Gumball Rally (1976),
Crimes of Passion (1984) and
Deep Space (1988). He played
Dennis Christopher's mean and ill-fated boss in the slasher
Fade To Black (1980). On television, he is best known for his performance as Inter-Agency Defense Command's supervisor Joe Atkinson during the second season of the
DC Comics-based fantasy adventure drama series
The New Adventures of Wonder Woman starring
Lynda Carter. He also played Burt Dennis in the
situation comedy The Ted Knight Show in the spring of 1978, and appeared as General
George Marshall in the 1988 television miniseries
War and Remembrance. Throughout his life, Burton was a devotee of the
method school of acting, and taught method acting in
Lakeside, California. He also known for playing the part of Dr. Green (Natalie’s father) in the television series
The Facts of Life. ==Death==