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George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare (1961-1966).

Biography

Early life

Chamberlain was born in Beverly Hills, California, the son of Elsa W. (née Matthews) and Charles Chamberlain, who was a salesman.¹ Chamberlain's father was well known within Alcoholics Anonymous, having traveled for years speaking at A.A. conventions. In 1952 Richard Chamberlain graduated from Beverly Hills High School and later attended Pomona College.²

Career

Coinciding with his rise to fame on Kildare, Chamberlain also had a brief but moderately successful career as a pop singer. He subsequently became disenchanted with Hollywood and turned to the theater, finding success in England among British audiences. In 1966, Chamberlain was cast opposite Mary Tyler Moore in the ill-fated Broadway musical Breakfast at Tiffany's which, after a torturous out-of-town tryout period, closed after only four previews. It is considered one of the most notorious flops in theater history. Decades later he returned to Broadway in revivals of My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music.

In the first half of the 1970s, Chamberlain enjoyed some success as a leading man in films such as The Towering Inferno, The Last Wave, The Three Musketeers and sequels and The Count of Monte Cristo. In The Slipper and the Rose, a musical version of the Cinderella story, co-starring Gemma Craven, he displayed his vocal talents, which had already resulted in a hit single during his days as Dr. Kildare.

Richard Chamberlain in Shōgun (1980) with co-star Yoko Shimada.

Chamberlain later appeared in several popular television miniseries (earning him the sobriquet of "King of the Miniseries"), including Centennial, William Bast's The Man in the Iron Mask, Shogun, and The Thorn Birds playing Father Ralph de Bricassart opposite Rachel Ward. In the late 1980s he experienced a belated breakthrough as a leading man with King Solomon's Mines opposite newcomer Sharon Stone, and also played Jason Bourne in the original 1988 version of The Bourne Identity.

Since the 1990s, Chamberlain has mostly appeared in television movies and as a guest star on series including The Drew Carey Show and Will & Grace. In the fall of 2005, Chamberlain appeared in the title role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the Broadway National Tour of Scrooge: The Musical. In 2006, Chamberlain guest starred in an episode of the hit BBC drama series Hustle as well as season 4 on Nip/Tuck.

In 2007, Chamberlain guest starred in episode 80 (Season 4, Episode 8, "Distant Past") of Desperate Housewives as Glen Wingfield, Lynette Scavo's stepfather. His character is learned to be gay (Chamberlain himself is gay).³

Personal life

Chamberlain resides in Hawaii, with his partner since the mid-1970s, agent-producer-director Martin Rabbett.

Although it was generally known that Chamberlain was gay, having been outed by the French women's magazine Nous Deux in December 1989, it was not until 2003, at age 69, that he came out as such in his biography, Shattered Love (ISBN 0060087439), which describes how he felt obliged to hide his sexuality in order to have an acting career.

Filmography

• The Secret of the Purple Reef (1960)
• A Thunder of Drums (1961)
• Twilight of Honor (1963)
• Joy in the Morning (1965)
• Petulia (1968)
• The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969)
• Julius Caesar (1970)
• The Music Lovers (1970)
• Lady Caroline Lamb (1972)
• The Three Musketeers (1973)
• The Towering Inferno (1974)
• The Four Musketeers (1974)
• The Count of Monte Cristo (1975)
• The Little Mermaid (1975)
• The Slipper and the Rose (1976)
• The Last Wave (1977)
• The Man in the Iron Mask (1977)
• The Swarm (1978)
• Centennial (1978) (TV)
• Shōgun (1980) (TV)
• Murder by Phone (1982)
• The Thorn Birds (1983) (TV)
• King Solomon's Mines (1985)
• Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987)
• Casanova (1987) (TV)
• The Bourne Identity (1988) (TV)
• The Return of the Musketeers (1989)
• Bird of Prey (1995)
• The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996) (TV)
• A River Made to Drown In (1997)
• The Pavilion (1999)
• Blackbeard (2006) (TV)
• Strength and Honor (2006)
• I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)
• Desperate Housewives (2007) (Season 4, "Episode 8")

Discography

From Richard Chamberlain Sings:

• "Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight)" (1962)
• "Love Me Tender" (1962)
• "All I Have to Do Is Dream" (1963)
• "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo" (1963)
• "I Will Love You" (1963)
• "True Love" (1963)

From Twilight of Honor:

• "Blue Guitar" (1963)

From Richard Chamberlain (aka Joy in the Morning):

• "Rome Will Never Leave You" (1964)

From The Slipper and the Rose:

• "Secret Kingdom" (1976)
• "She Danced With Me" (1976)
• "What a Comforting Thing to Know" (1976)
• "Why Can't I Be Two People?" (1976)
• "Bride-Finding Ball" (1976)

References

External links

• Richard Chamberlain at the Internet Movie Database
• Richard Chamberlain in the glbtq Encyclopaedia
• Richard Chamberlain Online
• Richard Chamberlain fansite
• Richard Chamberlain fansite