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).
Chamberlain was born in Beverly Hills, California, the son of Elsa W. (née Matthews) and Charles Chamberlain, who was a salesman. 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.
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.
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.
From Richard Chamberlain Sings:
From Twilight of Honor:
From Richard Chamberlain (aka Joy in the Morning):
From The Slipper and the Rose:
