George Richard Chamberlain was born on March 31, 1934 in Beverly Hills, California, and died on March 29, 2025 in Waimānalo, Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, from complications of a stroke, at the age of 90. He was an actor and singer of stage, television and film.

Family

• His parents were Charles Axiom Chamberlain and Elsa Winnifred Benzon.
• His partners were Wesley Eure (from 1975-1976) and Martin Rabbett. According to Chamberlain's New York Times obituary, Rabbett and Chamberlain had resumed living together in Hawaii where he died. Rabbett was considered to be his "only immediate survivor."

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Biography

From Wikipedia < link > retrieved 30 March 2025

George Richard Chamberlain (March 31, 1934 – March 29, 2025) was an American actor and singer who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare (1961–1966). He subsequently earned the title "King of the Mini-Series" for his work in several TV miniseries such as Centennial (1978), Shōgun (1980), and The Thorn Birds (1983). Chamberlain also performed classical stage roles and worked in musical theater.

George Richard Chamberlain was born in 1934 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] (class of 1956).[3]

Career

Chamberlain co-founded a Los Angeles-based theatre group, Company of Angels, and began appearing in TV series in the 1950s. In 1961 he gained widespread fame as the young intern, Dr. Kildare, in the MGM television series of the same name. His singing ability also led to some hit singles in the early 1960s. One of them was the "Theme from Dr. Kildare" entitled "Three Stars Will Shine Tonight", which hit number 10 according to the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. Dr. Kildare ended in 1966, after which Chamberlain began performing on the theatre circuit. In 1966, he was cast opposite Mary Tyler Moore in the ill-fated Broadway musical Breakfast at Tiffany's, co-starring Priscilla Lopez, which, after an out-of-town tryout period, closed after only four previews. Decades later he returned to Broadway in revivals of My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music.[citation needed]

In 1968 he went to England where he played in repertory theatre and in the BBC's Portrait of a Lady adaptation, becoming recognized as a serious actor. In 1969 he starred opposite Katharine Hepburn in the film The Madwoman of Chaillot. While in England he took vocal coaching and in 1969 performed the title role of Hamlet with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, becoming the first American to play the role since John Barrymore in 1929. He received excellent notices and reprised the role for television, for The Hallmark Hall of Fame, in 1970.

In the 1970s, Chamberlain enjoyed success as a leading man in films such as The Towering Inferno (in a villainous turn as a dishonest engineer), The Last Wave, The Three Musketeers and two sequels, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Music Lovers, The Lady's Not For Burning, and Lady Caroline Lamb (playing Lord Byron). In The Slipper and the Rose, a musical version of the Cinderella story, co-starring Gemma Craven, he displayed his vocal talents.

Chamberlain later appeared in several popular television miniseries (earning him a nickname 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 1988 version of The Bourne Identity.

Later years

Since the 1990s, Chamberlain has mostly appeared in television movies, on stage and as a guest star on series including The Drew Carey Show and Will & Grace. He starred as Henry Higgins in the 1993-94 Broadway revival of My Fair Lady. 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 of 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. In 2008 and 2009 he appeared as King Arthur in the national tour of Monty Python's Spamalot. In 2010 he appeared as Archie Leach in season 3, episode 3 of the series Leverage[4]. He will appear in the indie film We Are the Hartmans which is in production in the summer of 2010.

Personal life

Chamberlain was not open about his homosexuality for most of his career, to protect his privacy and his acting opportunities.[22] He was outed as a gay man by the French women's magazine Nous Deux in December 1989, but did not confirm that he was gay until his 2003 autobiography Shattered Love: A Memoir.[23]

Chamberlain was involved romantically with actor Wesley Eure in the 1970s.[24]

In 1977, Chamberlain began a long-term relationship with actor and producer Martin Rabbett, who, like Eure, was 20 years his junior.[22] Rabbett played the brother of Chamberlain's lead character in the 1986 film Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold. They began living together in Hawaii in 1986 and had a private commitment ceremony.[22] The couple separated amicably in 2010, with Chamberlain moving to Los Angeles.[25] In a 2014 interview, Chamberlain said that while he and Rabbett were no longer intimately involved, they remained close friends.[26]

Filmography
The Secret of the Purple Reef (1960)
Thriller episode "The Watcher" (1960) (TV)
A Thunder of Drums (1961)
Whispering Smith, NBC television series, as Chris Harrington in episode "Stain of Justice" (1961)
Twilight of Honor (1963)
Joy in the Morning (1965)
The Portrait of a Lady (1967)
Petulia (1968)
The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969)
Julius Caesar (1970)
The Music Lovers (1970)
The Woman I Love (1972) (TV)
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)
The Good Doctor (1978) (TV)
Shōgun (1980) (TV)
Murder by Phone (1982)
The Thorn Birds (1983) (TV)
King Solomon's Mines (1985)
Wallenberg: A Hero's Story (1985) (TV)
Dream West (1986) (TV)
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987)
Casanova (1987) (TV)
The Bourne Identity (1988) (TV)
The Return of the Musketeers (1989)
Island Son (1989) (TV)
Aftermath: A Test of Love 1991 (1991) (TV)
Night of the Hunter (1991) (TV)
Ordeal in the Arctic (1993)
Bird of Prey (1995)
The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996) (TV)
A River Made to Drown In (1997)
All The Winters That Have Been (1997) (TV)
The Lost Daughter (1997) (TV)
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")
Leverage (2010)

Discography
From Richard Chamberlain Sings:

"Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight)" (1962)
"Love Me Tender" (1962), reached no. 21 on the Billboard Pop singles chart
"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

1. Gates, Anita (March 30, 2025). "Richard Chamberlain, Actor in 'Shogun' and 'Dr. Kildare,' Dies at 90". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 30, 2025. < nytimes.com > When an interviewer for the Archive of American Television asked Mr. Chamberlain in 2010 how he wanted to be remembered, he laughed heartily and said, “I am not interested in being remembered.”
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Chamberlain
3. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000328/
4. http://www.richard-chamberlain.com/
5. http://www.glbtq.com/arts/chamberlain_r.html
6. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/281190486/richard-chamberlain

Actor. He became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as Shōgun (1980) and The Thorn Birds (1983) and was the first to play 'Jason Bourne' in the 1988 made-for-TV movie The Bourne Identity. Chamberlain has also performed classical stage roles and worked in musical theatre.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 16 2025, 17:18:18 UTC