Richard Chamberlain

George Richard Chamberlain (b. 31 March 1934 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California; d. 29 March 2025 in Waimānalo, Hawaii) was an American actor (theater, television and film) 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.

Life

Chamberlain was born the second son of German American Elisabeth "Elsa" Winnifred, née von Benzon (1902–1993; later Matthews) and Charles "Chuck" Axion Chamberlain (Charles Axion Chamberlain), who was a Anglo-Saxon shop equipment salesman from Indiana. His maternal grandfather was Dr. August Wilhelm von Benzon (1876–1907), his great-grandfather was German-born Hermann Wilhelm August von Fischer-Benzon (1852–1932), his older brother was William “Bill” Hayes Chamberlain (b. 5 November 1927). Chamberlain was drafted into the United States Army and served from 1956 to 1958. He attained the rank of sergeant while stationed in post-war Korea.

Back in Los Angeles, he found himself an actor's agent and again began making the rounds of the studios. Richard drifted into occasional roles on such shows as "Gunsmoke" playing Pete in the episode 'The Bobsy Twins' and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" playing Clay Pine in the episode 'Road Hog.' He managed, in an obscure way, to make a living and to cram in some acting lessons in his free time, of which he then had no shortage. Meanwhile, back at MGM, the studio was preparing a television version of "Dr. Kildare", one of the studio's most successful movie properties, and having already decided upon Raymond Massey to play the role of Dr. Gillespie, was on the lookout for a promising young star for the title role. Richard Chamberlain was called in, he was the 36th actor to try out for the part, and shortly thereafter, both he and the "Dr. Kildare" series became an overnight sensation. Richard became the man who would make millions of girls swoon over his performance as Dr. Kildare, and whose face would be known all over the world. He was soon getting 12,000 fan letters a week -more than Clarke Gable in his heyday. Although the series earned him three Photoplay Gold Medals and his first Golden Globe award he found that after five and half years playing the doctor he had a hard time being accepted as a serious actor. His solution was to leave television altogether and appear on stage with stock companies. Then in 1968 came the big decision to try his luck in England. After returning to television for the BBC, and appearing opposite Katharine Hepburn in the film "The Mad Woman Of Chaillot," he did something no American had dared to do since John Barrymore over 40 years earlier - he played "Hamlet" on stage. Fortunately he recieved great reviews for this performance, which he still appreciates. When he was 45-years old, history repeated itself when a new generation discovered Richard Chamberlain when he starred as the macho but very gentle Pilot-Major John Blackthorne in "Shogun." This time he was third choice after Sean Connery and Albert Finney. The series was a smash hit all over the world and a Dr. Kildare-like fever broke out all over again. Years later he gave a memorable performance as a priest in TV's "The Thorn Birds," starring opposite Rachel Ward. He became the king of the TV mini-series, with other mini-series such as "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" and "The Bourne Identity." In the 1990's he has starred in two very successful theatre productions of "My Fair Lady" and "The Sound Of Music." Currently he lives at his Hawaiian island home on Oahu, a thirty minute drive from downtown Waikiki, where he has settled permanently. Richard's second home was atop of a mountain 2,000 feet above Honolulu and had breathtaking views of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. The house was originally a one-story five-bedroom home built in 1955 until Richard had it rebuilt into an $8.5 million two-story compound. It has an outside pool with a waterfall which bubbles over into an half-mooned shaped jet spa, and the compound also houses a two-bedroom guesthouse, and is surrounded by jungle vegetation.

Among many awards and honours, Chamberlain received the Bravo Otto in 1985, a German accolade honoring excellence of performers in film, television and music, was nominated six times for the Golden Globe Awards and won three (for Dr. Kildare, Shōgun and The Thorn Birds), received the Steiger Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame (Actors) in 2023.