Remembering Richard Chamberlain

"Remembering Richard Chamberlain"

April 16th, 2025

Richard Chamberlain with directors Leo Penn and Wilbur Mosier on the set of Dr. Kildare in 1964

Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times
Photographic Collection at the UCLA Library

In the early 1960’s Americans were divided by three great debates: Coke or Pepsi? Ginger or Mary Ann? And Kildare or Casey? The latter referred to two competing medical dramas that ran concurrently from 1961 to 1966: Ben Casey which aired on ABC, starred Vince Edwards, and Dr. Kildare, which was broadcast on NBC, starred Richard Chamberlain. The two heartthrobs couldn’t have been more different. Casey was ruggedly handsome with dark features and a dark personality to match, while Kildare was gentle, soft-spoken, and drop-dead gorgeous. We manly men liked Casey, while women swooned over Kildare.

Like his TV character, Chamberlain was a nice guy in real life, something I discovered when I met him on location in Virginia in 1985 while he was filming Dream West. By then Richard was already a global star and had become known as “King of the Miniseries”, yet he was unaffected by his fame and was unpretentious in his manner. Unlike method actors like Daniel Day Lewis, Chamberlain was just a regular guy who didn’t demand to be referred to by his character name between takes. He was a cultural icon for his talent and later on for how he dealt with a personal struggle over his sexuality. In later years he lived a quiet life in his beloved Hawaii, and that is where he died on March 29 at the age of 90.

Richard Chamberlain was born in Los Angeles to a loving mother and an abusive father. Early on he wanted to become an artist, but after college, he caught the acting bug. Richard served a short stint in the Army during the Korean War, after which he landed numerous guest-starring roles on hit TV shows such as Gunsmoke and Alfred Hitchcock Presents But unlike many of his contemporaries who struggled to find work early on, Richard had a meteoric rise to fame when he landed the titular role in Dr. Kildare.

Following his stint on Dr. Kildare, Chamberlain appeared on stage and in films such as Joy in the Morning, The Three Musketeers, and The Towering Inferno. But it was his success in the TV mini-series genre that made him a household fixture in the 1970s and ‘80s in such hits as Centennial, Shogun, Dream West, and The Thorn Birds. Richard’s talents were always in demand, and he was constantly working as a leading romantic figure, but only because he kept his sexuality hidden from fans. Unlike today where TV viewers and moviegoers could care less if an actor is gay, back then a career could be destroyed by revealing one’s sexual preference.

Richard finally came out with the publication of his autobiography, “Shattered Love” in 2003, after which he developed a whole new fan base by guest starring on TV shows like Desperate Housewives, and Will & Grace.

Still, it is sad that such a kind and talented man should have had to endure the stress of hiding his true identity in order to stay employed in his chosen field.

It is said that a good actor is someone who can make us believe he is really someone else. Richard Chamberlain did that all of his life, not just for the art, but for his very survival.

That made him more than just a good actor. It made him a great one.

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