RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN
Name: George Richard Chamberlain
Born: 31 March 1934 Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
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 to salesman Charles and Elsa
Chamberlain nee Matthews. 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.
During 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.
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 alongside Larry Adams, Roberta
Duchak, Todd Gross, George Keating, and Ben Ratskoff as Tiny Tim. 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.
Name: George Richard Chamberlain
Born: 31 March 1934 Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
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 to salesman Charles and Elsa
Chamberlain nee Matthews. 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.
During 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.
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 alongside Larry Adams, Roberta
Duchak, Todd Gross, George Keating, and Ben Ratskoff as Tiny Tim. 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.