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Richard Chamberlain, right, as John Blackthorne, and John Rhys-Davies, left, as the Portuguese Pilot Vasco Rodrigues in the Shogun television miniseries.

George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934 in Beverly Hills, California) is an American actor who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare (1961-1966).

Coinciding with his rise to fame on Kildare, Chamberlain also had a brief but moderately successful career as a pop singer. Chamberlain 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 a revival of The Sound of Music.

During the first half of the 1970s Chamberlain enjoyed some success in films with The Towering Inferno, The Last Wave, The Three Musketeers and sequels and The Count of Monte Cristo though was never regarded as an out-and-out leading man. 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, 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, and also played Jason Bourne in the original 1988 version of The Bourne Identity.

He eventually "retired" to Hawaii where he owns land with his partner, agent-producer-director Martin Rabbett, but he never has stopped working. 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 '05, 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.

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 entitled Shattered Love (ISBN 0-06-008743-9), which describes how he felt obliged to hide his sexuality in order to have an acting career. He evidently ceased having any such inhibitions when he appeared in very high drag as Nigel Wick's (played by Craig Ferguson) (British) mother on The Drew Carey Show. He lives with his partner Martin Rabbett.

• The Secret of the Purple Reef (1960)
• A Thunder of Drums (1961)
• Twilight of Honor (1963)
• Joy in the Morning (1965)
• Petulia (1968)
• The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969)
• Julius Caesar (1970)
• The Music Lovers (1970)
• 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 Swarm (1978)
• Centennial (1978) (TV miniseries)
• Shōgun (1980) (TV miniseries)
• Murder by Phone (1982)
• King Solomon's Mines (1985)
• Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987)
• The Bourne Identity (1988) (TV)
• The Return of the Musketeers (1989)
• Bird of Prey (1995)
• A River Made to Drown In (1997)
• The Pavilion (1999)
• Strength and Honor (2006)

The Thorn Birds (1982/1983)

The following are songs which were popular for Chamberlain during his stint as a singer:

"The Slipper and the Rose" (CD)

From Richard Chamberlain Sings:

• "Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight)" (1962)
• "Love Me Tender" (1962)
• "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)

Chamberlain's father, Charles Chamberlain ("Chuck C.") was well known within the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. He traveled far and wide for years speaking at A.A. conventions. His book, A New Pair of Glasses was the transcript from a weekend retreat at his Laguna Beach home. The book is a highly regarded and noteworthy piece of complementary literature for those in 12 Step recovery programs. He died in 1984.

• Richard Chamberlain at the Internet Movie Database

• Latest news about Richard Chamberlain
• Tribute to Richard Chamberlain
• glbtq arts: Richard Chamberlain by Linda Rapp