Is richard chamberlain gay
Richard Chamberlain: Heartthrob king of the TV mini-series
Richard Chamberlain, who has died today at the age of 90, shot to fame as TV heartthrob Dr Kildare in the 1960s.
His dashing good looks won him legions of female fans, and guaranteed him work in a plethora of rather forgettable television movies.
But, in middle age, his career spiked again.
Chamberlain became king of the 1980's TV mini-series: playing a western prisoner in Shogun and a catholic priest tempted by love in The Thorn Birds.
He denied being homosexual when confronted by a French magazine in 1989, and did not pronounce publicly about his homosexuality until he turned 70.
In interviews promoting his 2003 memoir, he advised other handsome leading actors to keep their sexuality to themselves.
"There's still a tremendous amount of homophobia in our culture," he said. "Please, don't pretend that we're suddenly all wonderfully, blissfully accepted."
George Richard Chamberlain was born on 31 March 1934, in Beverly Hills, California. He died one day before his 91st birthday.
His salesman father had a difficulty with drink, which affected young Ric
Heartthrob actor Richard Chamberlain, celebrity of The Thorn Birds, dies aged 90
Richard Chamberlain, the Emmy-nominated actor and 1960s heart-throb who rocketed to fame in the TV medical drama Dr Kildare and starred in the mini-series Shogun and The Thorn Birds has died at the age of 90, publicist Harlan Boll said.
Chamberlain died overdue on Saturday in Hawaii from complications from a stroke, his publicist Harlan Boll said in a statement on Sunday.
Chamberlain was an instant hit, and became a teen idol, as the handsome Dr. James Kildare in the series that ran from 1961-1966.
The breakout role was the start of a six decade-career that spanned theatre, films and television.
He was dubbed the "king of the mini-series" after appearing in several TV dramas in the 1980s and earned plaudits on stage in roles ranging from Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady and Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music to Shakespeare's Hamlet and Richard II.
He also was the original Jason Bourne in the 1988 mini-series The Bourne Identity.
"What's fascinating about Richard is that his range is enormous. His ability to be different each day out is what makes him such a valu
GREG IN HOLLYWOOD
By Greg Hernandez on Mar 31, 2024 12:01 am | Comments (0) |
Hard to think but Richard Chamberlain, the great celestial body of The Thorn Birds, Shogun and Dr. Kildare, turns 90 today.
He was pretty much off my radar as a kid until I saw a scene in Thorn Birds where he was dancing (it was the alike party where Barbara Stanwyck kissed him on the lips then died) and he was just so HOT!
From then on, I watched everything he ever did.
He came out as a same-sex attracted man in 2003 and wrote about it in his memoir Shattered Love: “When I grew up, being lgbtq+, being a sissy or anything love that was verboten. I disliked myself intensely and feared this part of myself intensely and had to mask it and became “Perfect Richard, All-American Boy” as a place to hide.”
He continued to be busy in roles both straight and gay – including in recent years playing Felicity Huffman’s gay stepfather on Desperate Housewives and Uncle Saul’s like interest on Brothers & Sisters.
Later films include Forbidden Adoration, The Perfect Family and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.
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More than four decades after he captured women's hearts on television's "Dr. Kildare," Richard Chamberlain has decided to reveal his identity as a queer man "because I'm not afraid anymore."
"I'm not a romantic leading man anymore so I don't demand to nurture that common image anymore," the 69-year-old Chamberlain says in an interview to air Sunday on "Dateline NBC."
"I can talk about it now because I'm not nervous anymore."
The "Dateline" interview coincides with the publication of Chamberlain's new memoir, "Shattered Love," which will be released Tuesday by ReganBooks.
Chamberlain starred as television's Dr. James Kildare from 1961-1966, and as Father Ralph, a love-torn priest, in the 1983 miniseries "The Thorn Birds." He also starred in the 1974 movie "The Towering Inferno" and the 1980 miniseries "Shogun."
"When I grew up, being gay, being a sissy or anything prefer that, was verboten," said Chamberlain, who lives in Hawaii. "I disliked myself intensely and feared this part of myself intensely and had to mask it."
Now, the actor says, everything is different.
He's talking about his longtime loved one, Martin; appearing in The Advocate magazine; and discussing his difficult ch
2003 on TODAY: Richard Chamberlain talks coming out as gay
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