Richard Chamberlain: Biography

American actor Richard Chamberlain was a star in his first appearance--as the Pied Piper in the 3rd grade. While attending Pomona College, Chamberlain decided to study acting in earnest, honing his craft in little theatre productions. His All-American handsomeness gained him entry into film and TV work; Chamberlain starred in the title role of the NBC weekly series Dr. Kildare in 1961. It was one of two major medical programs premiering that year; the other was Ben Casey. Chamberlain's first starring film, Twilight of Honor (1963) did little to shake his male ingenue image--nor did his first job after the cancellation of Kildare, the notoriously disastrous musical play Holly Golightly(most reviewers thought this celebrated fiasco would kill both Chamberlain's and co-star Mary Tyler Moore's careers). In the late 1960s, Chamberlain headed for England to seek work in the classics. He was first starred in a 1970 stage production of Hamlet, but Hamlet was both his personal and professional triumph. Several prestigious film, stage and TV appearances later, Chamberlain headlined the 1980 television multi-part drama Shogun and the 1983 miniseries The Thorn Birds thereby inspiring his latter-day reputation as the "King of the Miniseries." Young Dr. Kildare no more, Richard Chamberlain is today a highly respected actor whose very presence in the cast list of a film or miniseries is a guarantee of distinction and class. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide