Richard Chamberlain

If you have memories of the 60s, you certainly remember him as TV's dashing young intern Dr. Kildare. If you have memories of the 70s, you probably remember him as composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in The Music Lovers (1970); and Lord Byron in Lady Caroline Lamb (1972). Or as Aramis in The Three Musketeers (1973). Or as the villainous architect in the blockbuster Towering Inferno (1974). If you never went to the movies, then you would certainly remember him from TV, in the titular role of The Count of Monte-Cristo (1975). If you were into cult films, there was his starring role in Peter Weir's The Last Wave (1977).

For those of you who don't remember anything before the 80s, you certainly remember him in two of the top-rated TV mini-series of the era: as the action hero in Shogun (1980) and as the priest who generates a whole lot of love sparks in The Thorn Birds (1983). He was also the original Jason Bourne in the 1988 TV movie.

Before I go on, it would be good manners to introduce the man: if you haven't already guessed, or if you've skipped reading the title of this piece, here's Richard Chamberlain.

Born George Richard Chamberlain in Beverly Hills on March 31, 1934, he was the second son of Elsa Winnifred (von Benzon) (1902-1993) and Charles Axiom Chamberlain (1902-1984), a salesman. He has English and German ancestry. Richard experienced a profoundly unhappy childhood and did not enjoy school at all, making up for it somewhat by excelling in track and becoming a four-year letterman in high school and college. He also developed a strong interest and enjoyment in acting while attending Pomona College. Losing an initial chance to sign up with Paramount Pictures, the studio later renewed interest. Complications arose when he was drafted into the Army on December 7, 1956 for 16 months, serving in Korea.

Chamberlain headed for Hollywood soon after his discharge and, in just a couple of years, worked up a decent resumé with a number of visible guest spots on such popular series as Gunsmoke and Mr. Lucky. But it was the stardom of the medical series Dr. Kildare (1961-66) that garnered overnight female worship and he became a huge sweater-vested pin-up favorite. It also sparked a brief, modest singing career for the actor.

His first hit, quite naturally, was the Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight) (1962). It was an early hit for the celebrated film & TV score composer Jerry Goldsmith. It peaked at #10 on the US Hot 100 and at #12 in the UK.

His next hit was his own take on Love Me Tender, again in 1962. It peaked at #21 (US) and #15 (UK):

The arrival of his next single, All I Have To Do Is Dream (US #14), in early February 1963, coincided with the release of his first album, called simply Richard Chamberlain Sings. Here's All I Have To Do Is Dream:

The B-side, Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo, also appeared in the Hot 100 in the US and made #20 in the UK:

His next single from the Richard Chamberlain Sings album, I Will Love You, following the law of diminishing returns, only made it to #65 (US):

The B-side, True Love, scraped the Hot 100 at #98, but managed to go as high as #30 in the UK:

His next single, also in 1963, was Blue Guitar: it peaked at #42 in the US. It was featured in the courtroom drama Twilight of Honor (1963), which starred Chamberlain and which earned Nick Adams (remember him from our Elvis Presley story?) an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.

The B-side to Blue Guitar was another Burt Bacharach and Hal David tune. This was the song's first recording. Dionne Warwick recorded it as well a few months later and it became a breakthrough hit for The Carpenters in 1970. Here's Close To You:

His next single, Rome Will Never Leave You (1964), was the last to chart, albeit as low as #99 (US). Here he is singing it in a scene from Dr. Kildare:

His next album was Joy In The Morning (1965). It contained Rome Will Never Leave You, as well as other popular tunes of that era. Here he is with the title track, which also appeared in the movie of the same name, another starring vehicle for Chamberlain.

From the same album, here's April Love, which was released as a single, but failed to chart:

Finally from this album, here's the title track from the Bette Davis - Olivia De Havilland movie Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte:

More interested in a reputation as a serious actor, Chamberlain took a huge risk and turned his back on Hollywood, devoting himself to the stage. In 1966 alone he appeared in such legit productions as "The Philadelphia Story" and "Private Lives," and also showed off his vocal talents playing Tony in "West Side Story". In December of that year a musical version of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" starring Richard and Mary Tyler Moore in the sparkling George Peppard/Audrey Hepburn roles was headed for Broadway. It flopped badly in previews, however, and closed after only four performances. Even today it is still deemed one of Broadway's biggest musical disasters.

An important dramatic role in director Richard Lester's Petulia (1968) led Richard to England, where he stayed and dared to test his acting prowess on the classical stage. With it, his personal satisfaction over image and career improved. Bravura performances as "Hamlet" (1969) and "Richard II" (1971), as well as his triumph in "The Lady's Not for Burning" (1972), won over the not-so-easy-to-impress British audiences. And on the classier film front, he ably portrayed Octavius Caesar opposite Charlton Heston's Julius Caesar (1970) and Jason Robards' Brutus; composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Ken Russell's grandiose The Music Lovers (1970) opposite Glenda Jackson; and Lord Byron alongside Sarah Miles in Lady Caroline Lamb (1972). While none of these three films were critical favorites, they were instrumental in helping to reshape Chamberlain's career as a serious, sturdy and reliable actor.

Also in the 70s, Chamberlain had a significant live-in affair with a younger TV actor, Wesley Eure (pronounced “your”), who went on to appear on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives for almost ten years. Eure was fired from the show when his homosexuality became known to his employer, even though Earl Greenburg, head of NBC Daytime, was himself a gay man. In those days being outed as gay meant no work as an actor.

Wesley Eure recently spoke of the social atmosphere at the time he was dating Chamberlain. “We'd go to parties at private homes, because we couldn't go anywhere in public. I remember being told about set designer Jacques Mapes (Singin in the Rain) and movie producer Ross Hunter. They were at a big private party in pre-1950s Hollywood. One was Tyrone Powers' lover, and the other was Errol Flynn's lover, and they were the two handsomest boys in town on the arms of important closeted celebrities.” Ross recounted to Wesley, "I remember I was at the top of the stairs, and there was Jacques. Our eyes met, and we left the party, dumped our famous boyfriends, and we've been together ever since." Wesley added, “There was this whole subculture, a hidden culture of gay socializing. I used to go to those parties, and the most famous people you can imagine were there. If the public had any idea...”

Soon after Chamberlain ended his relationship with Eure, he took up with handsome actor-writer-producer Martin Rabbett, who became his partner for almost 40 years. Chamberlain had legally adopted Rabbett to protect his assets. In the spring of 2010 Chamberlain moved from Maui to Los Angeles because of work possibilities, leaving Rabbett behind at their luxury home in Hawaii (listed for sale in mid-2010 for $19 million). Later that year, responding to gossip about a split, Chamberlain said in an interview with Advocate, “Well, we haven’t really split. In other words, we’re still very, very close. The essence of our relationship has remained the same; we just don’t happen to be living together. I went home for Thanksgiving and had the most wonderful time, and we’ll be spending Christmas together with friends in New York. So we’re not split, really. I just moved to L.A. because I wanted to work more. Martin, unfortunately, doesn’t like L.A. at all, but he’s thinking of moving to San Francisco.”

In the film Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986), a bearded Chamberlain and his real-life lover Martin Rabbett played brothers. In this still, except for Chamberlain and Rabbett (in white), you can see James Earl Jones in exotic garb and a young Sharon Stone.

With his new image as a serious, sturdy and reliable actor in place, Richard felt ready to face American audiences again. While he made a triumphant Broadway debut as Reverend Shannon in "The Night of the Iguana" (1975), he also enjoyed modest box-office popularity with the action-driven adventure movies The Three Musketeers (1973) as Aramis and a villainous role in The Towering Inferno (1974), and earned cult status for the Aussie film The Last Wave (1977). In the 1976 British musical film The Slipper and the Rose, a retelling of the classic fairy tale of Cinderella, he naturally was Prince Charming. The song from the film He Danced With Me/She Danced With Me was nominated for an Oscar. Here's Richard with Gemma Craven (as Cinderella):

 On the television front, he became a TV idol all over again (on his own terms this time) as the "King of 80s Mini-Movies". The epic storytelling of The Count of Monte-Cristo (1975), The Thorn Birds (1983) and Shogun (1980), all of which earned him Emmy nominations, placed Richard solidly on the quality star list. He won Golden Globe awards for his starring roles in the last two miniseries mentioned.

In later years the actor devoted a great deal of his time to musical stage tours as Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady", Captain Von Trapp in "The Sound of Music" and Ebenezer Scrooge in "Scrooge: The Musical". Enormously private and having moved to Hawaii to avoid the Hollywood glare, at age 69 finally "came out" with a tell-all biography entitled "Shattered Love," in which he quite candidly discussed the anguish of hiding his homosexuality to protect his enduring matinée idol image. Here he is discussing his journey from the realization that he was gay to coming out and self-acceptance:

Since then, he has accepted himself and shown to be quite a good sport in the process, appearing as gay characters in the film I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), and in TV episodes of Will & Grace, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters.

In early 2013 Chamberlain published "My Life in Haiku,". Also, having studied painting and art history, he's been constanty painting, throughout his acting career. He certainly is a multitalented man. Now that he's out, he can pursue all of his interests as a free man.