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The attention Richard received was phenomenal. It also sparked a brief, modest singing career for the actor. Kildare (1961) that garnered overnight female worship and he became a huge sweater-vested pin-up favorite.
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But it was the stardom of the medical series Dr. 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 (1955) and Mr. Complications arose when he was drafted into the Unites States Army on Decemfor 16 months, serving in Korea.
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Losing an initial chance to sign up with Paramount Pictures, the studio later renewed interest. He also developed a strong interest and enjoyment in acting while attending Pomona College. 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 letter man in high school and college. 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. While this would appear to be a dream situation for any new star, to Chamberlain it brought about a major, unsettling identity crisis.
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James Kildare, the slim, butter-haired hunk with the near-perfect Ivy-League charm and smooth, intelligent demeanor, had the distaff fans fawning unwavering over him through the series' run. © 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc.Richard Chamberlain became the leading heartthrob of early 1960s television. “Have you ever noticed it’s impossible to eat a salad gracefully?” he asks, and proceeds to do just that. He looks down at the remains of his meal. And how can you get a better obstacle than God?” “The secret to a great love story is to have intense passion and enormous obstacles. “My naughty priest!” Chamberlain says, eyes twinkling. Kildare” came many a miniseries, including “Shogun” (“Men ask me, ‘How did you learn all those martial arts?’ ”) and “The Thorn Birds,” in which he played the ravishing and philandering Father Ralph de Bricassart. “And I threw art out the window.”Īfter “Dr. He says he dreamed of being an actor, but was so shy and withdrawn that he majored in art until his college performance in “Arms and the Man” brought down the house. “We had five people in three bedrooms, 1¹/₄ bathrooms, one telephone, one car.” Chamberlain with actress Yvette Mimieux in a 1964 episode of “Dr. “I grew up in the exceedingly normal part of Beverly Hills,” says Chamberlain, who now lives alone in neighboring West Hollywood, after 32 years in Hawaii with his partner. Vanity comes with the territory when you grow up in Beverly Hills, as he did. I try to get my eight and I’ve always felt that exercising was important.”Īnd while he says his idea of perfect happiness is “a cheeseburger, fries and a vanilla shake,” he indulges himself just once every six weeks: “Vanity rules my life, so I’m highly motivated to maintain. “My family seemed to stay in reasonably good shape. “I don’t know!” he says about looking so good for so long. At 80, his voice is shockingly strong - a tribute, he says, to years of singing lessons - and he has an actorly way of punching out certain words. “Ha!” Chamberlain booms when he hears that.
So adored is he that when David Rabe’s harrowing drama ended the other night, the woman next to me sighed, “I can’t believe I was so close to Richard Chamberlain!” - half an hour after his character had left the stage. Over a hearty preshow supper (soup, salad, sandwich) at the Signature Theatre, where he plays a priest (again!), this time in “Sticks and Bones,” Chamberlain looks every inch a matinee idol: tall, sleek and slim, with a crop of silvery hair and a profile that could have been chiseled on a coin. “The first thing people say is, ‘God, you really look good! You’re 80 years old? You look 65! How do you do it?’ ” Chamberlain and Ben Schnetzer tussle in the New Group revival of “Sticks and Bones.” Monique Carboni “It’s almost getting troublesome,” says the former Dr. Richard Chamberlain is a tad tired of people telling him how marvelous he looks.
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