Birthday: Mar 31, 1934

Birthplace: Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Biography: Actor Richard Chamberlain was the leading TV heartthrob of the early 60s. As
Dr. Kildare, the slim butter-haired hunk with the near-perfect Ivy-League
good looks and charming demeanor became a huge celebrity and had the girls
all fawning over him. Born George Richard Chamberlain in Beverly Hills on
March 31, 1934, Richard excelled in track as a student, later developing an
interest in acting while attending Pomona College. He lost an initial chance
to sign with Paramount, who became intere... ... (read more...) sted in him right after graduation,
as he was obliged to serve in Korea for 16 months. He headed for Hollywood
soon after his discharge and within a couple of years had worked up a decent
resumé with a number of visible guest spots. With "Dr. Kildare" (1961),
however, he became an "overnight" sensation and huge pin-up fan. The
attention was phenomenal. He advanced into the usual soapy film leads
befitting such a star but Twilight of Honor (1963) with Joey Heatherton and
Joy in the Morning (1965) opposite Yvette Mimieux did not score for him
screen fame. He was considered a TV commodity only. More interested in a
reputation as a serious actor than the trivial adulation of youthful fans,
the charismatic actor turned his back on Hollywood and devoted himself to
the stage. An important role in director Richard Lester's Petulia (1968) led
Richard to England where he tested his mettle as a classical stage
performer. His bravura performances as "Hamlet" (1969) and "Richard II"
(1972) won over the not-so-easy-to-impress British audiences. With his new
image in tact, Richard felt ready to return to America. He won renewed
respect and a huge TV following once again, but this time as the "King of
80s Mini-movies". The monumental success of such challenging productions as
"The Thorn Birds" (1983) (mini) and _"Shogun" (1980/II) (mini)_ put him
right back on top. Richard even won modest box-office popularity with The
Three Musketeers (1973) as Aramis, and The Towering Inferno (1974) as an
arch villain, and earned small cult status for the Aussie film The Last Wave
(1977). Enormously private, Richard moved to Hawaii quite some time ago and
at age 69 decided to "come out" with a tell-all biography entitled
"Shattered Love," in which he candidly discusses the anguish of hiding his
homosexuality to protect his image throughout his long career.