In his younger years, Richard Chamberlain was a movie star. His big break
came when he played Dr. Kildare on the show with the same name in the 1960s.
The actor, a good-looking young man with a lot of ability, was successful in
movies and TV shows before he turned his attention to the theater. He has
kept acting in all three forms, which shows that he is a versatile actor. In
fact, the 1988 made-for-TV movie "The Bourne Identity" was the first time he
played the action hero Jason Bourne.
Chamberlain is from an earlier time in Hollywood history, but he has kept
up his career in the modern industry. In the 1990s and 2000s, he was in
movies and TV shows like "The Drew Carey Show," "Will & Grace,"
"Desperate Housewives," "Chuck," "Brothers & Sisters," and "Justice
League: Gods and Monsters."
But Chamberlain had a big secret that he kept hidden for most of his life,
even though he was a famous actor. A French magazine told the world that
Chamberlain was gay in 1989, when he was 55 years old. He didn't reveal his
sexuality himself until he was 69 years old, 14 years later. It must not
have been easy for him to keep that secret for most of his life. Since then,
the star has talked about why he kept it from everyone for so long.
Chamberlain is still going strong at age 89. He not only looks great, but
he also does some acting work from time to time. His life and work are truly
amazing. Let's take a look at what he looks like now, thirty years after he
became famous.
The late Richard Chamberlain was born on March 31, 1934, in Beverly Hills,
California. He grew up listening to the radio, especially puzzles and plays.
For some reason, Chamberlain didn't like going to school. He was a shy and
quiet kid. After graduating from Beverly Hills High School, he went to
Pomona College in Claremont, California.
He took classes in drawing and art history and also performed in student
plays while he was in college. Chamberlain had an epiphany when he played
George Bernard Shaw's "Arms and the Man" in his senior year of college. In
2003, he wrote in his autobiography "Shattered Love" that he had "a
life-changing breakthrough as a neophyte actor" when he learned that "maybe
(he) could embrace (his) first love and actually become an actor!"
Not long after he started college, he started looking for work at the big
companies. The young guy with the good looks and buttery blonde hair was
wanted by Paramount Pictures. But something very important would stop his
career. It was too bad that the Korean War started, because in December
1956, Chamberlain was forced to join the Army. He spent 16 months living
abroad in the end. He told The Advocate afterward that he didn't like being
there. What he said:
"I didn't like being in the Army... I don't like being told what to do. I
don't like telling people what to do. I got promoted to sergeant. It was
just another part I played.
His time away didn't change his goals, though. He was very clear about
where he wanted to go when he got back to the US.
Chamberlain answered the phone when Hollywood called. Though he was cast in
a few shows, it wasn't until 1961 that he got his big break. He got the lead
part of Dr. Kildare on the medicine show "Dr. Kildare." Chamberlain's fan
base grew by leaps and bounds, and reviewers all over the world gave him
high marks. In the 1960s, Richard Chamberlain became famous all of a sudden
as a Golden Boy.
He loved the attention and love from people because he didn't think much of
himself. He said it was like taking "wonderful medicine." We can picture it.
Still, Chamberlain wasn't quite right. Chamberlain loved life as the medical
show "Dr. Kildare," which was about a young intern and his relationship with
his boss, became a huge hit. He remembered being chased by women who loved
him around grocery stores. During his time driving his convertible Stingray,
fans would follow him up and down the hills. A fan once went all the way to
the top of a mountain in Switzerland to ask Chamberlain to sign something.
It was at this point that his father told him he knew he "had made
it."
A little while ago, Chamberlain talked about being a teen hero. He said
that he loved the praise and attention, but he got so much fan mail—up to
12,000 letters a week!—that he couldn't answer all of them. He did, however,
sign a lot of things for his friends, and he made time in his very busy
schedule to answer letters and gifts that were especially meaningful to
them.
Stop Being a Prince Charming
Chamberlain loved working on "Dr. Kildare" and thought that getting to do
it was a huge blessing, but he never seemed to have any free time. At that
time, he had a deal with MGM. Chamberlain saw what MGM could do and was cast
in other shows during the off-season of "Dr. Kildare." It seemed like
whenever he had a week off, he was sent somewhere to work on marketing.
However, Chamberlain was able to take dance and singing lessons every day
after work. It was his own way to get away from work.
Along with his work on "Dr. Kildare," Chamberlain was in a number of
movies. Of course, he quickly got tired of always playing what he called
"Prince Charming" roles. He wanted to see more, so he was cast in both "Joy
in the Morning" (1965) and "Twilight of Honor" (1963). Fans were not
pleased, which was a shame. It looked like Chamberlain would always have to
play Prince Charming.
Now, though, he chose to quit the movie business and work in the theater
instead. After many years, he remembered that actor Cedric Hardwicke had
told him, in good faith, that he would become famous before he learned how
to act. Because Chamberlain wanted to improve as an actor, he went to
England to work as an actor in the theater and learn more about his skill.
He played the lead in many plays, such as "Private Lives," "The Philadelphia
Story," and "West Side Story." He was in famous plays in England, such as
"Hamlet" in 1969 and "Richard II" in 1971. Still, Hollywood called to him,
and he came back in the end.
Following His Passion Chamberlain's time in the UK paid off because his
playing got him great reviews. He went back to the United States and kept
working as an actor, playing main men in movies like "The Music Lovers,"
"The Three Musketeers," "The Towering Inferno," "The Count of Monte
Christo," and "The Slipper and the Rose" in the 1970s. By the 1980s, he had
been in a number of well-known TV miniseries, including "Centennial,"
"Sh��gun," and "The Thorn Birds." He was called the "king of the miniseries"
because of this. Besides that, he created the role of Jason Bourne in the
1988 TV movie "The Bourne Identity."
Beginning at this point, Chamberlain kept acting, but mostly in smaller
parts in movies, TV shows, and plays. He was already in his 50s and had
shown that he was a good actor and leading man, so he could play parts that
were less stressful. During the 1990s and 2000s, he was in a lot of TV
shows, such as "The Drew Carey Show," "Will & Grace," "Desperate
Housewives," "Nip/Tuck," "Chuck," and "Brothers & Sisters." Despite
being much less often than in the past few decades, he still does small
roles from time to time.
As an actor, Chamberlain has not only shown the world how good he is, but
he has also been paid for it. He has been nominated for many awards,
including Emmys and Golden Globes. For his work on TV, he has won the Golden
Globe three times. Even though he has won awards, he doesn't always believe
in the method of giving artists awards for their work.
Telling His Secret
Chamberlain told the Television Academy in a private talk why he doesn't
think performance awards make sense:
It's great to win things. I don't think acting or any other kind of art
should be treated like a horse race. It would be silly to say that this
year, so-and-so is better than so-and-so, having put on such great shows.
But it's necessary for business reasons and all that... On the other hand,
it feels great to win in that kind of environment.
Chamberlain was again praised for his work in 2000 when he was given a star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California. People would always remember
how much he changed the stage and screen. But it wasn't always easy for him
for most of his life. Chamberlain kept a secret from many years that could
have destroyed his career.
Not until 2003 did Richard Chamberlain finally tell the truth about the
secret he had kept his whole life. He was a gay man. He thought it was not
only hard, but also impossible to be gay in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He
decided to keep his secret, though. In his book "Shattered Love," he came
out as gay when he was 69 years old.
He finally came out, which makes me proud, but it also makes me sad that he
had to deal with the issues that being gay caused him for so long. He
finally felt brave and sure of himself enough to be who he really was after
years of treatment.
Getting Out
Unfortunately, his secret wasn't first made public when he wanted it to be.
In December 1989, a French women's magazine called Nous Deux did it, 14
years before he felt ready to do it himself. There's no reason why
Chamberlain shouldn't have been able to come out on his own terms or even
felt like he couldn't for most of his career. He talked about how hard it is
for Hollywood to deal with openly gay stars in an interview with The
Advocate in 2010:
"It's not simple." In our society, there is still a lot of racism. I feel
bad about it, it's stupid, cruel, and wrong, but it's true. Since most
actors don't have jobs, it's pretty silly for a working actor to say, "Oh, I
don't care if anyone knows I'm gay." This is especially true for main men. I
personally wouldn't tell a gay main man star to come out.
When asked when an actress could come out, he said:
"I don't know." In our very wrong society, it's still dangerous for an
actress to talk about that, even though a lot of progress has been made.
Case in point: Proposition 8 in California... Please don't act like we're
all suddenly accepted absolutely perfectly.
He had to wait 69 years before he felt safe coming out in Hollywood. By
being open with the public, Chamberlain has helped break down barriers and
create a society in Hollywood where having a sexual orientation is not
important.
Being real and living
Chamberlain has lived a long and full life and is now living his true life.
So it's not a surprise that "when you can just be yourself" is his best
thing to say. His freedom to be himself is making him feel good, and it's
great to see. We think Chamberlain is still doing very well at age 89. He
still has the charm and grace that made fans swoon back in the day.
In 1977, Chamberlain started dating actor Martin Rabbett and the two stayed
together for a long time. In 1986, they moved in together and had a secret
wedding to make their vows. But in 2010, the couple broke up without a
fight. Since then, four years have passed, and he told The New York Times
that they are still close friends even though they are no longer
together.
Chamberlain told them, "We're much better friends than we've ever been
since we don't live together anymore." "So my job is to tell married people
and other people to buy another house."
Even though Chamberlain has been through a lot in the past, he has stayed
positive as he has become himself.
Chamberlain told Palm Springs Life in 2019 that he's enjoying being himself
as he thinks back on his path.
"Going through old age, I'm learning what it's like to be myself." The
people in my family always put on a show of being perfect. We both helped
each other reach perfection. However, "in the past two years, I've felt this
wonderful freedom to really... just be myself," he said.
Chamberlain has taken a back seat in the theater business. The last movies
he was in were "Finding Julia" in 2019, "Nightmare Cinema" in 2018, "Twin
Peaks" in 2017, and "Echoes of the Past" in 2021.
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