by Jim Longworth
In the early 1960’s Americans were divided by three great debates: Coke or Pepsi? Ginger or Mary Ann? And Kildare or Casey? The latter referred to two competing medical dramas that ran concurrently from 1961 to 1966: “Ben Casey” which aired on ABC, starred Vince Edwards, and “Dr. Kildare”, which was broadcast on NBC, starred Richard Chamberlain. The two heart throbs couldn’t have been more different. Casey was ruggedly handsome with dark features and a dark personality to match, while Kildare was gentle, soft-spoken, and drop-dead gorgeous. We manly-men liked Casey, while women swooned over Kildare.
Like his TV character, Chamberlain was a nice guy in real life, something I discovered when I met him on location in Virginia in 1985 while he was filming “Dream West”. By then Richard was already a global star and had become known as “King of the Mini Series”, yet he was unaffected by his fame and was unpretentious in his manner. Unlike method actors like Daniel Day Lewis, Chamberlain was just a regular guy who didn’t demand to be referred to as his character name between takes. He was a cultural icon for his talent and later on for how he dealt with a personal struggle over his sexuality. In later years he lived a quiet life in his beloved Hawaii, and that is where he died on March 29 at the age of 90.
Richard Chamberlain was born in Los Angeles to a loving mother and an abusive father. Early on he wanted to become an artist, but after college he caught the acting bug. Richard served a short stint in the Army during the Korean War, after which he landed numerous guest-starring roles on hit TV shows such as “Gunsmoke” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”. But unlike many of his contemporaries who struggled to find work early on, Richard had a meteoric rise to fame when he landed the titular role in “Dr. Kildare”.
Following his stint on “Kildare”, Chamberlain appeared on stage and in films such as “Joy in the Morning”, “The Three Musketeers”, and “The Towering Inferno”. But it was his success in the TV Mini Series genre that made him a household fixture in the 1970’s and ‘80’s in such hits as “Centennial”, “Shogun”, “Dream West”, and “The Thorn Birds”. Richard’s talents were always in demand, and he was constantly working as a leading romantic figure, but only because he kept his sexuality hidden from fans. Unlike today where TV viewers and movie goers could care less if an actor is gay, back then a career could be destroyed by revealing one’s sexual preference.
Richard finally came out with the publication of his autobiography, “Shattered Love” in 2003, after which he developed a whole new fan base by guest starring on TV shows like “Desperate Housewives”, and “Will and Grace”.
Still, it is sad that such a kind and talented man should have had to endure the stress of hiding his true identity in order to stay employed in his chosen field.
It is said that a good actor is someone who can make us believe he is really someone else. Richard Chamberlain did that all of his life, not just for the art, but for his very survival.
That made him more than just a good actor. It made him a great one.
1960's TV Seasons: 1961 / 1964 / ABC 1966 / 1967 / 1968 / 1969 / Fall Previews / Sharon Tate on The Beverly Hillbillies / Dark, Unseen Monkees Pilot / Pistols 'N' Petticoats / Best Episodes of Every 'Lucy Show' Season / How Lee Meriwether Became Catwoman / The Star Trek Spinoff That Didn't Happen / Why Ginger Was Almost Fired From Gilligan's Island / Every Batman (1966) Fight Scene / Whatever Happened to the Beverly Hillbillies' Mansion? / Remembering "Mary Ann" - Dawn Wells Interview / Catching Up With Lucy & Desi's 'Son' / Very First TV Movie / Please Don't Eat The Daisies / The Ronny Howard Show?!? / Death of Bonanza's Dan Blocker / Broadside / The Tammy Grimes Show / Remembering Richard Chamberlain / David McCallum on the Legacy of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. / In Defense of Bewitched (and Jeannie) / Sad Ironic Death of Crazy Guggenheim / Larry Mathers (Beaver Cleaver) on the Rumor That He Was Killed in Vietnam / The Monkees / Jimi Hendrix 1967 Tour - The Only Night It Clicked Was In Greensboro! / William Shatner on the Origin of Star Trek / Brother Dave Garner / Remembering Newton Minow / The Nurses / / Glynis / The Debbie Reynolds Show / The Riddler Was Batman's First TV Super-Villain / Betty Lynn aka Thelma Lou / Remembering The Rifleman's Johnny Crawford / Clu Gulager Obituary / Leonard Nimoy on NBC Hating Spock / Sinatra Wanted To Play Joker on Batman? Yes! / Directing the Batman Pilot / Elinor Donahue on The Andy Griffith Show / Lucy After Ricky / Robert Clary on His Hogan's Heroes Co-stars / Jeopardy! in the 60s & 70s / Stunts Gone Wrong on The Wild Wild West / Whatever Happened To Lost In Space's Guy Williams? / Best of Julie Newmar Catwoman Season 2 / The New People / Dark Shadows Director Lela Swift / Pioneer Newswoman Lisa Howard / The Jim Nabors Hour / The UN Goes to the Movies / Stories About Filming Batman from Burt Ward / Life With Linkletter / The Green Hornet / Best of The Joker / Matt Weiner Interview / Lost in Space: Mark Goddard Interview / 1961 CBS Fall Season / Bette Davis TV show: The Decorator / The Hathaways / He & She / Eartha Kitt as Catwoman / The Good Guys / James Drury of The Virginian / The Ron Hicklin Singers / Man From U.N.C.L.E. on DVD / Behind the Scenes at The Andy Griffith Show / Pat Buttram & Green Acres / Remembering Clint Walker / Cheyenne / Camp Runamuck / Gilligan's Mary Ann - Dawn Wells / 1960's Nightclub Comic Rusty Warren / Johnny Carson Tonight Show 1964 / That Girl / The Amazing Randi / TV's Greatest Car Stars / Best of Batgirl 1967-68 / TV Shows to Movies / Batman Season 2 / Supermarionation / The Virginian's Clu Gulager / William Windom / New Bewitched Book / Court Martial / Cast Changes on Bewitched and Green Acres / Sammy Davis Jr. Show / Sunday Morning Cartoons / Naked City Sherwood Schwartz Interview / Walter Cronkite Moon Landing / The Farmer's Daughter / Petula-Clark /
It is what it is!
TV
on DVD/
/Holiday
Specials on DVD
TV
Commercials on DVD
TV
Shows on BLU-RAY
