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Richard Chamberlain, who first came to fame in one of the first medical soaps on TV Dr. Kildare, has died. He was 90, passing one day before his 91st birthday.
Chamberlain starred as Dr. Kildare for 5 seasons. He was known as a prime time heartthrob. Chamberlian had a career resurgence in the 70s and 80s, appearing in miniseries like Roots. That era in his career culminated in a starring role in the original Shōgun in 1980. He appeared as John Blackthorne opposite Toshiro Mifune. Chamberlain also starred in films like The Towering Inferno and Ken Russell’s The Music Lovers.
For the majority of his career, Richard Chamberlain was closeted. He denied being gay until the age of 70. In his memoir, Chamberlain shared his long partnership with actor and director Martin Rabbett. The pair were together for over 30 years, and separated in 2010. According to the BBC, Chamberlain expressed no regrets about hiding his sexuality for so long. “There’s still a tremendous amount of homophobia in our culture,” he said. “Please, don’t pretend that we’re suddenly all wonderfully, blissfully accepted.”
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