New York: Richard Chamberlain, the Emmy-nominated actor and 1960s heartthrob who rocketed to fame in the TV medical drama Dr Kildare and starred in the original miniseries Shogun and The Thorn Birds has died at the age of 90, publicist Harlan Boll said. Chamberlain died late on Saturday in Hawaii from complications from a stroke, Boll said in a statement on Sunday. Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward in The Thorn Birds.
Credit: AP Chamberlain was an instant hit and became a teen idol as the handsome Dr James Kildare in the series that ran from 1961-1966. The Guardian newspaper said the then 27-year-old actor “looked like he had been sculpted by a loving god out of butter, honey and grace”. The breakout role was the start of a six-decade career that spanned theatre, film and television.
Chamberlain was dubbed the “king of the miniseries” after appearing in several TV dramas in the 1980s and earned plaudits on stage in roles ranging from Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady and Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music to Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Richard II. He also was the original Jason Bourne in the 1988 miniseries The Bourne Identity . Richard Chamberlain stars as Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity.
“What’s fascinating about Richard is that his range is enormous. His ability to be different each time out is what makes him such a valuable property,” producer Susan Baerwald told The New York Times in 1988. Pretending to be someone else The versatile actor wa.
