Richard Chamberlain

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Richard Chamberlain, 1982

George Richard Chamberlain [ ˈtʃɛimbɘlɪn ] (born March 31, 1934 in Los Angeles , California ) is an American actor and singer , who in the 1960s by the title role in the doctor series Dr. Kildare became known. One of his most famous roles is that of Pastor Ralph de Bricassart in the globally successful multi-part TV series The Thorn Birds .

Life

Richard Chamberlain only took an interest in theater towards the end of his art studies at Pomona College, California, USA. His first attempts on a student stage were interrupted in 1956 when he was called up for military service in East Asia. Two years later he returned to the United States as a sergeant .

After his return he initially devoted himself to painting again , but also took singing and acting lessons. After minor roles in series and films, he got the role of Dr. Kildare in the television series of the same name. At the same time he also started a short-lived singing career, which gave him the hits Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight) (1962, USA # 10) and All I Have To Do Is Dream (1963, USA # 14). The single Blue Guitar (1963, USA # 42) contains the original of the Carpenters world hit (They Long To Be) Close To You on the B-side .

At the age of 33 he went to England in 1968 and took acting lessons there again. In Birmingham he appeared on stage as Hamlet, among others . This role earned him widespread recognition by British theater critics and made him a serious actor. Together with Ken Russell he shot Tchaikovsky - Genie und Wahnsinn in 1970 and The Three Musketeers with Richard Lester in 1973 and the sequel in 1974 The Four Musketeers - The Revenge of My Lady . In 1975 he played in England alongside Gemma Craven in the popular musical film Cinderellas Silber Schuh (The Slipper and the Rose).

After returning to the United States, he played theater on Broadway and appeared in various television roles. In 1974 he shot Flammendes Inferno and Der Graf von Monte Christo , where he appeared in the latter film alongside Tony Curtis , among others . After that, Chamberlain was quiet for a few years. In 1980 he starred in Shogun . This was followed in 1983 by The Thorn Birds with Chamberlain in the role of Father de Bricassart. For this role he received the Golden Globe , as he had previously for his roles in Shogun and Dr. Kildare. In 1995 he again took on the role of Ralph de Bricassart in the sequel Thorn Birds - The Lost Years . Since the beginning of 2000, Richard Chamberlain has appeared mainly in guest roles in British and American television series, such as Nip / Tuck (2006), Desperate Housewives (2007), Leverage (2010/2012) and Brothers & Sisters (2010/2011).

In addition to his engagements on television, Chamberlain was also drawn back to the stage again and again. In 1993 he played Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady on Broadway and on a US tour. In 1995/96 this show toured Europe, where Chamberlain again appeared as Henry Higgins in Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland. In 1999/2000 he appeared as Captain von Trapp in the US musical The Sound of Music , followed in 2005 by another musical tour as Ebenezer Scrooge in the musical of the same name. In 2006 he was seen as King in The King and I in Hawaii. His last major musical appearance so far took place in 2009, where he toured the USA as King Arthur for three months with Spamalot to great applause .

In addition to appearances in musicals, Chamberlain also played classical theater again and again. B. at the Berkshire Theater Festival 2000 (Shadow of Greatness), 2003 (Stillborn Lover) and 2005 (Portrait of a Young Artist).

family

Chamberlain's father, Charles Axiom ("Chuck") died in 1984 and his mother was Elsa Matthews. He has a brother named William, six years his senior.

Richard Chamberlain lived in seclusion for many years with his long-time partner Martin Rabbett in Hawaii . Rabbett has also worked as an agent, producer, and director for Chamberlain. According to an article in the French women's magazine Nous Deux in December 1989, it became known that Chamberlain was gay . In an interview in 1991 he spoke about it for the first time and said: “I'm sick of the game of hide and seek.” In 2003, his biography Shattered Love appeared , in which he also addressed in detail his homosexual life and the reasons for his long double life. He describes the feeling that he has to hide his sexual identity in order to have a career as an actor. Thereupon he was " outed " by the media a second time in the headlines .

In early 2010 Chamberlain left Hawaii and moved back to Los Angeles to resume his acting career.

Filmography

Movies

TV Shows

literature

Web links

Commons : Richard Chamberlain  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. Pronunciation in English. In: de.forvo.com. Retrieved February 8, 2015 .
  2. Axel Schock, Karen-Susan Fessel: OUT! - 800 famous lesbians, gays and bisexuals. Querverlag, Berlin 2004. ISBN 3-89656-111-1
  3. Richard Chamberlain: Yes, I'm gay! in: Berliner Kurier , November 25, 2007