Disastrous Demise: Richard the (Miniseries) King

Since so many of my favorite disaster movies were released between 1970 and 1980, the stars of such films are now either departed from this world or reaching an age when the end is near. We just lost Gene Hackman of The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and now we find that Richard Chamberlain of The Towering Inferno (1974) has passed away of a stroke at age 90. Chamberlain held a certain place around here also because he was a key member of the cast of The Three Musketeers (1973), a movie we cherished like few others as a child (still do!) And then, of course, in addition to his TV and movie career, he headlined some of the most memorable television miniseries, at a time when they were must-see "events." 

 

Born in Los Angeles on March 31st, 1934, as George Richard Chamberlain, his father worked in real estate as well as the supermarket business. His brother Bill had been born seven years prior. Graduating from Beverly Hills High, he later earned a degree in art history and painting from Pomona College. Theatre roles in college attracted the attention of Paramount Studios, but he was drafted into the US Army, eventually serving in Korea and attaining the rank of sergeant.

Once back in civilian life, he immediately turned his eye to the stage once more. He helped co-found the theatre group Company of Angels with Peter Falk, Vic Morrow and Vic Tayback, a group which remains in existence still today, better known as CoA.

It was a 1959 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents which gave television viewers their first glimpse of young Chamberlain. He played the hot-headed brother of a boy who has died because an arrogant traveling salesman wouldn't pull over and let their father's truck get the boy help.

The following year, 1960, found his as a guest on many popular shows like Mr. Lucky, Thriller and Riverboat. He's seen here with Andrew Duggan and James Coburn, playing another young man bent on revenge in an installment of Bourbon Street Beat.

Westerns, of course, were also staples of television in that day and Chamberlain appeared on the venerable Gunsmoke as a malicious hater of Indians who, with his brother, decides to rid the west of as many as possible.

1960 also brought Chamberlain his first movie role (alongside theatre pal Falk.) The Secret of the Purple Reef sort of remains a secret today because I'd never heard of it and it's rarely, if ever, shown on television!

 

Soon enough, though, he'd won a supporting role in the George Hamilton cavalry western A Thunder of Drums (1961.)

At this stage, he was playing more than a few villains and antagonists. Seen here on Henry Fonda's show The Deputy, he was a notorious outlaw who may or may not have slain his girlfriend's father. These roles are in deep contrast to the one he'd soon be essaying on a regular basis.

MGM had decided to revive and update for TV what had once been a successful film series for them in the late-1930s and early-'40s starring Lew Ayres. Chamberlain won the role of Dr. Kildare in a new series costarring Raymond Massey. (Interestingly, Massey had been the star of Chamberlain's first role on Hitchcock Presents.)

Now the furthest thing from a villain, Chamberlain's trim, clean-cut looks found him playing an idealistic intern, faced on a weekly basis with ill patients and crises of conscience.

The initial pilot for the show had 52 year-old Ayres replaying the part, but it didn't work. William Shatner and James Franciscus both turned the role down, paving the way for newcomer Chamberlain to run with it. (These photos may all be in color, but the program was always shot in black & white.)

Chamberlain became a movie magazine staple and the idol of millions as he played Kildare from 1961 to 1966. He also pursued a singing career, crooning a Top Ten single, Three Stars Will Shine Tonight, derived from the show's opening theme. He performed the romantic balled with a lilting baritone which no doubt melted many of his female fans' butter.

He was so beloved by the public that 12,000 fan letters per week poured into the studio. And he was trusted by viewers to the extent that some folks wrote in to "Dr. Kildare" for medical advice! (Recall Vicks Formula 44 commercials later by soap stars who said, "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV?")

"Dick" Chamberlain was the definition of an ideal young man. Bright, fit (thanks to having run track in school), successful and handsome. But... he did have a secret. He knew from childhood that he was different. He was gay in a time when to admit it was tantamount to career suicide.

This meant there were countless male-female photo ops, such as this one with Michele Lee. (Relax, it's a Jai Alai glove. LOL!)

There were also many instances of "dates" and "romances" for publicity purposes. A frequent plus-one of his for a period of time was actress Joan Marshall.

By now a sensation as Kildare, Chamberlain was utilized by MGM in their film Twilight of Honor (1963), a courtroom drama in which he played a defense attorney in a murder case. The adult material of the movie (which also featured Joey Heatherton as seen here) gave his teen fans a bit of a start. It was really Nick Adams (as the defendant) who got the most attention, including an Oscar nomination he strenuously campaigned for.

In 1965, he costarred with Yvette Mimieux in the gentle, romantic Joy in the Morning. It concerned a law student and his new bride making their way through various hurdles. Chamberlain sang the title song for this, which was released as a single.

With the 1966 cancellation of Dr. Kildare, Chamberlain could afford to return to his first love, the stage. He was cast in the musical Breakfast at Tiffany's opposite Mary Tyler Moore. Unfortunately, the project was beset with issues from the outset with the initial script eventually being abandoned and the show never officially opening on Broadway as intended. It was closed after four previews.

Running for cover after that debacle, he headed to England where he did a television adaptation of Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady with Suzanne Neve and Edward Fox, among others. The California boy found himself surprisingly comfortable (and credible) in this and other soon-to-come British productions.

In 1968, Richard Lester cast him in Petulia as Julie Christie's nasty husband. Though filmed chiefly in San Francisco, Lester was an American who'd lived for many years in the UK and would figure somewhat in Chamberlain's future on screen. The movie was released to middling reviews, but proceeded to gain a cult following over the years.

He had a role in the 1969 Katharine Hepburn film The Madwoman of Chaillot, but more significantly, he was the first American since John Barrymore to essay the role of Hamlet at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He won excellent notices and later filmed the play for television.

His success with Hamlet on stage made him a natural to join the all-star cast of 1970's British-made Julius Caesar as Octavius.

As impressive a lineup of names as it was (Christopher Lee was also on board, though not pictured), the movie tanked, with most of the blame falling on the corpse-like Jason Robards as Brutus.

Now residing full time in England, Chamberlain starred in Ken Russell's experimental and unconventional biopic of Tchaikovsky called The Music Lovers (1971.) Though his wife in the film was played by Glenda Jackson, he was depicted as having homosexual desires for male costar Christopher Gable. This represented a certain amount of risk for the closeted actor.

Now quite at home in period pieces of this sort, he was pegged by writer-director Robert Bolt to play Lord Byron opposite Bolt's wife Sarah Miles in Lady Caroline Lamb (1972.) The movie did nothing in the US, but was a big hit at home in Great Britain.

Beginning with the 1972 British TV-movie The Woman I Love, Chamberlain would find himself cast alongside Faye Dunaway in several projects. Here, they played Prince Edward and American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

His former Petulia director, Richard Lester, unable to use The Beatles as initially intended for his next project, instead cast Oliver Reed, Chamberlain, Michael York and Frank Finlay as The Three Musketeers (1973.) He played Aramis, the lover of the group. The all-star cast included his Caesar cohorts Charlton Heston and Christopher Lee.

And, though their interaction was limited, La Dunaway was cast as the evil Milady de Winter. The very long film was divided into two parts (without the participants' knowledge!) and a sequel The Four Musketeers came out in 1974. After some litigation, the cast was paid for two films instead of the one they'd been contracted for.

By that time, he was back in Tinseltown, filming what would be an unqualified blockbuster, The Towering Inferno (1974.) Amidst an impressive roster of famous faces, it was he who almost single-handedly caused the conflagration by using inferior building materials during construction of The Glass Tower.

His sneaky, cheating louse of a character makes a vain attempt at luring costar Dunaway (wearing "the dress!") away from her fiance Paul Newman (as if!)

1975 brought him a juicy role in The Count of Monte-Cristo, a TV-movie in which he played a young man imprisoned, put through incredible hell, then rejuvenated (if also ruined) by revenge. Emmy nominated, he lost to Laurence Olivier for Love Among the Ruins. It was based on a novel by famed Musketeers author Alexandre Dumas. Chamberlain would two years later perform in another Dumas TV adaptation, The Man in the Iron Mask.

Clearly most at home in period settings, he played Cinderella's Prince in The Slipper and the Rose (1976), a beautifully filmed musical that is well-remembered by many, though it was not a sensation at the box office. Also in 1976, he starred on Broadway in Night of the Iguana.

Chamberlain went to work for Australian director Peter Weir in the cerebral thriller The Last Wave (1977), which would prove to be the last starring role in a feature film of his for a number of years.

As a favor to his Towering Inferno producer Irwin Allen, he popped up rather briefly in the box office disaster The Swarm (1978.) It would be seven years before he'd be seen in another feature film. But he was hardly idle...

In the wake of the hugely-successful Roots, producers and networks were tripping over themselves to find the next doorstop-sized novel that could become the next hot miniseries. Centennial was a gargantuan, 26-hour, sweepingly episodic event in which Chamberlain played a key role.

Before Centennial was very far in the rear-view mirror, he followed up with the epic miniseries Shogun, in which he was the key figure throughout. He was Emmy nominated for this program as well, but the award went to Anthony Hopkins as Adolf Hitler in The Bunker.

His crown as "King of the Miniseries" was assured once the next epic, The Thorn Birds, hit the airwaves in 1983. As a priest in the 1920s Australian Outback who is first sought after by rich matron Barbara Stanwyck then adored by the youthful Rachel Ward, he headlined yet another sweeping, romantic, dramatic television event. Stanwyck won an Emmy while he was nominated, losing to Tommy Lee Jones for The Executioner's Song.

In 1985, he returned to cinema screens once again in King Solomon's Mines, a frolicsome, campy update of the adventure story, made to cash in on the Indiana Jones craze. His leading lady (after Kathleen Turner turned down the role) was newcomer Sharon Stone.

A sequel was filmed back-to-back called Allan Quartermaine and the Lost City of Gold (1986) which was far less successful than the initial film and which brought an abrupt end to the proposed third film, which would have been "She and Allan," based on another of author H. Rider Haggard's books. Here, Chamberlain's real-life romantic partner Martin Rabbett made his only feature film appearance as the lead character's brother. After having dated Land of the Lost's Wesley Eure for a time, Chamberlain had met Rabbett in 1977 and they were together for decades after.

Chamberlain continued to be in high demand for TV movies such as Wallenberg: A Hero's Story (for which he was again Emmy-nominated, losing to Richard Crenna for The Rape of Richard Beck), miniseries like the (now-forgotten) Dream West, and historical romps such as Casanova, in which he was paired once more with Faye Dunaway. In 1987, he was back on Broadway for a time in Blithe Spirit.

The King of the Miniseries teamed with Queen of the TV Movies Jaclyn Smith for The Bourne Identity, never dreaming that the Robert Ludlum story would later become a big-budget cinema franchise.

In 1989, an unlikely reunion occurred when Richard Lester was able to bring together the original foursome for The Return of the Musketeers. Budgetary issues and the unfortunate death of beloved costar Roy Kinnear during filming cast a pall over the project, which pretty. much came and went despite reasonable critical response.

In between his many projects, Chamberlain had moved to Hawaii with Martin in 1986 and the two shared a partnership in less publicity-hungry surroundings. The two of them collaborated on a project that they could work on together and close to home.

The result was Island Son, Chamberlain's first series in twenty-five years. It represented a return to playing a doctor again after many roles of adventurers. Unfortunately, the concept wasn't welcomed by viewers and it was off the air before the 1989 season was over.

Surely one of his most unusual roles came when he took over Robert Mitchum's indelible role in a TV remake, Night of the Hunter. In this rendition, his deadly preacher was wed to Diana Scarwid in Shelley Winters' old role. 

By that time, Chamberlain could work only when he pleased, though he remained busy. He made The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years, Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke and guest-starred on several hit series like Touched By an Angel, The Drew Carey Show, Will & Grace, Desperate Housewives and Nip/Tuck. In the 1990s, he returned to the Broadway stage in My Fair Lady and later in The Sound of Music. He also popped up in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007.) His final role came in 2019 when he played an acting coach in the movie Finding Julia.

Though he and Martin had amicably split in 2010, they remained friends and, in fact, were once more together in Hawaii when Chamberlain passed away on March 29th, 2025 at age 90. He had maintained the same lean physique that he'd developed as a young man.

The California boy who would go on to play countless historical figures, musicians, adventurers, heroes and the occasional dastardly villain.

The End!