Richard Chamberlain has headlined six of the most acclaimed mini-series on television including: "Shogun", "Wallenberg", "The Thornbirds", "The Bourne Identity", "Dream West", and "Centennial.". They are all epic dramas that speak a humanistic and universal language that have helped to establish him as an international star. He earned a Golden Globe Award as Best Actor, as well as an Emmy nomination for his work in "Shogun". And he also received a Best Actor Award issued by London's TV Times Magazine for his role as Blackthorne.
The actor received another Golden Globe Award, an Emmy nomination, a People's Choice Award, and US Magazine 's 1983 Readers' Poll Award as Best Actor in a Dramatic Series for his work in "The Thornbirds."
Chamberlain starred in the telefilm "Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole" with Rod Steiger. He also played John C. Fremont in the 1986 CBS mini-series "Dream West", based on the life of the California maverick. In 1987 he starred with the late Geraldine Page in Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit," on Broadway, after spending a year in Zimbabwe filming "King Solomon's Mines" and the sequel "Quartermane."
Chamberlain began his acting career, studying with Jeff Corey in his native Los Angeles. He was also a founding member of Company of Angels, one of the most highly regarded acting troupes in that city. Early on, he was featured in minor roles in several American television shows before landing the lead in the TV series "Dr. Kildare" which made him a household name, literally overnight. He played the popular physician for five years, and at the height of his fame was receiving over 12,000 fan letters a week.
At the end of his series, Chamberlain joined the American stock repertory circuit, appearing in plays such as "Private Lives", "The Philadelphia Story", and "West Side Story." During this period, he received critical acclaim for his performance as the brutal husband of Julie Christie in the Richard Lester film "Petulia".
In 1968, he played the role of Ralph Touchet in the six-part BBC TV serial adaptation of Henry James' "Portrait of a Lady." He also portrayed the romantic Frenchman opposite Katherine Hepburn in "The Madwoman of Chaillot," and topped that by becoming the first American actor to play "Hamlet" in England since the great John Barrymore in 1929. The play was subsequently broadcast on television with a cast that included Sir John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, and Margaret Leighton.
Chamberlain was the cunning Octavius in the 1970 film "Julius Caesar," and he portrayed the tormented Russian composer, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, opposite Glenda Jackson in Ken Russell's "The Music Lovers". He also played William Holden's villainous son in the box office blockbuster "The Towering Inferno" and followed that with a TV remake of "The Count of Monte Cristo", for which he received an Emmy nomination.
In 1978, Chamberlain directed Michael Christopher's "The Shadow Box" at the prestigious Williamstown Theatre Festival, and later returned there to act in George Bernard Shaw's "Arms and the Man." He also starred as Wild Bill Hickock in Joseph Papp's New York production of "Fathers and Sons" a role he recreated in Los Angeles.
On the big screen he appeared in the swashbuckling classic "The Three Musketeers," portraying the elegant musketeer Aramis, and played the same flamboyant character in the film's two sequels. Chamberlain continued to demonstrate his versatility with roles such as Prince Charming in the musical film "The Slipper and the Rose", and the Reverend Shannon in the Los Angeles and Broadway productions of Tennessee Williams' "The Night of the Iguana." He also starred in yet another acclaimed remake for television, the title role of the classic, "The Man in the Iron Mask."
Chamberlain appeared as Henry Higgins in the 1993-94 Broadway hit "My Fair Lady," which also toured throughout the U.S. He reprised this role in the European production of the show, visiting cities such as Paris, Berlin, Munich, Zurich and Hamburg. And he worked on "The Missing Years" the sequel to "The Thornbirds" and the mini-series "The Lost Daughter" in addition to a feature titled "River Made to Drown In". In 1997, he also starred in "All the Winters That Have Been" a TV special based on a book by Evan Maxwell.
Chamberlain is also well known for his interest in environmental affairs. He lobbied to save the Tuolumne River, and helped to win a "Wild and Scenic" designation for the river. He also narrated a widely acclaimed Audubon television special about the poaching of animals in our National forests. One of his other projects was an Audubon special about Hawaii's precious ecology. He recently presented his first public art show at the Addi Gallery in Lahaina, Maui, which was received with much acclaim.
