Richard Chamberlain, TV actor who starred in 'Dr. Kildare,' dies at 90

Richard Chamberlain, a movie, stage, and television star, died on March 29 in Waimanalo, Hawaii. He was ninety years old.

According to publicist Harlan Boll, Chamberlain died as a result of complications from a stroke. On Monday, the award-winning star of "Thorn Birds" would have been 91.

Chamberlain, a three-time Golden Globe winner, has worn many hats over the years, including actor, singer, soldier, painter, and novelist, but he rose to notoriety and established his heartthrob status as a gorgeous young physician in the 1960s sitcom "Dr. Kildare."

Chamberlain also had a successful cinematic career. He portrayed Octavius Caesar in "Julius Caesar" with Charlton Heston and Jason Robards in 1970, and Raquel Welch and Oliver Reed co-starred in "The Three Musketeers" in 1973.  In 1974, he appeared in the Oscar-winning picture "The Towering Inferno."

Born George Richard Chamberlain, the adored actor was regarded as the "king of the miniseries," having acted in "Shogun," "The Thorn Birds," "Wallenberg," and the original 1988 screenplay of "The Bourne Identity."

Chamberlain also played Jason Bourne in the first television adaptation of the "Bourne Identity" franchise, which aired in 1988. He went on to feature in a number of films and television shows during the 1990s, including "Birds of Prey" and "The Lost Daughter."

Throughout the 2000s, Chamberlain featured as a guest star on various modern-day sitcoms and TV comedies, including "Will and Grace," "The Drew Carey Show," and "Desperate Housewives."

After earning a bachelor's degree in arts, he joined the United States Army and served in Korea for 16 months, rising to the rank of sergeant.

When Chamberlain returned to Los Angeles, he continued acting and co-founded Company of Angels, a Los Angeles theater company. His first television appearance was as a guest on Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1959.

He subsequently began acting in prominent American television shows such as "Gunsmoke," "Mr. Lucky," and "Riverboat," before obtaining the part of "Dr. Kildare," for which he received his first Golden Globe Award in 1963.

"Shogun" won Chamberlain awards and another Golden Globe Award in 1981.  In 1984, he won another Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television for "The Thorn Birds."

Along with his acting career, he became a popular musician, achieving a top ten hit with a vocal rendition of the Kildare theme song, "Three Stars Will Shine Tonight."