Richard Chamberlain Net Worth + How Get Famous

George Richard Chamberlain was born on March 31, 1934. He is an American actor and singer who became famous in the television show Dr. Kildare from 1961 to 1966 where he played the main character. Chamberlain appeared in other TV series like Sh?gun (1980) and The Thorn Birds (1983). He was the first actor to play Jason Bourne in the TV film The Bourne Identity in 1988. Chamberlain has also acted in classical stage plays and musical theatre.

Richard Chamberlain became famous after playing Dr. James Kildare on the NBC show "Dr. Kildare" from 1961 to 1966. This role won him a Golden Globe. Richard has acted in over 80 projects, such as movies like "Julius Caesar" (1970), "The Three Musketeers" (1973), "The Towering Inferno" (1974), "King Solomon's Mines" (1985), "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" (2007), and "The Perfect Family" (2011). He has also appeared in miniseries including "Centennial" (1978-1979), "Sh?gun" (1980), and "The Thorn Birds" (1983). Additionally, he has starred in TV movies like "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1975), "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" (1985), and "The Bourne Identity" (1988), and in TV series like "The Portrait of a Lady" (1968), "Island Son" (1989-1990), and "Brothers & Sisters" (2010-2011).

Chamberlain was in Broadway shows like "The Night of the Iguana" (1976-1977), "Blithe Spirit" (1987), "My Fair Lady" (1993-1994), and "The Sound of Music" (1998-1999). He got a nomination for a Drama Desk Award for "The Night of the Iguana". He made albums called "Richard Chamberlain Sings" (1962) and "Twilight of Honor" (1963). In 2003, he wrote the book "Shattered Love: A Memoir".

Early life and education

Chamberlain was born in 1934 in Beverly Hills, California. He was the second son of Elsa Winnifred and Charles Axion Chamberlain, who was a salesman. Chamberlain graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1952 and later attended Pomona College, graduating in 1956. He served in the United States Army as a sergeant in Korea from 1956 to 1958.

Career of Richard Chamberlain

Chamberlain helped start a theatre group in Los Angeles called Company of Angels. He also started acting on TV in small roles during the early 1960s. In 1961, he became famous for playing Dr. James Kildare, a young intern, on a popular TV series on NBC/MGM. His co-star was Raymond Massey.

Chamberlain was a successful singer in the early 1960s. He had some hit singles, like "Three Stars Will Shine Tonight," which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. After the show Dr. Kildare ended in 1966, Chamberlain started performing in theaters.

In 1966, he starred with Mary Tyler Moore in the failed Broadway show Breakfast at Tiffany's, also featuring Priscilla Lopez. The musical closed after just four previews following a trial period outside of New York. Years later, he appeared again on Broadway in new productions of My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music.

By the late 1960s, Chamberlain spent some time in England, performing in theater and on the BBC's adaptation of "Portrait of a Lady," establishing himself as a respected actor. In 1969, he acted alongside Katharine Hepburn in the movie "The Madwoman of Chaillot."

When he was in England, he got singing lessons. In 1969, he acted as the main character in the play Hamlet at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He was the first American to play this role there since John Barrymore in 1925. People praised his performance. He acted as Hamlet on television in 1970 for the Hallmark Hall of Fame. A recording of the show was put out by RCA Red Seal Records and got nominated for a Grammy Award.

In the 1970s, Chamberlain was in movies like The Music Lovers (1970), Lady Caroline Lamb (as Lord Byron; 1973), The Three Musketeers (1973), and The Towering Inferno (as a bad guy engineer, 1974).

In the movie The Slipper and the Rose (1976), which is a musical reimagining of Cinderella, he showed off his singing abilities alongside Gemma Craven. He also appeared in the television movie William Bast's The Man in the Iron Mask (1977). In addition, he had a role in Peter Weir's film The Last Wave during the same year.

Chamberlain later starred in popular TV mini-series like Centennial (1978-79), Sh?gun (1980), and The Thorn Birds (1983) where he played Father Ralph de Bricassart with Rachel Ward and Barbara Stanwyck. In the 1980s, he also had roles in King Solomon's Mines (1985) and played Jason Bourne/David Webb in The Bourne Identity TV movie (1988).

Chamberlain has been working in television movies, theater, and as a guest on shows such as The Drew Carey Show and Will & Grace since the 1990s. In 1991, he was in a TV movie adaptation of Davis Grubb's The Night of the Hunter, which had mixed reviews. He played Henry Higgins in the 1993-1994 Broadway production of My Fair Lady.

In fall 2005, Chamberlain played Ebenezer Scrooge in the nationwide tour of Scrooge: The Musical. In 2006, he made appearances on the British show Hustle and season 4 of Nip/Tuck. Then, in 2007, he appeared on Desperate Housewives as Glen Wingfield, Lynette Scavo's stepdad, in episode 80 of season 4.

In 2008 and 2009, Chamberlain was King Arthur in the nationwide tour of Monty Python's Spamalot. In 2010, he played Archie Leach in season 3, episode 3 of the show Leverage, and also appeared in two episodes of season 4 of Chuck as a villain named The Belgian.

Chamberlain has been on a few episodes of Brothers & Sisters, where he played a friend of Saul. He also acted in the movie We Are the Hartmans in 2011. In 2012, Chamberlain performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse as Dr. Sloper in The Heiress. In 2017, he appeared in Twin Peaks: The Return as Bill Kennedy.

Award and nominations

Chamberlain got nominated for six Golden Globes. He won for Best TV Star - Male in "Dr. Kildare" (1963), Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama in "Shogun" (1981), and Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie in "The Thorn Birds" (1984). He was also nominated for Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama in "Centennial" (1980) and Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie in "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" (1986) and "The Bourne Identity" (1989).

Richard got nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Special in 1981 ("Shogun"), 1983 ("The Thorn Birds"), and 1985 ("Wallenberg: A Hero's Story"), and one for Best Actor in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy for "The Count of Monte-Cristo" in 1975.

He received Golden Apple Awards for being the Most Cooperative Actor in 1962 and Male Star of the Year in 1980. He also won Photoplay Awards for being the Most Popular Male Star in 1963, 1964, and 1965. In 1972, he was nominated for a Grammy for his recording of "Hamlet".

In 1982, Chamberlain won the Best Actor award for "The Last Wave" at the Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival, and in 1985, he received an Aftonbladet TV Prize in Sweden for being the Best Foreign TV Personality - Male (Bästa utländska man), as well as a Bravo Otto for being the Best Male TV Star.

He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the EuroCinema Hawai'i in 2012. He was also nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role for the movie "The Last Wave" in 1978 and received a nomination for Classic TV Doctor of the Year at the TV Land Awards for his role in "Dr. Kildare" in 2003.

"Finite Water" (which Richard narrated) won the Globe Award and Best Documentary award at the Around International Film Festival, the Best Short Film award at the DRUK International Film Festival, the Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Neo International Film Festival, and an Audience Award for Best Film and Honorable Mention for Best Documentary at the Vegas Movie Awards. In 2000, Chamberlain received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television.

Net worth of Richard Chamberlain

Richard Chamberlain is a famous American actor and singer who has a net worth of $25 million. In 1959, Richard helped start Company of Angels, a theatre group in Los Angeles. He first appeared on TV in an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". Richard also had guest roles on shows like "Rescue 8" (1960) and "Gunsmoke" (1960), among others. His debut movie was "The Secret of the Purple Reef" in 1960.

Richard Chamberlain was in movies like "A Thunder of Drums" (1961), "Twilight of Honor" (1963), "Joy in the Morning" (1965), "Petulia" (1968), and "The Madwoman of Chaillot" (1969). He also played Ralph Touchett on the show "The Portrait of a Lady" in 1968. From 1961 to 1966, he was the lead on the show "Dr. Kildare" on NBC, which had 191 episodes over five seasons. Richard even released the show's theme song as his first single, and it made it to #10 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart.

In the 1970s, he starred in movies like "The Towering Inferno" (1974), "The Last Wave" (1977), and TV movies such as "The Lady's Not For Burning" (1974), "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1975), and "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1977). Chamberlain played various roles like Octavius Caesar/Augustus in "Julius Caesar" (1970), Tchaikovsky in "The Music Lovers" (1970), Lord Byron in "Lady Caroline Lamb" (1972), Aramis in "The Three Musketeers" (1973), "The Four Musketeers" (1974), and "The Return of the Musketeers" (1989), and F. Scott Fitzgerald in "The Last of the Belles" (1974).

Between 1978 and 1979, he was in the NBC show "Centennial" as Alexander McKeag. He got a Golden Globe nomination for his role.

In 1980, Richard was in the NBC miniseries called "Sh?gun" as Pilot-Major John Blackthorne. After that, he acted in the movies "Murder by Phone" in 1982, "King Solomon's Mines" in 1985, and "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold" in 1986. He was nominated for Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy awards for his roles as Ralph de Bricassart in "The Thorn Birds" in 1983 and Raoul Wallenberg in "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" in 1985. Richard won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for his role in "The Thorn Birds".

Chamberlain was in the 1987 TV movie "Casanova" as Giacomo Casanova, and in the 1988 ABC film "The Bourne Identity" as Jason Bourne / David Webb. He also starred as Dr. Daniel Kulani on the CBS medical drama "Island Son" from 1989 to 1990. In the '90s, Richard appeared in movies like "Bird of Prey" (1995) and "A River Made to Drown In" (1997), TV movies such as "Night of the Hunter" (1991) and "Ordeal in the Arctic" (1993), and the miniseries "The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years" (1996).

Chamberlain appeared on TV shows like "Touched by an Angel" (2000), "The Drew Carey Show" (2002), "Will & Grace" (2005), "Hustle" (2006), "Nip/Tuck" (2006), "Desperate Housewives" (2007), "Leverage" (2010, 2012), "Chuck" (2011), and "Twin Peaks: The Return" (2017). Additionally, he toured nationally as Ebenezer Scrooge in "Scrooge: The Musical" (2005) and as King Arthur in "Spamalot" (2008-2009).

Richard was in the TV show "Blackbeard" (2006), and he showed up in the movies "The Pavilion" (2004), "Strength and Honour" (2006), "The Perfect Family" (2011), "We Are the Hartmans" (2011), "Nightmare Cinema" (2018), and "Finding Julia" (2019). He acted alongside Adam Sandler and Kevin James in the 2007 film "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," which made $187.1 million, and he played Jonathan Byrold on the show "Brothers & Sisters" from 2010 to 2011.

In October 1999, Richard bought a beachfront property in Kihei, Hawaii for $3.5 million. He built a large house on the property. In September 2011, he sold the house for $13.8 million. He had initially wanted $19 million for the house, which he completed in 2005. The house has six bedrooms, a screening room, a spa, a library, a chef's kitchen, and a two-bedroom carriage house on the property.