Actor Richard Chamberlain—who rose to prominence in the 1960s TV drama Dr. Kildare and then became king of the miniseries with such productions as Shogun and The Thorn Birds—has died at age 90, Variety reported.
The actor died March 29 in Waimanalo, Hawai’i, of complications following a stroke, according to publicist Harlan Boll.
During his years as Dr. Kildare, Chamberlain also had brief success as a recording artist, singing mostly romantic ballads.
“Our beloved Richard is with the angels now,” Chamberlain’s longtime partner Martin Rabbett said in a statement. “He is free and soaring to those loved ones before us. How blessed were we to have known such an amazing and loving soul. Love never dies. And our love is under his wings lifting him to his next great adventure.”
Chamberlain spent decades in a relationship with actor-writer-producer Rabbett, with whom he appeared in Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold, but it was unclear if they remained together after Chamberlain’s return to Los Angeles in 2010. According to Boll, Rabbett was Chamberlain’s “lifelong partner and best friend.”
Chamberlain, a leading-man type, was closeted until he came out in his 2003 memoir Shattered Love, when he was in his late 60s, EW noted. Interestingly, in a 2010 interview with The Advocate, he advised actors to not come out, saying, “There’s still a tremendous amount of homophobia in our culture. It’s regrettable, it’s stupid, it’s heartless, and it’s immoral, but there it is. For an actor to be working is a kind of miracle, because most actors aren’t, so it’s just silly for a working actor to say, ‘Oh, I don’t care if anybody knows I’m gay’—especially if you’re a leading man.”
Some of Chamberlain’s other roles included guest stints on shows such as Will & Grace, Nip/Tuck, Desperate Housewives, Leverage, Chuck, and Brothers & Sisters.