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Actor Richard Chamberlain, who starred in two of the biggest TV events of the 1980s in the miniseries “Shōgun’’ and “The Thorn Birds,’’ has died in Hawaii following a stroke.
Chamberlain, who would have turned 91 on March 31, died on March 29 in Waimanalo, his publicist Harlan Boll announced on March 30.
Born in Beverly Hills, Chamberlain graduated from Beverly Hills High School and also attended Pomona College. After a stint in the Army, he co-founded a theater group in Los Angeles and began getting television parts, leading to his big break, the starring role in the NBC medical drama “Dr. Kildare,’’ which ran from 1961-66.
He was also a talented singer with a few hit singles in the 1960s.
The 1970s saw Chamberlain make the leap to the big screen, with roles in “The Music Lovers” (1970), “The Three Musketeers’’ (1973), ”The Four Musketeers,’’ “The Towering Inferno’’ (1974) and “The Count of Monte Cristo,’’ among others.
In 1980 he starred as English navigator William Adams, also known as Anjin (Pilot), in the TV adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 novel “Shōgun,’’ which aired over five nights on NBC and was an enormous ratings success. The cast included Toshiro Mifune as Lord Toranaga, Yoko Shimada as Lady Mariko, and Frankie Sakai as Yabu.
In 1981, “Shōgun” received 14 Emmy nominations in the limited series category, including Chamberlain and Mifune for best actor and Shimada for best actress. It won three Emmys, including outstanding limited series.
At the Golden Globes, Chamberlain and Shimada won in their respective categories and “Shōgun” was named best dramatic TV series.
The story was remade in 2024 and became a smash hit and awards darling for FX.
Chamberlain parlayed that success into an even bigger one with 1983’s “The Thorn Birds’’ for ABC. He starred alongside Rachel Ward, Barbara Stanwyck and Christopher Plummer in a sweeping story about a New Zealand family’s adventures in the Australian outback.
At the time it was the second most watched television miniseries in history, behind 1977’s “Roots.’’
Chamberlain again played a doctor in a TV series, “Island Son,” which aired on CBS from 1989 to 1990 for 16 episodes. He starred as Daniel Kulani, a prominent internist who returns to Hawaii to give back to the culture he was raised in. He joins a health group that includes surgeon Kenji Fushida (Clyde Kusatsu). His adoptive parents, Tutu and Nana, were played by Kwan Hi Lim and Betty Carvalho.
Kusatsu posted on Facebook, “Startled to learn this morning that Richard Chamberlain had passed and was wistful with time passages and memories of working together on ‘Island Son’ in Honolulu … Warm and welcoming. We had a terrific personal and professional relationship shooting the series. He will be missed… a great number one on the call sheet. Aloha oé, farewell to thee until we meet again!”
Chamberlain continued acting in films, on TV and on stage into his later years, including an appearance in ”Twin Peaks: The Return’ (2017).
“Our beloved Richard is with the angels now,’’ his 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.’’