Richard Chamberlain, the actor known for Dr. Kildare, died on Saturday, March 29, 2025, due to complications from a stroke. He was 90 years old.

“Our beloved Richard is with the angels now. He is free and soaring to those loved ones before us,” his longtime partner Martin Rabbett said. “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 gained fame in the 1960s by playing the handsome lead in the medical series, Dr. Kildare. The show was an instant hit when it debuted in 1961 and ran through ’66. He starred in multiple popular miniseries, playing the lovestruck priest in The Thorn Birds and Pilot-Major John Blackthorne in Shogun.

He was born George Richard Chamberlain on March 31, 1934, in Los Angeles. He attended Pomona College then spent two years in the Army where he was stationed in Korea in the mid-1950s. Once home, Chamberlain performed on stage in Hamlet and other Shakespearean plays before embarking on his film and TV career. His screen debut came in 1959 in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and his first movie was 1960’s The Secret of the Purple Reef.

Chamberlain was in Twilight of Honor, Petulia, he played Octavius Caesar in Julius Caesar, Tchaikovsky in The Music Lovers, King Edward VIII in the TV movie, The Woman I Love. He portrayed Lord Byron in Lady Caroline Lamb, Aramis in The Three Musketeers, and F. Scott  Fitzgerald in a movie about the writer.

He was in The Towering Inferno, starred as Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo, he was in The Last Wave, The Good Doctor, and was one of the leads in the Centennial miniseries. Chamberlain was in King Solomon’s Mines, Allan Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold, he played Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity miniseries, and starred in the short-lived Island Son series.

Chamberlain starred in Ordeal of the Arctic, The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years, The Lost Daughter, and Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke. Later in his career, he guest starred in The Drew Carey Show, Will & Garce, Nip/Tuck, and Brothers & Sisters. He appeared in episodes of Leverage, did an episode of the Twin Peaks revival, and his final role was 2019’s Finding Julia.

In addition to acting, Chamberlain was also a singer, performing on variety shows and recording Richard Chamberlain Sings. His singing voice was also on display when he performed on Broadway in My Fair Lady. Later in his career, he also starred on stage in The Sound of Music, Scrooge: The Musical, Monty Python’s Spamalot, and The Exorcist. In 2003, he wrote his autobiography, Shattered Love: A Memoir.