What Is Richard Chamberlain's Net Worth?
Richard Chamberlain is an American actor and singer who has a net worth of $25 million. Richard Chamberlain rose to fame when he starred as Dr. James Kildare on the NBC medical drama "Dr. Kildare" (1961–1966), a role that earned him a Golden Globe. Richard has more than 80 acting credits to his name, including the films "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), the miniseries "Centennial" (1978–1979), "Shōgun" (1980), and "The Thorn Birds" (1983), the TV movies "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1975), "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" (1985), and "The Bourne Identity" (1988), and the television series "The Portrait of a Lady" (1968), "Island Son" (1989–1990), and "Brothers & Sisters" (2010–2011). Chamberlain has appeared in Broadway productions of "The Night of the Iguana" (1976–1977), "Blithe Spirit" (1987), "My Fair Lady" (1993–1994), and "The Sound of Music" (1998–1999), earning a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Play for "The Night of the Iguana." He has released the albums "Richard Chamberlain Sings" (1962) and "Twilight of Honor" (1963), and he published the book "Shattered Love: A Memoir" in 2003.
Early Life
Richard Chamberlain was born George Richard Chamberlain on March 31, 1934, in Beverly Hills, California. He is the son of Elsa Winnifred Benzon and salesman Charles Axion Chamberlain, and he grew up with an older brother named Bill. Richard graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1952, then he earned a degree from Pomona College in 1956. After college, Chamberlain spent 16 months serving in the U.S. Army in Korea, and he attained the rank of sergeant.
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Career
In 1959, Richard co-founded Company of Angels, a Los Angeles theatre group, and he made his TV debut in an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." He guest-starred on "Rescue 8" (1960), "Gunsmoke" (1960), "Riverboat" (1960), and "Whispering Smith" (1961), and his first film was 1960's "The Secret of the Purple Reef." Chamberlain appeared in the films "A Thunder of Drums" (1961), "Twilight of Honor" (1963), "Joy in the Morning" (1965), "Petulia" (1968), and "The Madwoman of Chaillot" (1969), and he starred as Ralph Touchett on BBC One's "The Portrait of a Lady" in 1968. From 1961 to 1966, he played the title role on NBC's "Dr. Kildare," which aired 191 episodes over five seasons. Richard released the show's theme song as his first single, and it reached #10 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. In the '70s, he appeared in the films "The Towering Inferno" (1974) and "The Last Wave" (1977) and the TV movies "The Lady's Not For Burning" (1974), "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1975), and "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1977). Chamberlain portrayed 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). From 1978 to 1979, he played Alexander McKeag in the NBC miniseries "Centennial," which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
In 1980, Richard starred as Pilot-Major John Blackthorne in the NBC miniseries "Shōgun," then he appeared in the films "Murder by Phone" (1982), "King Solomon's Mines" (1985), and "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold" (1986). He received Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy nominations for playing Ralph de Bricassart in "The Thorn Birds" (1983) and Raoul Wallenberg in "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" (1985), winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for "The Thorn Birds." Chamberlain starred as Giacomo Casanova in the 1987 TV movie "Casanova" and Jason Bourne / David Webb in the 1988 ABC film "The Bourne Identity," and he played Dr. Daniel Kulani on the CBS medical drama "Island Son" from 1989 to 1990. In the '90s, Richard appeared in the films "Bird of Prey" (1995) and "A River Made to Drown In" (1997), the TV movies "Night of the Hunter" (1991) and "Ordeal in the Arctic" (1993), and the miniseries "The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years" (1996).
Chamberlain guest-starred on "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), and he played Ebenezer Scrooge and King Arthur in national tours of "Scrooge: The Musical" (2005) and "Spamalot" (2008–2009), respectively. Richard starred in the miniseries "Blackbeard" (2006), and he appeared in the films "The Pavilion" (2004), "Strength and Honour" (2006), "The Perfect Family" (2011), "We Are the Hartmans" (2011), "Nightmare Cinema" (2018), and "Finding Julia" (2019). He co-starred with Adam Sandler and Kevin James in 2007's "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," which grossed $187.1 million at the box office, and from 2010 to 2011, he had a recurring role as Jonathan Byrold on the ABC series "Brothers & Sisters."
Personal Life
In 1989, the French magazine "Nous Deux" outed Richard, but he didn't confirm his homosexuality until his 2003 memoir. He told "The Advocate" in 2010, "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. Personally, I wouldn't advise a gay leading man–type actor to come out." In the early '70s, Chamberlain was in a relationship with actor Wesley Eure, and in 1977, he began dating his "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold" co-star Martin Rabbett. Richard and Martin moved in together in Hawaii in 1986, and in 2010, it was reported that the couple had split up after Chamberlain moved to Los Angeles. When asked about it in his 2010 interview with "The Advocate," Richard stated, "Well, we haven't really split. In other words, we're still very, very close. The essence of our relationship has remained the same; we just don't happen to be living together….I just moved to L.A. because I wanted to work more."
Awards and Nominations
Chamberlain has earned six Golden Globe nominations, winning for Best TV Star – Male for "Dr. Kildare" (1963), Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama for "Shogun" (1981), and Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for "The Thorn Birds" (1984). His other nominations were for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama for "Centennial" (1980) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" (1986) and "The Bourne Identity" (1989). Richard has received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special (for "Shogun" in 1981, "The Thorn Birds" in 1983, and "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" in 1985) and one for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy for "The Count of Monte-Cristo" (1975). He won Golden Apple Awards for Most Cooperative Actor in 1962 and Male Star of the Year in 1980, and he earned Photoplay Awards for Most Popular Male Star in 1963, 1964, and 1965. In 1972, he was nominated for a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording for "Hamlet."
In 1982, Chamberlain was named Best Actor for "The Last Wave" at the Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival, and in 1985, he won an Aftonbladet TV Prize (Sweden) for Best Foreign TV Personality – Male (Bästa utländska man) and a Bravo Otto for Best Male TV Star. He received a EuroCinema Hawai'i Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2012 Hawaii International Film Festival, and he earned an Australian Film Institute Award nomination for Best Actor in a Lead Role for "The Last Wave" in 1978 and a TV Land Award nomination for Classic TV Doctor of the Year for "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.
Real Estate
In October 1999, Richard paid $3.5 million for an oceanfront property in Maui town of Kihei, Hawaii. He soon began building a custom 6,000 square foot mansion. In September 2011, Chamberlain sold the Maui home for $13.8 million. He originally asked $19 million for the 6,000+ square foot home, which he finished building in 2005. The oceanfront home includes six bedrooms, a screening room, a spa, a library, and a chef's kitchen, and a two-bedroom carriage house sits on the half-acre property.
