Trust Yourself: Richard Chamberlain, 1934-2025

I am, alas, slightly too young to have been around for the Golden Age of the Miniseries. I was six when The Thorn Birds aired, three when Shōgun did. Chamberlain was cast in them, and the others he made, because he was handsome. He’s the sort of idol that I find interesting—the one who is aimed by Hollywood at teenage girls and middle-aged women. Someone who is attractive in a way that feels safe, though Chamberlain had something of the charming rogue about him. Danger without danger.

Chamberlain is another one of those actors who studied painting. He attended Pomona College and graduated in 1956, at which point he was drafted and sent to Korea. He achieved the rank of sergeant but hated serving. When he was discharged, he returned to LA and started acting. He founded a theatre company, and in 1931 he was cast as Dr. Kildare for television. From there, his career was pretty well set. He played the role for 191 episodes between 1961 and 1966; TV seasons were longer in those days.

After the show went off the air, he went into glorious historical drama. He played Aramis and Octavius Caesar. Lord Byron and F. Scott Fitzgerald. His dashing good looks and smooth voice were deeply appealing to audiences. He appeared on Broadway, including in the infamous flop Breakfast at Tiffany’s, with Mary Tyler Moore as Holly Golightly. Who frankly seems an even worse choice by Truman Capote’s standards than Audrey Hepburn. Some of his movies were better than others—he was in both The Swarm and The Towering Inferno—but still.

And then came Centennial, the first of his miniseries roles. Based on the novel by James A. Michener and with one of the casts only the ‘70s could produce, it would launch the next phase in Chamberlain’s career. It was so long that these days it would qualify as a series in and of itself—twelve episodes running a total of twenty-six hours. He’s listed as being in all twelve episodes, but I’m not sure how, given the series takes place over the course of two centuries. Meanwhile Chamberlain would be in six more miniseries and ten made-for-TV movies over the rest of his career.

In recent years, he’s mostly been cast by people wanting to call all that to mind. He’s a delight on Leverage, and giving him the name of Archie Leach is probably the best part, given it’s Cary Grant’s birth name. He’s a suave, debonair master thief, teacher of the show’s own thief. It’s a fun role, and I have to believe it was more entertaining than yet another turgid melodrama. By then, he was living as an openly gay man, which he said came as a great relief after all the years of pretending to be something that he’s not. Even if it’s your job, you don’t want it to be your life.