Richard Chamberlain one of our very first TV/Film hearthrobs dies aged 90

If you were an adolescent boy …. or girl….. back in the early 1960s then there is a very good chance your first heartthrob was Richard Chamberlain i.e. DR KILDARE of the hit TV series. He was devastatingly handsome and we totally obsessed with him for the 5 years run of the show.  Sexuality was never discussed openly those days, so we didn’t really know that Richard ‘batted’ on our team until many years later BUT when the news finally leaked in1989 made the day for literally thousands of gay young men. (even though Richard never ‘came out’ until 2002)

He would go on to have a very highly successful career in the 1970s, starring in movies, and then he became known as the “king of the mini-series,”  earning him the first of three Golden Globes: think Thorn Birds and Shogun etc.  In fact he went on starring on the small and big screens right up to 2016  when he was into his 80’s.  

We dont want to forget his contributions to such films as The Towering Inferno, and some of our favorite TV shows such as ‘Brothers and Sisters‘  and ‘Desperate Housewives‘ BUT he will always be Dr Kildare to this 16 year-old who didnt know he was gay but knew he loved the Doctor.

We want to estend our condolences to Richard’s long-term partner of all those years actor and producer Martin Rabbet