George Richard Chamberlain is an American stage and screen actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare . Since then, he has appeared in several mini-series such as Shōgun and The Thorn Birds , many successful films, and performed classical stage roles and worked in the musical theatre. Chamberlain was born in 1934 in Beverly Hills, California, the son of Elsa Winnifred and Charles Axiom Chamberlain, who was a salesman. Chamberlain's father was well known within Alcoholics Anonymous, having traveled for years speaking at A.A.... conventions. In 1952, Richard Chamberlain graduated from Beverly Hills High School and later attended Pomona College . Chamberlain co-founded a Los Angeles-based theatre group, Company of Angels, and began appearing in TV series in the 1950s. In 1961 he gained widespread fame as the young intern, Dr. Kildare, in the MGM television series of the same name. His singing ability also led to some hit singles in the early 1960s. One of them was the "Theme from Dr.
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