Richard Chamberlain, Dr. Kildare and Shogun star, dead at 90

TV star Richard Chamberlain has died.He was 90.Chamberlain passed away Saturday in Waimanalo, Hawaii of complications following a stroke, publicist Harlan Boll confirmed to Variety.

“Our beloved Richard is with the angels now,” Martin Rabbett, Chamberlain’s longtime partner, said in a statement.“He is free and soaring to those loved ones before us.”“How blessed were we to have known such an amazing and loving soul,” the statement continued.

“Love never dies.And our love is under his wings lifting him to his next great adventure.”Born on March 31, 1934 in Beverly Hills, Chamberlain co-founded a Los Angeles-based theater group and began appearing in film and television in 1960.

He was best known for his leading role in the NBC medical drama series “Dr.Kildare,” which ran for nearly 200 episodes from 1961 to 1966.Reflecting on the show in an interview with TV Insider last year, Chamberlain said, “I was aware this was the answer to all my dreams.

Then the show became a huge success, and that was just mesmerizing.”Come the 1980s, Chamberlain became known as the “King of the Miniseries” with his roles in “Shogun,” “The Thorn Birds” and “Centennial.” “Shogun” was adapted from James Clavell’s 1975 novel and remade last year into another miniseries that won a record-breaking 18 Emmy Awards.In “The Thorn Birds,” Chamberlain played a priest who has an affair with a gorgeous woman.He also starred in the sequel miniseries, “The Thorn Birds: The Missing Year,” which came out in 1996.Chamberlain told TV Insider last year that he was most proud of “The Thorn Birds” in his career.“It had a kind of international effect on the world that was amazing.

And working with Barbara Stanwyck, of course, was just brilliant, and Rachel [Ward] and all those fabulous people,” he said about the show.While he was best known for TV, Chamberlain also enjoyed roles in films like “The Three Musketeers” trilogy and “King Solom...