Richard Chamberlain became the golden boy after Dr. Kildare – this is him today, at 88

Richard Chamberlain – career

Soon after college, he would turn to the studios to look for work, and Paramount Pictures showed their interest. However, the Korean war was happening, and in December of 1956, he was drafted into the Army to serve for 16 months.

When Richard Chamberlain returned to the United States, he already knew where he wanted to go – and that place was Hollywood.

He got parts in several productions, but it wasn’t until 1961 that he’d score the part which changed his life. Richard Chamberlain played Dr. Kildare in the medical series of the same name, and it turned into a huge success.

He wasn’t only praised by critics for his role but gained a huge fanbase. Suddenly, Richard Chamberlain was the golden boy of the 1960s.

”My self-esteem deep down was low, low low for various reasons. And so, having that kind of public adulation, was just wonderful. It was like a wonderful medicine. It was everything that I’d ever dreamt of, and being thought to be very attractive and everything, I thought it was just great,” Richard Chamberlain explained on Emmy TV Legends.

Richard Chamberlain – Dr Kildare

”I used to be chased around supermarkets. I had a convertible stingray, and girls would chase me around in the hills, but I usually managed to escape. When travelling with my parents in Switzerland, we were at some mountain top when someone came up and asked me for my autograph. And my father said ’now I know you really made it,’” Chamberlain said, laughing. 

Richard Chamberlain and Raymond Massey in the television series Dr. Kildare (Getty Images)

Dr Kildare aired in 1961. The series followed Chamberlain’s Dr. James Kildare – a young medical intern – and the relationship between him and his mentor Dr. Leonard Gillespie, played by Raymond Massey, at the fictional Blair General Hospital.

It was a huge breakthrough for Chamberlain, who won a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star – Male in 1963. The show aired from 1961 to 1966 with a total of 191 episodes and was nominated for several Emmys and Golden Globe Awards.

So why was the medical drama so successful?