Richard Chamberlain dies at 90

[Snarky Oracle!]

Complications from a stroke.

 

[Monzo]

For me, Richard Chamberlain was the king of miniseries. I recently watched Centennial for the first time. Until then I'd forgotten how much life Richard Chamberlain had in his acting. The Thorn Birds was his peak and his decline at the same time. After The Thorn Birds, I only saw him regularly in Dream West and Island Son. After that, he was essentially just a guest star for the rest of his life.

I also remember Richard Chamberlain as the original singer of "(They Long to Be) Close to You."

 

[Toni]

Sorry to hear this. He had given some good performances in cinema before his big (second) breakout in TV. Of course, I will remember him for his Father Bricassart (spell?) on "The Thorn Birds", a miniseries that people still underrate it because of its controversial subject, but it´s quite remarkable in every sense, from the score to Stanwyck´s presence or every other actor in it or the beautiful scenery...or the way it embraced the melodrama cliches with open arms.

I liked what I read about Chamberlain too. He didn´t sell his coming out of the closet either as some others have done (or still do) out there...he just admitted it naturally after having a normal social life with his partner openly. Kudos to you, and RIP Mr. Chamberlain.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Oooh...this looks very pretty (never seen the series)

 

[Angela Channing]

This is what I had to say in 2019 about Richard Chamberlain in The Music Lovers film in the "What Was The Last Film You Watched" thread:

Yesterday I watched The Music Lovers (1970), Ken Russell's film of part of Tchaikovsky's life. Wow, just wow! What a great film. I can't find the words that are adequate enough to say how much I loved it.

Richard Chamberlain played Tchaikovsky and I had no idea he was such a good actor. There's a scene near the beginning of the film when he plays Tchaikovsky's piano concerto No. 1, and the physicality and expression that Richard Chamberlain put into how he played the piece was incredible and I was gripped on the film from that moment.

He was a very talented actor, I'm sorry to hear he has died.

 

[Richard Channing]

Strangely enough I've been in a movie with Richard Chamberlain (as an extra). It also starred Rachel Ward, his Thornbirds co-star, I guess to attract fans who wished to see them reunited, and a very young, unknown Jessica Chastain.

I wasn't in many scenes with him but he seemed lovely. Maybe not the time or place but, the list of famous people who have flirted with me is a very short one, but Richard Chamberlain is on it! He was in his 70's at the time and it was just a lingering stare over the mashed potatoes at the buffet table, but it still counts.

RIP Richard.

 

[Rove]

I'll admit I have never seen The Thorn Birds and as time marches on I have no intentions of watching it. What a shame the producers decided to film this in California and Hawaii. Despite it rating its socks off I'm left wondering how much better this mini-series would have been if that harsh Australian outback was on full display.

R.I.P. Richard Chamberlain​

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I'll admit I have never seen The Thorn Birds and as time marches on I have no intentions of watching it. What a shame the producers decided to film this in California and Hawaii. Despite it rating its socks off I'm left wondering how much better this mini-series would have been if that harsh Australian outback was on full display.

R.I.P. Richard Chamberlain​

Miniseries never really work for me. Yes, they have more time to include detail from their origin novels, but miniseries just tend to ramble on tiresomely. Even though you have to drop some of those details and side characters and certain layers when doing a movie -- with obviously a shorter running time -- when done correctly, a ~3-hour format seems a better way to translate the written page to the screen.

It just does.

Miniseries, in the late-'70s and 1980s, were sprawling TV "events" but tend to be difficult to re-watch later. The extra time allotted just doesn't help the project -- certainly not to age well; it's just too unfocused.

I would like to have seen a ~three-hour version of THE THORN BIRDS -- as long as they kept all the Barbara Stanwyck stuff.