Richard Chamberlain net worth: TV icon's fortune explored as he passes away at 90

TV icon Richard Chamberlain, who rose to fame after starring in Dr. Kildare, a mini-series that aired in 1961, passed away on March 29, 2025. The actor would have turned 91 in just two days. In a statement given to CNN, Richard Chamberlain’s partner, Martin Rabbett, said,

“Our beloved Richard is with the angels now. He is free and soaring to those loved ones before us”

Martin Rabbett, an actor and producer himself, had been in a relationship with Chamberlain for more than three decades. The couple had separated for a while; however, at the time of Chamberlain’s death, Chamberlain and Rabbett had been staying together, as per the obituary published by The New York Times.

Richard Chamberlain’s spokesperson, Harlan Boll, shared that the actor passed away due to health complications arising from a stroke. At the time of his death, Chamberlain was at his residence in Hawaii, where Rabbett was staying with him, as per the report by The New York Times. The same report also mentioned Rabbett as Chamberlain’s only remaining survivor.

According to a report by Celebrity Net Worth, the couple had started living together in Hawaii in 1986. However, there were reports that the couple separated in 2010 when Chamberlain moved to Los Angeles for work. At the time of his death in 2025, Chamberlain’s combined estimated net worth was $25 million, as per Celebrity Net Worth. According to the same report, Richard Chamberlain sold his 6,000-square-foot home in Maui, Hawaii, for $13.8 million in 2011, which he had initially bought for $3.5 million.

Richard Chamberlain’s career explored

Richard Chamberlain played the lead role in the mini-series Dr. Kildare, where his character, Dr. James Kildare, was a young physician who struggled to learn the ropes of his profession, according to the BBC. The show, which ran on NBC for more than 5 years with around 200 episodes, was instrumental to the popularity of Chamberlain.

According to the obituary published by the BBC, the actor’s role in the series was such a huge success that he ended up receiving 12,000 letters a week from his fans who would ask him for medical opinions.

For his work on Dr. Kildare, Richard Chamberlain won a Golden Globe award in 1962. Chamberlain became the second television actor to win the Golden Globe Award in the category of Best TV Star - Male, which was introduced for the first time in 1961.

After a brief dip in his TV career fame, Chamberlain once again received the Golden Globe award in 1980, when he played the character of John Blackthorne in the historical Drama TV series Shogun.

The TV series, based on James Clavell’s novel by the same name, went on to break all viewership records in the history of NBC, according to Variety. This was noteworthy since NBC had regularly produced hit TV series.

As per Variety, Chamberlain’s rise in popularity in the 1980s earned him the title of ‘king of the mini-series.’ Chamberlain also starred in a hit series for the ABC network. The Thorn Birds, a series which aired in 1983, according to NPR, recorded more than 100 million viewers.

Chamberlain appeared on screen till 2019, according to IMDB, and the actor received his final acting credit for the film Finding Julia.

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In the later part of his career, Chamberlain was comfortable playing characters who challenged the gender stereotype, according to The New York Times.

As per Entertainment Weekly, Chamberlain had not initially opened up to the public about his s*xual orientation. According to the report, it was only in 2003 that Richard Chamberlain opened up about his homos*xuality, when he published his memoir, Shattered Love.

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