Richard Chamberlain, the Emmy-nominated actor and 1960s heartthrob who rocketed to fame in the TV medical drama "Dr. Kildare" and starred in the mini-series "Shogun" and "The Thorn Birds" has died at the age of 90, publicist Harlan Boll said. Chamberlain died late on Saturday in Hawaii from complications from a stroke, he said in a statement on Sunday. Chamberlain was an instant hit, and became a teen idol, as the handsome Dr. James Kildare in the series that ran from 1961-1966. The breakout role was the start of a six decade-career that spanned theater, films and television. The versatile actor was nominated for four Emmys -- as an English navigator in 17th century Japan in "Shogun" (1981), a love-torn priest in "The Thorn Birds" (1983), Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg in "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" (1985) and for the title role in the 1975 TV movie "The Count of Monte-Cristo."
Chamberlain was dubbed the "king of the mini-series" after appearing in several TV dramas in the 1980s a nd earned plaudits on stage in roles ranging from Professor Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady" and Captain von Trapp in "The Sound of Music" to Shakespeare's Hamlet and Richard II.
He also was the original Jason Bourne in the 1988 mini-series "The Bourne Identity."