Posted by Administrator on December 30th, 2014
Singer Ashlee Simpson and her husband, actor Evan Ross, have legally changed their names to honor Ross's mother, Motown great Diana Ross. Following their wedding in August, impson took her husband's legal last name -- Naess -- which is his father's. But now that the couple is expecting its first child, together they want to change their last names to Ross-Naess in honor of the Supremes icon. Evan Ross's movie credits include Crazy Sexy Cool: The TLC Story and Jeff, Who Lives at Home, among other film projects. In 2015, he will co-star in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1, the third installment of the blockbuster franchise. Simpson's last album, Bittersweet World, was released in 2008. - Billboard/TMZ.com, 12/29/14...... 
The Who have been forced to cancel two London dates on Dec. 17 and 18 that would have finished their UK "Who Hits 50" tour as singer Roger Daltrey recovers from a throat infection. The pair of gigs have been rescheduled for March 22 and 23, 2015, as Daltrey rests his voice on doctor's orders. "The band and their management wish to sincerely apologise to all ticket holders for the inconvenience and disappointment this has caused," The Who said in a statement. The UK tour began in November as the band announced they have begun to consider their retirement from music. Following the March gigs, the band is scheduled to headline London's Hyde Park festival in the summer of 2015. - New Musical Express, 12/16/14...... Tickets for AC/DC's upcoming gig at London's Wembley Stadium on July 4 sold out in under 60 minutes after going on sale on Dec. 17. The band will play Wembley as part of three UK dates in London, Glasgow (on 6/28) and Dublin (7/1) in the summer of 2015. - New Musical Express, 12/17/14...... 
Saxophonist Bobby Keys, best known for his contributions to such classic Rolling Stones tracks as "Brown Sugar" and "Tumbling Dice" as well as touring and recording with such major rock acts as Eric Clapton, John Lennon and others, died on Dec. 2 at his home in Franklin, Tenn., after a battling cirrhosis of the liver. He was 70. Keys began his career in his teen years on tours with Buddy Holly, Bobby Vee and Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars, and in 1961 established himself with his sax solo on Dion's "The Wanderer." This led to more studio work, when he befriended the Stones' Keith Richards and he contributed to his first album by the band in 1969. In 1970, Keys toured with the legendary Mad Dogs & Englishmen entouraged fronted by Joe Cocker, and around that time was also a member of Lennon's Plastic Ono Band. Keys, having become a go-to tenor saxophonist for British rock royalty, played on all of the Stones albums from 1969's Let It Bleed to 1974's 
Former Small Faces and later Faces keyboardist/songwriter Ian McLagan, who had stints backing Rod Stewart, the Rolling Stones and others, died in hospital in his hometown of Austin, Tex., on Dec. 3 after suffering what was described as a "massive stroke" a day earlier. He was 69. Born in 1945 in Middlesex, U.K., McLagan joined the Small Faces in 1965 and continued to play with the band after they changed their name to the Faces in 1969, when Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood joined. McLagan co-wrote such popular Faces' tracks as "Cindy Incidentally" and "You're So Rude," but his defining moment came on their 1971 hard-charging track 
Cher is calling out New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for what she says is the governor's "torture" of pigs by recently vetoing legislation outlawing pig gestation crates in his state. "IowaFarmers,WHY MUST U TORTURE PREG.PIGS? U PUT THEM IN CRATES & LOCK EM DOWN SO THEY CANT MOVE! C. CHRISTIE,UR DESPICABLE BULLY 4GET POTUS," Cher tweeted on Dec. 2. Although New Jersey has few hogs, some argue that Christie, who has been weighing a run for the Republican nomination for president in 2016, has been influenced by the early voting status of Iowa, a state that raises more than 20 million hogs annually. After Cher's postings on Dec. 2, Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad responded by tweeting, "They know a lot about pig production out there in Hollywood." - AP, 12/3/14...... Bruce Springsteen and Chris Martin of Coldplay filled in for U2 frontman Bono during a World AIDS Day concert in New York City's Times Square on Dec. 1. Bono, who is still recovering from a nasty bike accident he suffered in Central Park in November, and the other U2 members personally invited the two rock superstars to, as the band posted on their Facebook page, "save the World AIDS Day event from cancellation." Also donating their talents for the benefit were rapper Kayne West and country star Carrie Underwood. - Billboard, 12/1/14...... Premium cable channel HBO has reportedly picked up a rock 'n' roll drama which is being exec-produced by the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese. Set in the 1970s, the drama -- which remains untitled -- explores the drug- and sex-fueled music business as punk and disco were breaking out, all through the eyes of a record executive trying to resurrect his label and find the next new sound. Scorsese directed the pilot and executive produces alongside Jagger, Terrence Winter, Rick Yorn, Victoria Pearman, Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Breaking Bad's George Mastras. The series will star Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie) as a record company president, and Olivia Wilde as his wife. A premiere date has not yet been determined. - The Hollywood Reporter, 12/2/14...... According to a new survey by Wealth-X.com, Paul McCartney is the world's second-wealthiest recording artist with a net worth of $660 million, topped only by Madonna and her $800 million. However if the list is opened up to musicians as a whole, composers and theater moguls such as Andrew Lloyd Webber, a man worth around $1.2 billion, would have to be included. Elton John came in at No. 9 in the top 10 wealthiest recording stars, with a worth of $450 million, behind such artists as Dr. Dre, Diddy, Celine Dion, Bono, Mariah Carey and Jay Z. - Billboard, 12/2/14...... 
After wrapping a critically lauded 17-show tour of Canada on Nov. 29 in Victoria, B.C., John Fogerty says he's now looking forward to bringing the show to the U.S. in 2015. The Canadian tour was designed to commemorate the 45th anniversary of his triumphant 1969 with Creedence Clearwater Revival, a year which saw CCR score four Top 5 singles and even out-sell the Beatles during that 12-month span. The shows included the bit hits, of course -- including "Proud Mary, "Bad Moon Rising, "Green River" and "Down on the Corner"-- and also included some of his more recent solo material. Also on tap for 2015 is the publication of an autobiography that Fogerty started working on in 2013. "It's finished, but it's not done," Fogerty says. "I'm going through it and figuring out what should have more emphasis and what should have less. So right know I'm knee-deep in that process." Fogerty will also be exploring his past with a career-spanning box set that's due out in 2015 and is currently being assembled. And he says some new music is in his crosshairs, too: "Not quite specifically songs yet, but the textures of the sound of the music, and that sort of thing takes shape for me. I do practice a lot or have a guitar in my hands every day, so ideas develop from that." - Billboard,12/2/14...... Also held in New York the previous week was the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Kiss, who appeared in the parade, apparently didn't have a good time amongst the floats and holiday cheer. "Bluntly, We were screwed over & misled by the exec in charge of #MacysThanksgivingDayParade . We ALL deserved better. pic.twitter.com/hUVUN9gTqE," posted Kiss's Paul Stanley on Nov. 28. Stanley didn't elaborate on what he's upset about, but it could be the fact that NBC didn't put Kiss on camera until right before he first chorus of "Rock and Roll All Nite" -- or that the spotlight focused on bassist Gene Simmons during Tommy Thayer's guitar solo. - Billboard, 12/1/14...... The lyrics of two early unrecorded Bob Dylan songs are scheduled to be auctioned in New York in early December. The original 1962 "Talkin Folklore Center" manuscript could fetch $40,000 to $60,000. The "Go Away You Bomb" lyrics from 1963 could bring $30,000 to $50,000. Dylan gave the lyrics to the founder of the legendary Folklore Center in Greenwich Village. Izzy Young produced Dylan's first important concert in New York at the Carnegie Chapter Hall on Nov. 4, 1961, and Dylan wrote "Talkin" after Young asked him to write a song about the Folklore Center store. "Go Away You Bomb" was written for an unpublished book Young was compiling of anti-nuclear songs. Sale proceeds will support Young's current venture, the Folklore Centrum in Stockholm, Sweden. - AP, 12/1/14...... Neil Diamond announced on Dec. 1 that he'll mount a seven-date tour of Australia and New Zealand in October and November 2015. The tour of arenas and wineries kicks off at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, then visits Dunedin, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, the Hunter Valley and wraps-up Nov. 9 at Sydney's Allphones Arena. On the trek, he'll play works from his latest studio album 
Former Commodores member and '80s superstar Lionel Richie is the first confirmed headliner at the UK's 2015 Glastonbury Festival. Richie will make his debut U.K. festival appearance in the Sunday teatime slot on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, according to the event's website. This year's festival takes place from June 24-28 and is already sold out. The full lineup will be announced in the spring. "He's got so many amazing songs, to see him perform here on the farm is just going to be wonderful," said Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis in a statement. Meanwhile, AC/DC's Angus Young said his band would be open to performing at the 2015 Glastonbury fest "if they ask" during a radio interview with BBC 6 on Dec. 1. - Billboard/New Musical Express, 12/2/14...... The Who's Roger Daltrey reportedly gatecrashed a wedding held at a hotel that he was staying at in Scotland on Nov. 30 and performed a rendition of the Who's "I Can't Explain." "Roger came up and he took the mic and he congratulated the bride and groom," said a member of the wedding band, The Milestone. "Because the groom had served in the parachute regiment he also mentioned them as well. Then he turned to the band and he said, 'I was through next door and I heard the band and they're brilliant, so I had to come through'." Bride Susan Smith wrote on Facebook following the event: "Absolutely overwhelming! The story we will be telling for the rest of our lives. Thank you so much x." Her new husband, Carl added: "Can't believe it happened. Feels so surreal. Thank you so much, you made our perfect day even better, a gent and a legend." In other Who news, Pete Townshend has announced details of a "classical" version of the Who's classic 
Robin Trower will release his latest studio album, Something's About to Change, on Mar. 9, 2015 via Manhaton/V12 Records -- the same day as his 70th birthday. The LP marks his first album since 2013's critically acclaimed Roots And Branches, and dovetails his 17-date UK tour with special guest Joanne Shaw Taylor that kicks off on Mar. 26, 2015. - Noble PR, 12/1/14...... Actor Burt Reynolds is denying reports in the media that he's broke after he announced he was selling off several articles of memorabilia from his career. The Boogie Nights star said an auction in Las Vegas later in December was "a chance to clear out some old memorabilia," including his 1998 Golden Globe and his red jacket from his smash 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit. "I want everyone to know that contrary to what all the news outlets are saying, I am not broke," the actor said in a statement to ET Online. "I have been dealing with a business dispute for many years as well as a divorce settlement. I am simply selling some of my memorabilia that I have enjoyed for so many years but do not have use nor room for them anymore," he said. "Quite frankly, I am sick of so many pictures of myself in my own home," he added. - New York Daily News, 12/3/14...... George Berry, a music wholesaling pioneer, died due to heart failure on Nov. 27 in his home in Lafayette, La. He was 89. Berry -- who is credited with co-founding NARM, the National Assn. of Recording Merchandisers now known as the Music Business Assn. -- helped form the Modern Record Service, an early rack-jobber, where he served as a VP. In 1974, he opened Raccoon Records, an independent record store in Lafayette, which closed in 2003. - Billboard, 12/2/14.
Bruce Springsteen announced on Apr. 3 that he's really throwing open the vaults for a new release of seven previously unheard full length albums this summer. Even more sprawling than his 1998 four-disc odds and sods Tracks collection, the sprawling new 
Lou Gramm's issues with his former band Foreigner -- especially with band founder Mick Jones -- have been well-documented over the years, especially after Gramm's final departure in early 2003. But in the wake of Foreigner's "life-changing" induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last October, Gramm has a new attitude. "Ever since (the induction) it felt like, personally, I had to find a way to let go of some of the things I've been holding onto for years -- and, like the song says, let it be," Gramm says. Gramm, who was Foreigner's original singer in 1976 and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame with Jones in 2013, has been making occasional guest appearances with Foreigner since 2017. After singing a pair of encore songs with the band on Mar. 15 in Clearwater, Fla., it was announced that Gramm will be joining the group for an eight-date Historic Farewell Tour run through Mexico and South America that starts Apr. 28 and includes shows in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Kelly Hansen, Foreigner's frontman since 2005, will not be part of those concerts, with guitarist Luis Maldonado taking his place and planning to sing some of the repertoire in Spanish. "It's a hackneyed sentiment, but it's true -- life's too short," Gramm says of his latest return to the fold. "And a lot of the things that are blown up and made big deals about are easy enough to get over and humble yourself and reach out a little bit, 'cause what you've been mad about for the past 20 years is not a monumental thing." Gramm, for his part, says he's up for joining Foreigner for more of its 2025 dates in North America and certainly plans to be part of the 2026 activities, which will also mark the 45th anniversary of 1981's 6x platinum 4 album. "I don't think there's any contrivance or people questioning the reason why I would be up there with that band," he says, noting that the current edition, active since the mid-2000s, "is something Mick wanted to do after we parted company, and he did a great job and they've done a great job over the last two decades of keeping the name up there and flying the flag. They deserve a lot of credit." Foreigner is also setting up an Australian tour in addition to next year's 50th anniversary shows. A documentary project is in the works to commemorate the landmark. The band's "Juke Box Hero" musical, which has been previewed in Alberta and Toronto, is slated to go into production during 2026 as well. - Billboard, 4/1/25...... Attending a launch event in London for a new Buddy Holly tribute book, Words Of Love, on Apr. 4, Roger Daltrey said the "essence" of music is being lost due to the increasing use of technology. Daltrey, who participated in the Q&A alongside The Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood (who created the Words Of Love cover art) alongside rising British singer Youngblud, expressed his concerns over the growing reliance on tech, such as AI, in creating music. "We were throwing shit at the wall and some of it stuck," Daltrey explained. "There's something about the technology I feel personally, we're losing the essence of the heartbeat. Maybe it's because I'm older, but there's not much new music." Wood, 77, added: "I think rock music has been so convoluted because we got to be forced and twisted for a mainstream audience to turn the guitar down. Modern music's been in a strange place, but it's exciting because it's really, I feel it's very democratic again." - NME/Music-News.com, 4/4/25...... Queen guitarist Brian May has explained to Britain's MOJO magazine why Queen would let an unnamed "gangster rapper" sample one of the band's songs in their music. May said the reason was it didn't align with Queen's beliefs: "We have stopped them being used to promote violence or abuse, during the heyday of gangster rap when someone wanted to sample it in a song, we thought was abusive to women," he said, while not identifying who the musician was. "But otherwise, our songs are for everyone. All art is theft." Later in the interview, May said he originally disliked the 1979 Queen Jazz track "Don't Stop Me Now" due to its perceived glorification of frontman Freddie Mercury's hedonistic lifestyle. "At the time, I didn't feel comfortable about 'Don't Stop Me Now', probably for all the right reasons and the wrong reasons," he said. "I think I resisted realising why people liked it for a long time. Now, I think people love it because it contains all their dark dreams of hedonism -- and that's fine," he continued. "I hear it all the time, though. People say to me, ''Who Wants to Live Forever' feels like it was written for me, or my mum or my dad'. It's in people's hearts and minds and becomes personal to them. That's what makes a song live on." - NME, 4/4/25...... The L.A.-based pop duo Sparks will release their latest album, 
In related news, outspoken Trump critic Neil Young has said he fears a U.S. blacklisting over expressing his disappointment with the president over the years. Young -- who is a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S. -- has gone so far as to call Trump "a disgrace to my country," and most recently, claim that "the US has lost its standing" on the world stage under the President's leadership. However, with an upcoming European tour set to be followed by a run of dates in the U.S., Young has taken to his Archives website to ruminate on the notion that he too may be barred from entering the country for sharing his critical thoughts on Trump. "When I go to play music in Europe, if I talk about Donald J. Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminum blanket," Young posted on Apr. 1. "If I come back from Europe and am barred, can't play my USA tour, all of the folks who bought tickets will not be able to come to a concert by me. If the fact that I think Donald Trump is the worst president in the history of our great country could stop me from coming back, what does that say for Freedom? I love America and its people and its music and its culture." Young is currently scheduled to launch his forthcoming tour with the Chrome Hearts in Rättvik, Sweden on June 18, with North American dates set to begin in Charlotte, NC on Aug. 8. The rocker's previously-announced plans for a free concert in Ukraine to launch the tour were recently cancelled, with Young citing safety concerns as the reason for the decision. On Apr. 12, Young will join his fellow folk rock legend Joan Baez along with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for a "Fighting Oligarchy" event at LA's Grand Park. The quartet will be joined by a line-up of other musicians including Maggie Rogers, Indigo de Souza, Jeff Rosenstock, the Red Pears and Raise Gospel Choir. Admission to the event is free, and you can sign up at https://act.berniesanders.com/signup/rsvp-oligarchy-LA/. - Billboard/NME, 4/1/25...... Billy Joel has joined Paul McCartney in urging the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to induct late powerhouse rock vocalist Joe Cocker into the Cleveland-based hall and museum in 2025. On Apr. 1, Joel posted a video on 
As the new Janis Ian documentary Breaking Silence is currently in US theaters, the 
Actor Val Kilmer, a wide-ranging leading may who played everyone from Jim Morrison to Batman, died on Apr. 1 in Los Angeles. He was 65. The cause was pneumonia, said his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer. Mr. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered, she said. Tall and handsome in a rock-star sort of way, Mr. Kilmer was in fact cast as a rocker a handful of times early in his career, when he seemed destined for blockbuster success. He made his feature debut in a slapstick Cold War spy-movie spoof, "Top Secret!" (1984), in which he starred as a crowd-pleasing, hip-shaking American singer in Berlin unwittingly involved in an East German plot to reunify the country. He gave a vividly stylized performance as Morrison, the emblem of psychedelic sensuality, in Oliver Stone's 
At the end of a Sony Pictures CinemaCon presentation on Mar. 31 in Los Angeles, it was revealed that the "Fab Four" in the studio's upcoming Beatles series of films -- one each dedicated to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- will be Harris Dickinson (as Lennon), Paul Mescal (as McCartney), Joseph Quinn (as Harrison), and Barry Keoghan (as Starr). In another blockbuster announcement, project director Sam Mendes revealed that all four films will arrive in Apr. 2028, though not at the same time. Sony Pictures head Tom Rothman added that the franchise will be titled The Beatles - A Four-Film Cinematic Event, and that the films will mark the first "bingeable moment in cinema." Mendes, who has not confirmed the order in which the four films will be released, confirmed that filming all four films will take over a year, but is confident for an Apr. 2028 launch. Mendes says he toyed with the idea of a Beatles mini-series but ultimately decided that "the story was too huge to fit into a single movie." Each of the four films will be told from the perspective of one of the four Beatles. It is also the first-ever film to be granted music rights to the Beatles' discography. The films were first announced back in Feb. 2024. Sony Pictures has also posted on 
Roger Daltrey shocked The Who's fans during the first of two Who shows at London's Royal Albert Hall on Mar. 27 when he opened up about his current medical condition. "The problem with this job is that you go deaf," he said from the stage. "And now I've been told that I am going blind." Referencing the band's 1969 rock opera title character, he added: "Thank God I've still got my voice. If I lost that I'll go full Tommy." The Who played another hits-packed show at the Royal Albert Hall the following night, with proceeds going to the charity concerts that Daltrey founded in 2000. Daltrey, who turned 81 in early March, announced in 2024 that he was stepping down as the TCT concerts curator, allowing The Cure's Robert Smith to take the reins. "I have to be realistic about my age... I'm on the way out," he told the London Times in 2024. "The average life expectancy is 83 and with a bit of luck I'll make that, but we need someone else to drive things," he said about the decision to step down from the curator role, instead opting to "work in the back room... talking to the government, rattling cages." During the Mar. 27 show, The Who performed their Who's Next track "Love Ain't For Keepin'" for the first time in 21 years. They also broke out classic tracks like "Pinball Wizard," "The Seeker," "My Generation" and "Behind Blue Eyes." Fan-shot footage of several performances can be streamed on 
Bachman-Turner Overdrive announced on Mar. 28 they are "takin' care of business" again with the release of "60 Years Ago," a new sentimental single that was penned by BTO frontman Randy Bachman and his son Tal Bachman during their pandemic YouTube show Bachman & Bachman Friday Night Train Wreck aspart of a father-son album that has not yet been released. But after hearing that a highway section in Randy's native Winnipeg was to be renamed the Bachman-Turner Overpass -- with the dedication on Apr. 18, the day before BTO plays the city -- inspired the Bachmans to revise the song and make the song public. "I thought, 'I'll go and get "60 Years Ago," and I'll give it back to Winnipeg as a thank-you,'" Randy Bachman says. "There was no great plan for this song, y'know. But maybe they'll play it on Winnipeg radio, and if you live in Winnipeg maybe you'll want to download it and drive around singing '60 years ago, so damn cold, so much snow' and that kind of stuff. And I have a million BTO fans, followers on Instagram and my web site, so maybe some of them will download it. I have a lot of people asking me, always, 'Is there anything new? Is there anything new?' So now yes, there is." With its remembrances of the Winnipeg music scene of the mid-'60s, Bachman further torqued up "60 Years Ago" with some appropriate guests - childhood friend and fellow Winnipegian Neil Young, whose guitar solo can be heard at the end, and BTO co-founder Fred Turner who, despite spates of bad health, contributed vocals to the song. Both men are name-checked in the lyrics, along with Bachman's The Guess Who partner Burton Cummings and, as Bachman notes, Winnipeg's frigid climate. "60 Years Ago" comes as BTO prepares to hit the road on Apr. 1 for an extensive 22-date Canadian tour, followed by summer dates in the U.S., both on its own and with the Marshall Tucker Band, Jefferson Starship and The Outlaws from July 18 through Aug. 22. He's also hoping that Takin' Care of Business, a documentary about finding his stolen Gretsch 6120 guitar while in the midst of a serious cancer battle a couple of years back, will see wider release after running on the film festival circuit. - Billboard, 3/28/25...... On Mar. 27, London's legendary Abbey Road Studios celebrated its recent extensive restoration with an event called Synergy In Motion, which combined contemporary dance and music in a unique event. The choreography was helmed by Royal Ballet choreographer Joseph Toonga and set to the film scores of composer Daniel Pemberton (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), remixed and arranged by Jordan Rakei, Abbey Road's Artist in Residence. The studio has now reopened and is in operation for recording sessions. Abbey Road Studio One is described by the northwest London studio as "world's largest purpose-built recording studio," and can comfortably host 100-piece orchestras. The room is primarily used for the recording of classical and movie scores, with the soundtracks to a number of blockbusters having been recorded in in the space, including much of John Williams' movie canon, such as Raiders of The Lost Ark, Star Wars: The Return of The Jedi, as well as the Harry Potter movies. The premises was first built as a residential townhouse in 1831, and was converted into a recording studio a century later, reopening as EMI Studios in 1931. A number of classical greats including Edward Elgar and Sergei Prokofiev recorded there; in 1958, Studio Two was opened, with a number of influential acts like The Beatles and Pink Floyd recording in the space. The studio is currently owned by Universal Music imprint Virgin Records. - Billboard, 3/27/25...... 
Carlos Santana says his latest effort, 
Legendary actor Richard Chamberlain, the handsome leading man who thrilled women as the young star of Dr. Kildare and then centered the epic, melodramatic miniseries Shogun and The Thorn Birds, died on Mar. 29 in Waimanalo, Hawaii, of complications following a stroke, according to his publicist. He was 90. On the big screen, Mr. Chamberlain played Julie Christie's brutal husband in Richard Lester's Petulia (1968), the woman-loving Aramis in a trio of Three Musketeers films and the fortune hunter Allan Quatermain opposite Sharon Stone in King Solomon's Mines (1985) and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986). Mr. Chamberlain started off his miniseries career by starring as trapper Alexander McKeag in James Michener's 16 1/2-hour, 12-episode saga Centennial, which aired on NBC in 1978-79, and he was the first actor to portray Jason Bourne onscreen when he starred as the Robert Ludlum character in an ABC miniseries in 1988. Raised in Beverly Hills, Mr. Chamberlain was a rather inexperienced actor when he was hired to play James Kildare, an earnest intern with terrific bedside manner -- and the mentee of Dr. Leonard Gillespie (Raymond Massey) -- on Dr. Kildare. The NBC drama was based on popular MGM radio and film serials (Lew Ayres portrayed the character on the big screen). Female viewers quickly fell for the suave Mr. Chamberlain, and he received upward of 12,000 fan letters a week, more than anyone had ever received at MGM, even Clark Gable. The show aired for five seasons, from Sept. 1961 until Aug. 1966. "I went through life pretending to be perfect, and that helped me play Dr. Kildaire, because he was close to perfect," he once said. In the early 1980s, Mr. Chamberlain gained a reputation as the "king of the miniseries" for his starring roles in Shogun, The Thorn Birds and Wallenberg: A Hero's Story. He received Primetime Emmy nods for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or a special for all three productions. In the Australian-set The Thorn Birds based on Colleen McCullough's novel and which aired on ABC over four nights in Mar. 1983, he portrayed Father Ralph, a Catholic priest who is involved in a tortured romance with the ravishing young Meggie (Rachel Ward), who seeks solace from a ranch hand (Bryan Brown, her future real-life husband). James Clavell's Shogun was originally envisioned as a feature starring Robert Redford. NBC got the rights after those plans fell through and wanted Sean Connery to star as the tempestuous Englishman John Blackthorne. The network then cast Mr. Chamberlain, who had read the book and pushed for the part. He spent six months shooting the miniseries in Japan, and it aired for 12 hours over five nights in 1980. Shogun earned Mr. Chamberlain a best actor Golden Globe and Emmy nomination, and for The Thorn Birds, he took home another Globe for best actor in a miniseries or motion picture for TV. George Richard Chamberlain was born in Los Angeles on Mar. 31, 1934, the youngest of two sons and raised in Beverly Hills, but on the "wrong side of Wilshire Boulevard, the wrong side of Beverly Drive, in an extremely normal neighborhood," he noted. He attended Beverly Hills High School, where he appeared in such plays as "I Remember Mama." His film resume also included Twilight of Honor (1963), Joy in the Morning (1965), The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969), Julius Caesar (1970), The Music Lovers (1971), The Towering Inferno (1974), The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976), Peter Weir's The Last Wave (1977) and The Swarm (1978). More recently, Mr. Chamberlain guest-starred on Nip/Tuck, playing a gay millionaire who forces his younger lover to have plastic surgery so as to resemble himself; recurred on Brothers & Sisters as a former love interest of Ron Rifkin's character; hilariously portrayed Craig Ferguson's mom, Maggie Wick, on The Drew Carey Show; and appeared on the Twin Peaks reboot. In his liberating 2003 autobiography Shattered Love, Mr. Chamberlain, then 69, came out as gay. "When you grow up in the '30s, '40s and '50s being gay, it not only ain't easy, it's just impossible," he told The New York Times in 2014. Mr. Chamberlain learned while growing up "that being gay was the worst thing you can possibly be. I assumed there was something terribly wrong with me. And even becoming famous and all that, it was still there." - The Hollywood Reporter, 3/30/25.