Veteran actor and ‘60s teen idol heartthrob Richard Chamberlain passed away on 29 March 2025, just two days shy of his 91st birthday. Dubbed “King of the Mini-Series” in the 1980s, Chamberlain made a big splash on TV and film as a dashing leading man, but experienced internal conflict in having to conceal his homosexuality to preserve his swashbuckling image. Chamberlain first made his mark in the 1961 TV series “Dr. Kildare,” garnering legions of female fans, and went on to a successful movie career, starring in the 1970s “The Three Musketeers” franchise, among other action films.
But it was in period piece TV movies and mini-series where Chamberlain really shone, in adaptations of Alexandre Dumas’ classics “The Count of Monte Cristo” (1975) and “The Man in the Iron Mask” (1977), and blockbuster mini-series like “Centennial” (1978), “Shogun” (1980) and “The Thorn Birds” (1983). Chamberlain continued swashing buckles as Allan Quatermain on the wide screen in the late ‘80s, but his popularity fell off as he aged, and he spent the remaining thirty years of his career in smaller parts on TV, film, and stage.
Chamberlain was outed as gay by a French magazine in 1989, but didn’t confirm his sexual identity until the publication of his autobiography in 2003. He kept his same-sex affiliations under the radar, but embarked on a decades-long relationship with actor and producer Martin Rabbett in the late ‘70s, with whom he cohabited for a number of years. The couple had a private commitment ceremony in 1986, but never legally married.
Born George Richard Chamberlain on 31 March 1934 at 6:20 PM PST in Los Angeles, California (Rodden Rating AA), his life path was made plain by asteroid Actor 12238 embedded at station, indicating acting as an important influence on his life. At 17 Sagittarius, Actor conjoins asteroid George 3854 (his given first name) at 21 Sagittarius and trines the Sun at 10 Aries, further personalizing this energy to him. The Sun conjunct Mars at 13 Aries conveyed sex appeal, while an opposition to Jupiter at 19 Libra grated fame and celebrity.
Saturn conjunct Venus at 24 and 25 Aquarius checks the box on planetary indicators of same-sex attraction (with gay individuals often showing Venus or Mars linked to Saturn or outer planet energies), but there are several gay-themed asteroid markers active as well. Asteroids Ganymed 1036 (named for Zeus’ cupbearer and boy-toy lover) at 1 Cancer and Antinous 1863 (named for real-life lover of Roman Emperor Hadrian) at 10 Cancer square the Sun, while asteroid Sappho 80 (named for the ancient lesbian Greek poet) at 25 Capricorn squares the 23 Libra Moon, also opposed by asteroid Eros 433 (acknowledged patron of homosexual unions in Hellenistic Greece) at 22 Aries.
Asteroid Richard 3972 at 27 Aquarius conjoins career-minded Saturn, making it a logical choice for a professional name. A trine to the Moon and semisquare to the Sun conforms to the usual PNA (Personal-Named Asteroids) placements, which typically interact with the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Mercury (as ruling the naming function). Asteroid Chamberlin 9250 (alternate spelling) at 12 Taurus is exactly sextile Mercury at 12 Pisces, also conforming to the rule.
Several of Chamberlain’s most famous roles appear as PNAs in significant aspect in his birth chart. Asteroid James 2335, for his breakout role as Dr. James Kildare, falls at 25 Pisces, square the stationary asteroid Actor at 17 Sagittarius, making a deep impression. Asteroid Aramis 227962 (named for his “Three Musketeers” character) at 16 Pisces does the same. Asteroid Ralph 5051 (for his role as Father Ralph de Bricassart in “The Thorn Birds”) at 15 Leo is also embedded at station, in a Grand Trine with Actor and the Sun.
Richard Chamberlain passed away on 29 March 2025, due to complications from a stroke. Asteroids George (his given first name) and Chamberlin were exactly conjunct at 4 Sagittarius, squared asteroid Richard at 5 Virgo with asteroid Actor at 4 Virgo. George is at station, indicating a pivotal transition point, turning retrograde on the following day (Chamberlin will follow suit on April 8th, but advanced to the 5th degree of Sagittarius). The George/Chamberlin pairing is trine the Sun at 9 Aries (bringing public visibility) and asteroid Osiris 1923 at 1 Aries, named for the Egyptian god of the dead, and asteroid Anubis 1912 (named for the ancient Egyptian deity governing funerary rites) at 13 Aries, also inconjunct asteroid Lachesis 120 at 2 Cancer, named for the mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life, both asteroids adding the element of mortality to the equation. Asteroid Richard is respectively inconjunct and sextile these points.
Connections from the transit sky to the birth chart which reflect his passing include transit asteroids Osiris and Lachesis, conjoined and squared the 10 Aries natal Sun; transit asteroid Requiem 2254 (named for the funeral mass for the dead) at 26 Gemini trine natal Saturn (ancient lord of death) and its own natal degree at 24 and 21 Aquarius; transit asteroid Atropos 273 (Fate who severs the thread of life at death) at 15 Leo trine the natal Sun (and also at station, turning direct on April 6th); transit asteroid Rip 7711 (“RIP”) at 18 Capricorn squared the natal Sun and natal asteroid Osiris at 15 Aries (itself also conjunct the transit Sun); transit Saturn exactly conjunct natal asteroid Atropos at 24 Pisces; transit Pluto (modern lord of death) at 3 Aquarius conjunct natal Rip at 2 Aquarius; transit Mars exactly conjunct natal Pluto at 22 Cancer; and the transit George/Chamberlin pairing conjoined natal asteroid Anubis at 8 Sagittarius, also squared by Richard/Actor.
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .
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