Special Guest Blogger: Richard Chamberlain

For decades, I was America’s handsome, earnest, perpetually swoon-worthy leading man. The epitome of heterosexual charm, the knight in shining armour who always got the girl, or at least looked awfully conflicted about not getting the girl. And all the while, I was… well, let's just say my internal monologue during those passionate embraces was less Oh, darling, my heart aches for you and more Did I remember to turn off the coffee machine?
The audience, bless their innocent hearts, always assumed I was a lady killer but keeping my secret, dear readers, was pure genius, if I do say so myself.
It all started for me with Dr. Kildare. Suddenly, I was America's sweetheart, the poster boy for wholesome, strapping masculinity. Every woman wanted to marry me, every mother wanted me to be their son-in-law but I was just trying not to blush when the male nurses walked by.  It was the acting
challenge of a lifetime and so convincing that  even my character wasn't even aware of it.
If anyone ever questioned a lack of a visible girlfriend, i'd mumble something about being too dedicated to my craft. Which, technically, wasn't a lie.
Crafting an entire public persona around a lie is rather demanding work.
Then came Shogun. A whole new level of manly man. Stranded, alone, fighting for survival, falling in love with a beautiful Japanese noblewoman. Talk about a test of one's acting prowess! I had to learn Japanese, ride horses, sword fight, and simultaneously project an aura of rugged heterosexuality so
convincing it could fool a polygraph.
And then The Thorn Birds, Father Ralph. A priest torn between his sacred vows and his forbidden love for Meggie Cleary and for years, it was a delicate dance. A performance within a performance. The character on screen, and the character I had to play off screen. Always charming, always polite, always
vaguely unavailable.
My dates were always with lovely, understanding women who were either in on the secret or simply didn't mind a dinner companion who talked extensively about gardening.
It wasn't always easy, of course. There were moments of genuine loneliness, moments of frustration with the elaborate charade. But there was also a perverse kind of pride in the sheer scale of the deception until a French magazine outed me but by then i didn't care and i lived out my life in Hawaii until a stroke claimed me.