- PBS pioneer and AFS Life trustee.
- He lost his right eye to meningitis in childhood, but excelled in sports. He was exempt from military service in WWII because of his missing eye. He left Princeton University in 1942, before his scheduled graduation, to join the American Field Service relief organization. He was a volunteer ambulance driver, and served on the front lines in the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy.
- He had a major role in founding the PBS network, and was influential in the career of documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. Burns first met Chamberlin in 1985. He needed funding to complete his documentary about Huey Long. He had heard that Chamberlin was a history buff and showed him a rough cut of the project. Chamberlin recognized Burns' talent, and had WETA (the PBS station in Washington DC) take the unusual step of covering the cost of finishing the film. WETA co-produced many of his subsequent documentaries, including The Civil War (1990), which was a tough sell to underwriters because of its length and reliance on still photos.
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