Robert Guillaume
http://robertguillaume.com
Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor, known for his role as Benson on the TV-series Soap and the spin-off Benson,[1] voicing the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King[2] and as Isaac Jaffe on Sports Night. In a career that spanned more than 50 years he worked extensively on stage (including a Tony Award nomination), television (including winning two Emmy Awards), and film.
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Early life[edit]
Guillaume was born in St. Louis, Missouri.[3], as Robert Williams.[4] He studied at St. Louis University and Washington University and served in the United States Army before pursuing an acting career.[5] He adopted the surname “Guillaume,” French for William, as his stage name.
Career[edit]
Stage[edit]
After leaving the university, Guillaume joined the Karamu Players in Cleveland and performed in musical comedies and opera.[6] He toured the world in 1959 as a cast member of the Broadway musical Free and Easy.[7] He made his Broadway debut in Kwamina in 1961.[8] His other stage appearances included Golden Boy, Tambourines to Glory, Guys and Dolls, for which he received a Tony Award nomination,[9] Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and Purlie!.[6] His additional roles included Katherine Dunham‘s Bambouche and in Fly The Blackbird.[5]
In 1964 he portrayed Sportin’ Life in a revival of Porgy and Bess at New York’s City Center.[3] Guillaume was a member of the Robert de Cormier Singers, performing in concerts and on television.[10] He recorded a LP record, Columbia CS9033, titled Just Arrived as a member of The Pilgrims, a folk trio, with Angeline Butler and Millard Williams.[7] In the sixties he was in Vienna, Austria at the Vienna Volksoper. Marcel Prawy engaged Robert Guillaume for the role of Sporting Life in Porgy and Bess.[6]
Later in his stage career, he was cast in the lead role in the Los Angeles production of The Phantom of the Opera replacing Michael Crawford.[8]
Television[edit]
Guillaume made several guest appearances on sitcoms, including Good Times, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Saved By The Bell: The College Years and in the 1990s sitcoms The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and A Different World.[8] His series-regular debut was on the ABC series Soap, playing Benson, a butler, from 1977 to 1979.[11] Guillaume continued the role in a spin-off series, Benson, from 1979 until 1986.[3] Guillaume also played Dr. Franklin in season 6, episode 8 (“Chain Letter”) of the series All in the Family, which he coyly referenced Marcus Welby, M.D., a TV series in which he had guest-starred on in 1970.[12]
In 1985, Guillaume appeared in the television mini-series North and South as abolitionist leader Fredrick Douglass, who escaped from slavery and became a leader of the anti-slavery movement prior to the American Civil War.[10]
He also appeared as marriage counselor Edward Sawyer on The Robert Guillaume Show (1989), Detective Bob Ballard on Pacific Station (1991–1992), and television executive Isaac Jaffe on Aaron Sorkin‘s short-lived but critically acclaimed Sports Night (1998–2000).[3] Guillaume suffered a mild stroke on January 14, 1999, while filming an episode of the latter series.[1] He recovered and his character was later also depicted as having had a stroke. He also made a guest appearance on 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.[11]
Voice[edit]
His voice was employed for characters in television series Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Fish Police, and Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child.[5] He was known for the voice of Rafiki in the movie The Lion King and its sequels and spin-offs.[13] He voiced Mr. Thicknose in The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze.[14] He also supplied the voice for Eli Vance in the 2004 video game Half-Life 2 and its subsequent sequels.[15]
Personal life and death[edit]
Guillaume was married twice; first to Marlene Williams from 1955 to 1984; the couple had two sons together.[10] He then married Donna Brown in 1986; the couple had a daughter.[8][6] His son Jacques died on December 23, 1990, at the age of 33 due to complications of AIDS.[6]
In 1999, Guillaume suffered a stroke while working on Sports Night at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.[7] The stroke was minor, causing relatively slight damage and little effect on his speech.[3] After six weeks in the hospital, he underwent a therapy of walks and sessions in the gym.[7]
Guillaume died on October 24, 2017, at his home in Los Angeles, California, from prostate cancer at the age of 89.[11]
Honors[edit]
Guillaume has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.[16] On November 28, 1984, Guillaume received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in the television industry.[17][18]
Filmography[edit]
- Super Fly T.N.T. (1973)
- The Kid from Left Field (1979)
- Seems Like Old Times (1980)
- The Kid with the Broken Halo (1982)
- The Kid with the 200 I.Q. (1983)
- Prince Jack (1985)
- North and South (1985)
- Wanted: Dead or Alive (1987)
- Lean on Me (1989)
- Death Warrant (1990)
- The Meteor Man (1993)
- The Lion King (1994)
- First Kid (1996)
- Spy Hard (1996)
- The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998)
- The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze (2001)
- The 13th Child: Legend of the Jersey Devil (2002)
- Unchained Memories (2003)
- Big Fish (2003)
- The Lion King 1½ (2004)
- The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry (2009)
- Columbus Circle (2012)
Awards and nominations[edit]
Year | Association | Award category | Result |
1979 | Soap | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Won[23] |
1985 | Benson | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Won[24] |
1995 | “The Lion King” Read-a-long Book | Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children | Won[25] |
References[edit]
- ^ Jump up to:a b Richard Huff (January 21, 1999). “Stroke Sidelines Guillaume”. New York Daily News. Retrieved August 27,2011.
- Jump up^ Jeremy Gerard (June 12, 1994). “The Lion King”. Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f “Robert Guillaume, Emmy Award Winning-Star of ‘Benson’, Dies at 89”. The New York Times. October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- Jump up^ http://biography.jrank.org/pages/2414/Guillaume-Robert.html
- ^ Jump up to:a b c “‘Benson’ star Robert Guillaume dead at 89”. Chicago Tribune. October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 24,2017.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d e “Robert Guillaume”. Biography. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d e “Robert Guillaume, Emmy-winning actor in ‘Soap’ and ‘Benson,’ dies at 89”. The Los Angeles Times. October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d “Robert Guillaume”. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- Jump up^ Ellen Hawkes (May 24, 1992). “The Anger Sustained Me”. Toledo Blade. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c “Robert Guillaume”. Seattle Times. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c “Robert Guillaume Emmy Winning for Soap actor dies at 89”. San Francisco Gate. October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- Jump up^ Guillaume, Robert (October 20, 1975). “Emmy TV Legends Interviews”. www.emmytvlegends.org. Emmy TV Legends. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
Boy, that Marcus Welby must make fifteen million house calls a week
- Jump up^ “Emmy-winning actor Robert Guillaume dies at age 89”. KGTV. October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- Jump up^ “Mr. Thicknose”. Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- Jump up^ “Half-Life 2 voice cast revealed”. Game Spot. June 25, 2004. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- Jump up^ St. Louis Walk of Fame. “St. Louis Walk of Fame Inductees”. stlouiswalkoffame.org. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
- Jump up^ “Robert Guillaume | Hollywood Walk of Fame”. www.walkoffame.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- Jump up^ “Robert Guillaume – Hollywood Star Walk – Los Angeles Times”. projects.latimes.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- Jump up^ “Robert Guillaume, Emmy-winning Benson and Sports Night actor, dies at 89”. EW. October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- Jump up^ “Robert Guillaume”. TV Guide. Retrieved October 24,2017.
- Jump up^ “Robert Guillaume”. Hollywood. Retrieved October 24,2017.
- Jump up^ “Overview for Robert Guillaume”. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- Jump up^ “Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Or Comedy-Variety Or Music Series 1979”. Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- Jump up^ “Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series 1985”. Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- Jump up^ “Biography”. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Guillaume. |
- Official website
- Robert Guillaume on IMDb
- Robert Guillaume at the Internet Broadway Database
- Robert Guillaume at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- St. Louis Walk of Fame
- Robert Guillaume’s oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
- Robert Guillaume interview video at the Archive of American Television
- 1927 births
- 2017 deaths
- African-American male actors
- American male film actors
- American male musical theatre actors
- American male television actors
- American male voice actors
- American male video game actors
- Grammy Award winners
- Interactive Achievement Award winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
- Male actors from St. Louis
- Military personnel from Missouri
- Stroke survivors
- Washington University in St. Louis alumni
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- Deaths from prostate cancer
- Deaths from cancer in California
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