Robert guillaume biography
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Robert Guillaume
American actor (1927–2017)
Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer. He played Benson DuBois in the ABC television series Soap and its spin-off, Benson.[1] He also voiced the mandrillRafiki in The Lion King, and played Isaac Jaffe in Aaron Sorkin's dramedy Sports Night.
In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Guillaume worked extensively on stage, television and film. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, and twice won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of the character Benson DuBois, once in 1979 on Soap and again in 1985 on Benson. He also won a Grammy Award in 1995 for his spoken-word performance of an audiobook version of The Lion King. Guillaume was the first African-American actor to portray the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera.
Early life
[edit]Guillaume was born
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Guillaume, Robert 1927(?)-
PERSONAL: Born Robert Peter Williams, November 30, 1927 (some sources say 1937), in St. Louis, MO; married first wife, Marlene (marriage ended); married Fay Hauser, 1978 (divorced); married Donna Brown (a television producer), 1985; children: (first marriage) Kevin, Jacques; (third marriage) Rachel; (children born outside of marriage) Patricia, Melissa. Education: Attended St. Louis University and Washington University; studied opera and musical theater in Cleveland, OH.
ADDRESSES: Offıce—Confetti Entertainment, 15250 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. Agent— storstads- Talent Agency, 4526, Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010-3801.
CAREER: Actor, producer, and singer. Worked variously as a dishwasher, sales clerk, postal clerk, and streetcar driver; with wife, Donna, founder of Confetti Entertainment Company, Sherman Oaks, CA.
Work as an actor on stage includes (as Ako) Kwamina, Fifty-Fourth Street Theatre, New York, NY, 1961; (a
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Robert Guillaume Biography
1927—
Actor, singer, producer
Guillaume, Robert, photograph. © .
Before Robert Guillaume became a popular television actor and Broadway musical star, he was Robert Williams from St. Louis, Missouri: a young man with a golden voice and a future in the accounting field. Fortunately for all his fans, the young man threw caution to the wind and opted for show business. He chose a new name, Guillaume, the French translation of Williams, for its sophisticated image, but it was a decision he soon came to regret because so many people tripped on the pronunciation. That concern has long since dissolved. Guillaume, an Emmy Award winner for his roles in the television sitcoms, Soap and Benson, and a star in theater's smash hit musical Phantom of the Opera, is now one of the most respected and recognized talents in the business. And his name—tricky pronunciation and all—has become a household word.
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