Robert Goulet
Robert Gérard Goulet was an American-Canadian singer and actor. His parents and ancestry were French Canadians. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts, until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Canada.
Cast as Sir Lancelot and originating the role in the 1960 Broadway musical Camelot starring opposite established Broadway stars Richard Burton and Julie Andrews, he achieved instant recognition with his performance and interpretation of the song "If Ever I Would Leave You", which became his signature song. His debut in Camelot marked the beginning of a stage, screen, and recording career. A Grammy Award winner, his career spanned almost six decades.
Goulet starred in an acclaimed 1966 television version of the musical Brigadoon, a production which won five primetime Emmy Awards. He gained recognition for his performance as Billy Bigelow in an abridged 1967 network television version of the musical Carousel.
In 1968, he won Broadway's Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for The Happy Time, a musical about a French-Canadian family set in Ottawa, in the role of photographer Jacques Bonnard, which gave Goulet the opportunity to display an authentic French-Canadian accent. He later returned to Broadway in 1993 as King Arthur in a revival of Camelot.
Early life
Goulet was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on Haverhill Street, where he also lived. He was the only son of Jeanette and Joseph Georges André Goulet. Both of his parents worked in the mills, but his father was also an amateur singer and wrestler. His parents were French Canadian and Canadian citizens, and he was a descendant of French-Canadian pioneers Zacharie Cloutier and Jacques Goulet. Shortly after his father's death, 13-year-old Goulet moved with his mother and sister Claire to Girouxville, Alberta, where his uncle and other relatives lived, and he spent his formative years in Canada.After living in Girouxville for several years, they moved to the provincial capital of Edmonton to take advantage of the performance opportunities offered in the city. There, he attended the voice schools founded by Herbert G. Turner and Jean Létourneau, and later became a radio announcer for radio station CKUA. Upon graduating from Victoria Composite high school, Goulet received a scholarship to The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he studied voice with oratorio baritones George Lambert and Ernesto Vinci. Goulet performed in opera productions with other Conservatory vocal students, including Jon Vickers and James Milligan.
In 1952, at the age of 18, he competed in CBC Television's Pick the Stars, ultimately making the semifinals. This led to other network appearances on shows like Singing Stars of Tomorrow, Opportunity Knocks, Juliette, and the Canadian version of Howdy Doody in which he starred as Trapper Pierre opposite William Shatner. From 1957 to 1959, he co-hosted the CBC Television programme Showcase with Joyce Sullivan.
Career
Musicals
Goulet's first U.S. bookings were in summer stock theatre with the Kenley Players. He appeared in eight productions, including Pajama Game, Bells Are Ringing, Dream Girl, South Pacific, Meet Me in St. Louis and Carousel. John Kenley came to his dressing room after the opening of Pajama Game and gave him a raise, saying it was "because he knew he could never afford to again", Goulet said in 2006. "He was right." Goulet repeated his role in South Pacific for Kenley in a 1995 production.In 1959, Goulet was introduced to librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe, who were having difficulty casting the role of Lancelot in their new stage production destined for Broadway, the musical Camelot. Lerner and Loewe, impressed by Goulet's singing capabilities, signed the virtual newcomer to play the part, opposite Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. Camelot opened in Toronto in October 1960. It then played a four-week engagement in Boston, and finally opened on Broadway two months later. Goulet received favorable reviews, for his introductory aria C'est Moi, and most notably for his show-stopping romantic ballad, If Ever I Would Leave You which would become his signature song. The music of the production was greatly appreciated by President Kennedy, who would play the cast recording at the White House before going to bed at night.
Goulet starred in an award-winning two-hour 1966 television version of the Broadway musical Brigadoon, which had been the first notable success for librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe. His co-star in the strong cast was Sally Ann Howes, who had achieved great acclaim in the female lead role in Brigadoon on Broadway in the 1963 revival of the musical, and also for a special performance at the White House for President Kennedy. Also in the cast were Peter Falk as the cynical traveling friend, famed ballet dancer Edward Vilella as the jilted courter, and Finlay Currie, in his final performance, as the minister. The production was highly praised and won five prime-time Emmy Awards.
Goulet also performed the lead roles in television productions of Carousel in 1967, and Kiss Me Kate in 1968, opposite his then-wife Carol Lawrence. The musicals were produced by Goulet's company Rogo Productions and aired on ABC, but none have been rebroadcast since the 1960s or released on video. All three were recorded on videotape rather than film.
In 1968, Goulet was back on Broadway in the Kander and Ebb musical The Happy Time, a story about a French-Canadian family in Ottawa. Goulet performed the role of photographer Jacques Bonnard, which had been taken in the 1952 non-musical film version by Louis Jourdan, and which gave Goulet the opportunity to display an authentic French-Canadian accent. The musical ran on Broadway from January 18 to September 28, 1968. Goulet won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role. Gower Champion also won two Tony awards for the musical, Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical. The musical co-starred David Wayne. John Serry Sr. collaborated as the orchestral accordionist.
Goulet, costumed as an RCMP officer or "Mountie", and Inga Swenson sang a medley of staged arias and duets from the 1924 Broadway musical Rose-Marie in the opening presentation at the 1982 Tony Awards ceremony, as well as two other Broadway songs from the 1981 season.
He starred as King Arthur in Camelot in a 1992 National Tour and returned to Broadway in 1993 with the same production.
Goulet played Don Quixote in the 1997–98 U.S. national tour of Man of La Mancha and recorded the theme song for the talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2003.
In 2005, he appeared on the Broadway stage for the last time as a mid-run replacement in La Cage aux Folles and found critical success once again. Clive Barnes of The New York Post wrote of his performance:
Goulet's still radiant grin is in better shape than his joints, giving his movements rather less grace than before. But when he sings, or even speaks, the years fall away. His gorgeous voice seems untouched by time, and his dapper presence fills the stage... With Robert Goulet's new, expansively embracing Georges, Beach seems revitalized, appearing to find a passion and pathos in the role previously eluding him.
Film, television, recordings
Goulet's first film performance was the animated musical feature Gay Purr-ee, in which he provided the voice of the male lead character, 'Jaune Tom', opposite the female lead character, 'Mewsette', voiced by Judy Garland.Goulet began a recording career with Columbia Records in 1962, which resulted in more than 60 best selling albums. His first non-singing film role was in Honeymoon Hotel, co-starring Jill St. John.
Goulet frequently appeared on U.S. network television programs singing with Judy Garland and Julie Andrews.
On May 25, 1965, Goulet mangled the lyrics to the U.S. national anthem at the opening of the second Muhammad Ali–Sonny Liston heavyweight championship fight in Lewiston, Maine in front of the smallest crowd in a heavyweight championship: 2500. It was actually the last fight for Cassius Clay before he chose the name Muhammad Ali. It was supposed to have been held in Boston but there was a mix-up and Lewiston was a last minute site replacement. Goulet had never sung the U.S. anthem in public before; the only anthem that he had ever performed publicly was "O Canada". Goulet replaced the lyric "dawn's early light" with "dawn's early night" and also fervently intoned "gave proof through the fight." The fans booed, while Howard Cosell chortled thinking it good fun and all part of the spectacle. Now there was something to talk about besides the strange fight that ended in the first round with what has become known in the history books as the "phantom punch". The gaffes were reported in newspapers nationwide the next morning, and Goulet was criticized in opinion columns for a lack of knowledge of the lyrics. As Dorothy Kilgallen had predicted on Goulet's appearance on What's My Line? a few days before, the anthem lasted longer than the fight, which was over early in the first round. Goulet had his biggest pop hit that year, when his single "My Love, Forgive Me" reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 22 in Canada.
In 1966, Goulet starred in the television series Blue Light, in which he played a journalist working undercover in Nazi Germany as a spy on behalf of the Allies. The series ran for 17 episodes between January 12, 1966, and May 18, 1966. In December, a theatrical film starring Goulet, I Deal in Danger, was released, made up of the first four episodes of Blue Light edited together.
Goulet guest starred on The Lucy Show in 1967 as himself and two additional characters who entered a Robert Goulet look-alike contest.
In 1972, he played a lead villain in the season finale of television original Mission: Impossible. In 1978, he sang "You Light Up My Life" at the Miss Universe Pageant to the five finalists. Goulet was featured in a two-part episode of the sitcom Alice during the 1981 season, again playing himself. The plot involves Mel and the girls winning a free trip to Las Vegas, and while there, losing his diner in a gambling spree. Alice plans to impersonate Goulet in an effort to persuade the casino owner to return the diner to Mel. The real Goulet appears and sings a duet with the fake Robert Goulet portrayed by Alice.
Goulet made a cameo appearance as himself in Louis Malle's Atlantic City. The movie was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. He recorded the song "Atlantic City " for Applause Records in 1981.
In 1988, Tim Burton cast him as a houseguest blown through the roof by Beetlejuice and also played himself in Bill Murray's Scrooged. He performed the Canadian national anthem to open WrestleMania VI at SkyDome in Toronto in 1990. Goulet also made several appearances on the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere during its five-year run.
In 1991, Goulet starred, with John Putch and Hillary Bailey Smith, in the unsold television series pilot Acting Sheriff. That same year, he appeared as Quentin Hapsburg, opposite Priscilla Presley and Leslie Nielsen, in the comedy film The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear. This followed a cameo as a "Special Guest Star" in the episode "The Butler Did It " of the 1982 TV series Police Squad! in which he died by firing squad during the opening credits. The television series spawned The Naked Gun film series.
In 1992, Goulet made an uncredited appearance as the piano player who suffers agonizing injuries in the "Weird Al" Yankovic video for "You Don't Love Me Anymore". That same year, Goulet guest-starred as country music singer Eddie Larren in an episode of the TV series In the Heat of the Night, "When the Music Stopped".
In 1993, he played himself in The Simpsons episode "$pringfield". In that episode, Bart Simpson booked him into his own casino, where he sang "Jingle Bells ".
In 1995 he appeared fronting a big band in a small sports themed nightclub, for a series of humorous 30-second ESPN ads revolving around NCAA basketball. NCAA head coaches appeared in the audience as Goulet happily, not to mention strongly and authoritatively, sang variations on popular songs, with lyrics changed to include college basketball references. He appeared in the commercials for two seasons before ending the run in 1996.
In 1996, Goulet appeared in Ellen DeGeneres' first starring movie, Mr. Wrong, as an insecure TV host; and he returned to Broadway in Moon Over Buffalo, co-starring Lynn Redgrave. He provided the singing voice of Wheezy the penguin in the big band-style finale of the 1999 Pixar film Toy Story 2, singing a new version of "You've Got a Friend in Me". In 2000, he played himself on two episodes of the Robert Smigel series TV Funhouse; as a sort-of mentor to the show's animal puppet troupe, he was the only character who had the respect of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Goulet also appeared in the Disney animated series Recess, as the singing voice for Mikey Blumberg, and in the film Recess: School's Out.
His commercial work included a 30-second spot for the 1998 Mercedes-Benz C-Class, showing him in different costumes, all while singing "It's Impossible"; and an Emerald Nuts television advertising campaign in 2006, which debuted during Super Bowl XL and continued until his death.
In 2006, he appeared in an episode of The King of Queens as himself. In 2007, Goulet received the Voice Education Research Awareness Award from The Voice Foundation.
His last public performance was on the PBS televised special, My Music: 50's Pop Parade, broadcast on August 1, 2007, in which he sang "Sunrise, Sunset" and "If Ever I Would Leave You".