Robert Goulet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Goulet
Robert Goulet

Robert Gerard Goulet (b. November 26, 1933, Lawrence, Massachusetts) is an American entertainer.

Goulet rose to international stardom in 1960 as Lancelot in Lerner and Loewe's hit Broadway musical Camelot. His long career as a singer and actor encompasses theatre, radio, television and film. Goulet resides and performs in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Robert Goulet is the only son of French Canadian parents, Joseph Georges Andre Goulet and the former Jeanette Gauthier. He began singing when he was five years old. At a family gathering, Goulet's aunts and uncles blackened his face with burnt cork and prompted him to do Al Jolson impressions. Though his performance was well-received by his relatives, the experience was deeply traumatic for the young Goulet, and left him with an intense fear of performing that would plague him for many years.

In spite of his stage fright, Goulet was encouraged by his parents to continue performing. When he was in his early teens, his recently widowed mother moved herself and her son from Girouxville, Alberta, to the provincial capital of Edmonton so that Robert could take advantage of the performance opportunities offered in the city. There, he attended the famous voice schools founded by Herbert G. Turner and Jean Letourneau, and later became a radio announcer for CKUA. Upon graduating high school, Goulet received a scholarship to Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice with famed oratorio baritones George Lambert and Ernesto Vinci.

In 1952, he competed in CBC-TV's Pick The Stars, ultimately ascending to the semifinals, which led to other network appearances on shows like Singing Stars of Tomorrow, Opportunity Knocks, and the Canadian version of Howdy Doody (in which he starred opposite another future star, William Shatner).

[edit] Rise to stardom

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 stage production Camelot. Lerner and Loewe, impressed by Goulet's talent, signed the virtual newcomer to play the part, opposite Richard Burton's King Arthur and Julie Andrews' Queen Guenevere.

In October 1960, Camelot opened in Toronto, briefly ran for a four-week engagement in Boston, and finally opened on Broadway in December of that year. Goulet received favorable reviews, most notably for his show-stopping romantic ballad, If Ever I Would Leave You.

After Camelot's run, Goulet was booked on The Danny Thomas Show and The Ed Sullivan Show, which made him a household name among American audiences.

In 1966, Goulet starred as a double agent in the World War II television drama Blue Light.

[edit] Entertainment career

In 1968, Goulet was on Broadway in the Kander and Ebb musical, The Happy Time. He appeared in a 1982 production of Rose-Marie with Inga Swenson, and in 2005 appeared in the Broadway revival of Jerry Herman's La Cage aux Folles. Goulet began a recording career with Columbia Records in 1962 which resulted in more than 15 albums.

Goulet began working in films in 1962, providing the voice of one of the characters in the animated feature Gay Purr-ee opposite Judy Garland. His first acting role was in His and Hers (1964), but it was not until a cameo appearance as a singer in Louis Malle's Atlantic City (1980) that Goulet was given critical acclaim. He recorded the song Atlantic City (My Old Friend) for Applause Records in 1981.

He was absent from the screen for seven years until he was cast by Tim Burton as a houseguest blown through the roof by Beetlejuice and also played himself in Bill Murray's Scrooged (both 1988). In 1990, he sang the Canadian national anthem at the beginning of WrestleMania VI, which was held at the Toronto Skydome in Toronto, Ontario Canada.

In 1991, Goulet starred, along with John Putch and Hillary Bailey Smith, in the unsold television series pilot Acting Sheriff. That same year he appeared as the bad guy known as 'Quentin Hapsburg' opposite Leslie Nielsen in the comedy The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear. He also had a cameo in the short-lived 1982 TV series Police Squad in the episode "The Butler Did It" in which he was shot to death by a firing squad.

In 1993, he played himself in the Simpsons episode $pringfield. In that episode, Bart Simpson booked him to his own casino, and he sang the well-known Jingle Bells (Batman Smells), although he has yet to record the song commercially. In 1996, he appeared in Ellen DeGeneres' first starring vehicle, Mr. Wrong, as an insecure TV host. Goulet has also appeared in the Disney cartoon, Recess, as the singing voice for Mikey Blumberg, in numerous episodes.

Goulet remains popular in Las Vegas and performs in hotels and in concerts around the world.


Preceded by
Robert Preston
for I Do! I Do!		 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical
1968
for The Happy Time		 Succeeded by
Jerry Orbach
for Promises, Promises

[edit] Trivia

The longstanding report, repeated in many reference books, that Goulet's real name is Stanley Applebaum is false.[citation needed] The error resulted from an offhand remark Goulet made to a group of reporters when he first became famous. It is not, however, urban legend that Elvis Presley once shot a television while Goulet appeared on screen.

In March 2006, it was announced that Goulet would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. Although he was not born in Canada, but was born of Canadian parents who moved back three months later, he spent his formative years there and is currently seeking Canadian citizenship with the help of fellow Albertan, bandleader and senator Tommy Banks.

He was spoofed by comedian Will Ferrell several times on Saturday Night Live, most memorably pitching a CD which saw him crooning his own version of rap songs such as Big Poppa and Thong Song. In another sketch, Goulet and his family members star in their own off-Broadway musical entitled Red Ships of Spain. Goulet becomes so intoxicated, however, that he attempts to french kiss his daughter. Ferrell also made a guest appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in-character as Goulet, and performed a rendition af My Favorite Things.

During and after Super Bowl XLI, he was featured in an Emerald Nuts commercial as a strange apparition who "messes with your stuff" while your blood sugar is lowest in the middle of the day. Goulet is allergic to most nuts.

[edit] Personal life

Goulet and his first wife, Louise Longmore, had one daughter, Nikki. He had two sons, Christopher and Michael, with his second wife, Carol Lawrence, . In 1982 he was married a third time in Las Vegas, Nevada to Vera Novak. When not at their home in Las Vegas they reside on their yacht in Los Angeles, California.

[edit] Album discography

Columbia Records (except as noted):

  • Always You, 1962
  • Two of Us, 1962
  • Sincerely Yours, 1962
  • The Wonderful World of Love, 1963
  • Annie Get Your Gun, studio cast, with Doris Day, 1963
  • In Person, 1963
  • This Christmas I Spend with You, 1963
  • Without You, 1964
  • Manhattan Tower, 1964
  • My Love, Forgive Me, 1965
  • Summer Sounds, 1965
  • On Broadway, 1965
  • I Remember You, 1966
  • On Broadway Volume 2, 1967
  • Hollywood Mon Amour, 1967
  • Woman, Woman, 1968
  • Today's Greatest Hits, 1970
  • Robert Goulet's Wonderful World of Christmas, 1972
  • I Never Did as I Was Told, MGM Records, 1976
  • Close to You, Applause Records, 1982

[edit] Filmography

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../r/o/b/Robert_Goulet_ac12.html"
In other languages