Actor rose from slums to star on stage and TV
NEW YORK — Robert Guillaume, who rose from squalid beginnings in St. Louis slums to become a star in stage musicals and win Emmy Awards for his portrayal of the sharp-tongued butler in the TV sitcoms “Soap” and “Benson,” has died at age 89.
Mr. Guillaume died at home Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to his widow, Donna Brown Guillaume. He had been battling prostate cancer, she said.
Among Mr. Guillaume’s achievements was playing Nathan Detroit in the first allblack version of “Guys and Dolls,” earning him a Tony nomination in 1977. He became the first African American to sing the title role of “Phantom of the Opera,” in a Los Angelesbased production, and was the voice of the shaman-slash-mandrill Rafiki in the film version of “The Lion King.”
Mr. Guillaume won a Grammy in 1995 when a read-aloud version of “The Lion King,” which he narrated, was cited for best spoken word album for children. He also served as narrator for the animated HBO series “Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child,” which aired form 1995-2000.
While playing in “Guys and Dolls, he was asked to test for the role of an acerbic butler of a governor’s mansion in “Soap,” a prime-time TV sitcom that satirized soap operas.
“The minute I saw the script, I knew I had a live one,” he recalled in 2001. “Every role was written against type, especially Benson, who wasn’t subservient to anyone. To me, Benson was the revenge for all those stereotyped guys who looked like Benson in the ’40s and ’50s (movies) and had to keep their mouths shut.”
The character became so popular that ABC was persuaded to launch a spinoff, simply called “Benson,” which lasted from 1979 to 1986. In the series, the main character went from running the kitchen for a governor to becoming a political aide to eventually becoming lieutenant governor.
After suffering a stroke in 1999, Mr. Guillaume (pronounced with a hard “g’’: geeyome) resumed his career and traveled as a new spokesman for the American Stroke Association. He also made appearances for the American Heart Association.
In “Guillaume: A Life,” his 2002 autobiography, he laid bare his troubled life. He was born fatherless on Nov. 30, 1927, in St. Louis, one of four children. His mother named him Robert Peter Williams; when he became a performer he adopted Guillaume, a French version of William, believing the change would give him distinction.