Robert Goulet

Robert Goulet

Robert Goulet was raised in Edmonton, Alberta and trained at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. After several years' worth of straw-hat musical appearances on both sides of the border--as well as a stint as a Canadian kiddie-show host named "Timber Tom"--Goulet made his triumphant Broadway debut in 1959 as Lancelot in Lerner and Loewe'sCamelot. His signature tune in that show was "If Ever I Would Leave You," which proved an even bigger hit as a record single. On the strength of this song and others like "What Kind of Fool Am I," Goulet earned a Grammy award in 1962. Two years later, his album My Love Forgive Me went gold, and in 1965, he won a Tony for his performance in the Broadway musical The Happy Time. Goulet's bid for film stardom in 1964 yielded the disappointing Honeymoon Hotel; he fared better on television, starring in the 1966 espionage series Blue Light and headlining TV adaptations of Brigadoon, Carousel and Kiss Me Kate. He returned to films in the early 1980s, essaying campy character roles in Beetlejuice (1988) and Naked Gun 2 1/2 (1990); most often, as in Atlantic City (1980) and Scrooged (1988), he has guest-starred as "himself." Having recently survived a life-threatening bout with colon cancer, Goulet recovered sufficiently to perform in a multi-city tour of Camelot, this time in the leading role of King Arthur. Married three times, Robert Goulet's second wife was actress/singer Carol Lawrence. He died of pulmonary fibrosis in 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide