Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 - October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer, known for his role as Benson DuBois in the ABC television series Soap and its spin-off, Benson,[1] as well as for voicing the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King and related media thereof. In a career that spanned more than 50 years he worked extensively on stage, television and film. For his efforts 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 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. He is also known for his role as playing Eli Vance in the video game Half-Life 2.
Guillaume was born Robert Peter Williams in St. Louis[2] to an alcoholic mother.[citation needed] After she abandoned him and several siblings, they were raised by their grandmother, Jeannette Williams.[3] He studied at Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis and served in the United States Army before pursuing an acting career.[4] He adopted the surname Guillaume (French for William) as his stage name.
After leaving university, Guillaume joined the Karamu Players in Cleveland and performed in musical comedies and opera.[citation needed] He toured the world in 1959 as a cast member of the Broadway musical Free and Easy.[5] He made his Broadway debut in Kwamina in 1961.[6] His other stage appearances included Golden Boy (with Sammy Davis Jr.),[7] Tambourines to Glory, Guys and Dolls, for which he received a Tony Award nomination,[8] Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and Purlie![citation needed] His additional roles included Katherine Dunham's Bambouche and in Fly The Blackbird.[4]
In 1964, he portrayed Sportin' Life in a revival of Porgy and Bess at New York City Center.[2] Guillaume was a member of the Robert de Cormier Singers, performing in concerts and on television.[3] He recorded an LP album, Columbia CS9033, titled Just Arrived as a member of The Pilgrims, a folk trio, with Angeline Butler and Millard Williams.[5] Columbia records producer, Tom Wilson, had set out to create the Pilgrims as an answer to the popular folk trio, Peter, Paul and Mary. By early 1964, the Pilgrims had recorded a handful of songs and Wilson was looking for the right song for the group's debut single when then unknown singer/songwriter named Paul Simon arrived for a meeting with Wilson and eventually pitched his new composition, "The Sound of Silence". Wilson liked the song, had Simon record a demo for the group, but when Simon and his friend, Art Garfunkel, sang the song for Wilson in person, he signed them to a record contract instead of using it for The Pilgrims.[9] (In the sixties Guillaume was working in Vienna, Austria at the Vienna Volksoper, Marcel Prawy engaged him for the role of Sportin' Life in Porgy and Bess.)[citation needed]
Later in his stage career, he was cast in the lead role in the Los Angeles production of The Phantom of the Opera, replacing Michael Crawford.[6]
Television[edit source]
As Benson in Soap, 1977.
Guillaume made several guest appearances on sitcoms, including Good Times, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Saved By The Bell: The College Years and in the 1990s sitcoms The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and A Different World.[6] Guillaume also played Dr. Franklin in season 6, episode 6 ("Chain Letter") of the series All in the Family, in which he coyly referenced Marcus Welby, M.D., a TV series in which he had guest-starred in 1970.[10]
His series-regular debut was on the ABC series Soap, playing Benson, a butler, from 1977 to 1979.[11] Guillaume continued the role in a spin-off series, Benson, which ran for 158 episodes from 1979 until 1986.[2]
In 1985, Guillaume appeared in the television mini-series North and South as abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass, who escaped from slavery and became a leader of the anti-slavery movement prior to the American Civil War.[3]
He also appeared as marriage counselor Edward Sawyer on The Robert Guillaume Show (1989), Detective Bob Ballard on Pacific Station (1991-1992), and television executive Isaac Jaffe on Aaron Sorkin's short-lived but critically acclaimed Sports Night (1998-2000).[2] Guillaume suffered a mild stroke on January 14, 1999, while filming an episode of the latter series.[1] He recovered and his character was later also depicted as having had a stroke. He also made a guest appearance on 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.[11] He made one of his final TV appearances during season 5 on Oprah: Where Are They Now?
His voice was employed for characters in television series Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Fish Police, and Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child.[4]