Singer Robert Goulet Dies at 73
Actor and singer Robert Goulet, who shot to fame as Lancelot in the original Broadway production of Camelot, died Tuesday morning at a hospital in Los Angeles while awaiting a lung transplant; he was 73. A singer with matinee-idol good looks and a deep, powerful baritone, Goulet was born in Massachusetts but moved to Canada at an early age, prompting TV host Ed Sullivan to dub him the "American baritone from Canada." Though he co-hosted the Canadian TV show C.G.E. Showtime, it was when he starred opposite Richard Burton and Julie Andrews in the 1960 stage musical Camelot that he became a star, known for singing the ballad "If Ever I Would Leave You." He continued to make many television appearances, mostly on The Ed Sullivan Show and won a Grammy award as Best New Artist in 1962. Mainly a stage actor who appeared in innumerable stage productions and won a Tony award in 1968 for The Happy Time, Goulet also performed in Las Vegas and appeared in the films Underground, Atlantic City, Beetlejuice, The Naked Gun 2 1/2. In 1999, he provided the singing voice for Wheezy the Penguin in Toy Story 2, belting out the Randy Newman song "You've Got a Friend in Me." He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Vera, and a daughter and two sons from his first two marriages.
My brother and I took voice lessons with a family friend at LSU in 1991. Two favorite songs I learned were "C'est Moi" and "If Ever I Would Leave You". I'll miss Goulet's booming voice and spirit.
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