Robert Guillaume
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 television series Soap and its spin-off Benson, 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.
You can find people similar to Robert Guillaume by visiting our lists Deaths from prostate cancer in California and African-American United States Army personnel.
| Full name at birth | Robert Peter Williams
|
||
| Claim to fame | Benson
|
||
| Date of birth | 30 November 1927
|
||
| Place of birth | St. Louis, Missouri, USA
|
||
| Date of death | 24 October 2017
|
||
| Age | 89 (age at death)
|
||
| Place of death | Los Angeles, California, USA
|
||
| Cause of death | Complications From Prostate Cancer
|
||
| Occupation | Actor, singer
|
||
| Occupation category | |||
| Nationality |
PERSONAL DETAILS
| Height | 5' 10" (178 cm)
|
||
| Build | |||
| Hair color | |||
| Eye color | |||
| Gender | |||
| Ethnicity | |||
| Sexuality | |||
| Religion | |||
| Zodiac sign | |||
| Distinctive feature | Gravelly gregarious voice
|
|
|
| Pets |
pets
|
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
| Net worth | $5,000,000 USD
|
||
| High school |
high school
|
||
| University |
university
|
||
| Talent agency |
talent agency
|
||
| Political affiliation |
political affiliation
|
||
| Political party |
political party
|
![Robert Guillaume - Jet Magazine Cover [United States] (27 November 1980)](http://img3.bdbphotos.com/images/130x130/8/a/8a80jc658dpz6d.jpg?skj2io4l)
![Robert Guillaume, Fay Hauser - Jet Magazine Cover [United States] (22 November 1979)](http://img3.bdbphotos.com/images/130x130/s/o/soj6suausd0usuo0.jpg?skj2io4l)
- Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 198. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
- Along with James Garner, he was among the original cast for "The Powers That Be" (1992) in the TV Guide Fall Preview.
- He was the producers first choice for the role of Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager. The role eventually went to Tim Russ.
- Was nominated for Broadway's 1977 Tony Award a Best Actor (Musical) for a revival of "Guys and Dolls.
- Guillaume was born as Robert P. Williams (Guillaume is the French translation of William).
Robert Guillaume is known for his role in the video game Half-Life 2 (2004) as Dr. Eli Vance (voice).
More...
This page is the FamousFix profile for Robert Guillaume. Content on this page is contributed by editors who belong to our editorial community. We welcome your contributions... so please create an account if you would like to collaborate with other editor's in helping to shape this website.
On the Robert Guillaume page you will be able to add and update factual information, post media and connect this topic to other topics on the website. This website does skew towards famous actors, musicians, models and sports stars, however we would like to expand that to include many other interesting topics.