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Robert Guillaume

File:Robert_Guillaume_(1980).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Robert Guillaume

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Also known as Robert P. Williams, Robert Williams

American actor (1927-2017)

OverviewAI-generated

Robert Peter Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor, singer, voice actor, and former motorman. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he was an African American citizen of the United States who served in the United States Army. Guillaume studied at Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University. He resided in Los Angeles, where he died of prostate cancer.

His career included work in acting, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Guillaume is recognized by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He spoke English and used the pseudonym Guillaume.

Synthesized by Vinony from 44 facts across 9 sources: Wikidata, OpenAlex, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Crossref, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Works
13

Top works

  • How to Manage Personal Finances Made Easy and Avoiding the College Debt Trap
  • Deadly Purpose
  • Cinderella
  • The boy who cried wolf
  • Why American Schools Are Unsafe

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Robert "Bob" Guillaume (November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American stage and television actor, best known for his role as Benson Du Bois on the TV-series Soap and the spin-off Benson, voicing the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King and as Isaac Jaffe on Sports Night. In a career that spanned more than 50 years he worked extensively on stage (including a Tony Award nomination), television…

Known for

  • Once Upon a Studio — Rafiki (voice) (archive sound)2023
  • Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age — Self2021
  • Columbus Circle — Howard Miles2012
  • Satin — Doc Bishop2011
  • Waking Sleeping Beauty — Self (archive footage)2009
  • The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry — Mr. Barnes2008
  • The Lion King 1½ — Rafiki (voice)2004
  • Timon & Pumbaa Virtual Safari 2.0 — Rafiki (voice) (archive audio)2004
  • Timon & Pumbaa's Virtual Safari 1.5 — Rafiki (voice) (archive sound)2004
  • Century City2004

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Male
Origin
Germany
Active from
1927
Active to
2017
classicalcomposergermanromanticromantic classicalto clean up

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
4,335
Total plays
20,907

Robert "Bob" Guillaume (born 30 November 1927) is an American stage and television actor, best known for his role as Benson Du Bois on the TV-series Soap and the spin-off Benson, voicing the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King and as Isaac Jaffe on Sports Night. In a career that has spanned more than 50 years he has worked extensively on stage (including a Tony Award nomination), television (including winning two Emmy Awards), and film. In 1995 he received a Grammy Award in the category: Best Spok

via Last.fm · Robert Guillaume

Key facts

Born
Robert Peter Williams , ( 1927-11-30 ) November 30, 1927, St. Louis , Missouri, U.S.
Died
October 24, 2017 (2017-10-24) (aged 89), Los Angeles , California, U.S.
Resting place
Inglewood Park Cemetery
Alma mater
Washington University in St. Louis
Occupations
Actor singer
Years active
1959–2017
Known for
Soap , Benson , Guys and Dolls , The Lion King
Spouses
Marlene Williams ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1955 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1984 ) ​ Donna Brown-Guillaume ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1986 ) ​

via Wikipedia infobox

~7 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer. He played Benson DuBois in the ABC television series Soap and its spin-off, Benson. He also voiced the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King, and played Isaac Jaffe in Aaron Sorkin's dramedy Sports Night.

In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Guillaume worked extensively on stage, television and film. 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 again 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. Guillaume was the first African-American actor to portray the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Robert Guillaume” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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