File:Robert_Guillaume_(1980).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Robert Guillaume
Sign in to saveAlso known as Robert P. Williams, Robert Williams
American actor (1927-2017)
OverviewAI-generated
Robert Guillaume, born Robert Peter Williams in St. Louis, was an American actor, singer, voice actor, and motorman. He was educated at Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University. Guillaume served in the United States Army and was a member of the African American ethnic group. He resided in Los Angeles and died there from prostate cancer.
His career earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Guillaume spoke English and was known by the pseudonym Guillaume.
Synthesized by Vinony from 33 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film & TV
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
Discography
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
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
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Robert
- Family name
- Williams
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- St. Louis
- Place of death
- Los Angeles
- Occupation
- television actor
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Notable work
- Benson
- Instrument
- voice
- Military branch
- United States Army
- Official website
- robertguillaume.com
- Image
- Robert Guillaume (1980).jpg
- Number of children
- 5
- Residence
- Los Angeles
Show 15 more facts
- Commons category
- Robert Guillaume
- date of birth
- 1927-11-30
- ethnic group
- African Americans
- nominated for
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical
- pseudonym
- Guillaume
- birth name
- Robert Peter Williams
- date of death
- 2017-10-24
- cause of death
- prostate cancer
- name in native language
- Robert Peter Williams
- manner of death
- natural causes
- start of work period
- 1959-00-00
- writing language
- English language
- end of work period
- 2017-00-00
- P12674
- Parkway
- place of burial
- Inglewood Park Cemetery
Sources (7)
via Wikidata · CC0
~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.