Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 – October 30, 2007) was an American singer and actor.
Cast as Sir Lancelot and originating the role in the 1960 Broadway musical Camelot starring opposite established Broadway stars Richard Burton and Julie Andrews, he achieved instant recognition with his performance and interpretation of the song "If Ever I Would Leave You", which became his signature song. His debut in Camelot marked the beginning of a stage, screen, and recording career. A Grammy Award winner, his career spanned almost six decades.
Goulet starred in a 1966 television version of the musical Brigadoon, a production which won five primetime Emmy Awards. He gained recognition for his performance as Billy Bigelow in an abridged 1967 network television version of the musical Carousel.
In 1968, he won Broadway's Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for The Happy Time, a musical about a French-Canadian family set in Ottawa, in the role of photographer Jacques Bonnard, which gave Goulet the opportunity to display an authentic French-Canadian accent. He later returned to Broadway in 1993 as King Arthur in a revival of Camelot.
Goulet was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on Haverhill Street, where he also lived. He was the only son of Jeanette (née Gauthier) and Joseph Georges André Goulet. Both of his parents worked in the mills, but his father was also an amateur singer and wrestler. His parents were French Canadian and Canadian citizens, and he was a descendant of French-Canadian pioneers Zacharie Cloutier and Jacques Goulet. Shortly after his father's death, 13-year-old Goulet moved with his mother and sister Claire to Girouxville, Alberta, Canada, where his uncle and other relatives lived.
After living in Girouxville for several years, they moved to the provincial capital of Edmonton to take advantage of the performance opportunities offered in the city. There, he attended the voice schools founded by Herbert G. Turner and Jean Létourneau, and later became a radio announcer for radio station CKUA. He graduated from Victoria Composite high school (now Victoria School of the Arts).
Goulet received a scholarship to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he studied voice with oratorio baritones George Lambert and Ernesto Vinci and with Mary Rezza. Goulet performed in opera productions with other Conservatory vocal students, including Jon Vickers and James Milligan.
In 1952, at the age of 18, he competed in CBC Television's Pick the Stars, ultimately making the semifinals. This led to other network appearances on shows like Singing Stars of Tomorrow, Opportunity Knocks, Juliette, and the Canadian version of Howdy Doody in which he starred as Trapper Pierre opposite William Shatner. From 1957 to 1959, he co-hosted the CBC Television programme Showcase with Joyce Sullivan.
Goulet's first U.S. bookings were in summer stock theatre with the Kenley Players. He appeared in eight productions, including Pajama Game (1959), Bells Are Ringing (1959), Dream Girl (1959), South Pacific (1960), Meet Me in St. Louis (1960) and Carousel (1960). John Kenley came to his dressing room after the opening of Pajama Game and gave him a raise, saying it was "because he knew he could never afford to again", Goulet said in 2006. "He was right." Goulet repeated his role in South Pacific for Kenley in a 1995 production.
In 1959, Goulet was introduced to librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe, who were having difficulty casting the role of Lancelot in their new stage production destined for Broadway, the musical Camelot. Lerner and Loewe, impressed by Goulet's singing capabilities, signed the virtual newcomer to play the part, opposite Richard Burton (King Arthur) and Julie Andrews (Queen Guenevere). Camelot opened in Toronto in October 1960 though Goulet was at that time still under contract to host musical programs for CBC Television. A four-week engagement in Boston led to the show opening on Broadway two months later. Goulet received favorable reviews, for his introductory aria C'est Moi, and most notably for his show-stopping romantic ballad, If Ever I Would Leave You which would become his signature song. The music of the production was greatly appreciated by President Kennedy, who would play the cast recording at the White House before going to bed at night.
Goulet starred in an award-winning two-hour 1966 television version of the Broadway musical Brigadoon, which had been the first notable success for librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe. His co-star in the strong cast was Sally Ann Howes, who had achieved great acclaim in the female lead role in Brigadoon on Broadway in the 1963 revival of the musical, and also for a special performance at the White House for President Kennedy. Also in the cast were Peter Falk as the cynical traveling friend, famed ballet dancer Edward Vilella as the jilted courter, and Finlay Currie in his final performance as the minister. The production was highly praised and won five prime-time Emmy Awards.
Goulet also performed the lead roles in television productions of Carousel in 1967, and Kiss Me Kate in 1968, opposite his then-wife Carol Lawrence. The musicals were produced by Goulet's company Rogo Productions and aired on ABC, but none have been rebroadcast since the 1960s or released on video. All three were recorded on videotape rather than film.
In 1968, Goulet was back on Broadway in the Kander and Ebb musical The Happy Time, a story about a French-Canadian family in Ottawa. Goulet performed the role of photographer Jacques Bonnard, which had been taken in the 1952 non-musical film version by Louis Jourdan, and which gave Goulet the opportunity to display an authentic French-Canadian accent. The musical ran on Broadway from January 18 to September 28, 1968. Goulet won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role. Gower Champion also won two Tony awards for the musical, Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical. The musical co-starred David Wayne. John Serry Sr. collaborated as the orchestral accordionist.
Goulet, costumed as an RCMP officer or "Mountie", and Inga Swenson sang a medley of staged arias and duets from the 1924 Broadway musical Rose-Marie in the opening presentation at the 1982 Tony Awards ceremony, as well as two other Broadway songs from the 1981 season.
He starred as King Arthur in Camelot in a 1992 National Tour and returned to Broadway in 1993 with the same production.
Goulet played Don Quixote in the 1997–98 U.S. national tour of Man of La Mancha and recorded the theme song for the talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2003.
In 2005, he appeared on the Broadway stage for the last time as a mid-run replacement in La Cage aux Folles and found critical success once again. Clive Barnes of The New York Post wrote of his performance:Goulet's still radiant grin is in better shape than his joints, giving his movements rather less grace than before. But when he sings, or even speaks, the years fall away. His gorgeous voice seems untouched by time, and his dapper presence fills the stage... With Robert Goulet's new, expansively embracing Georges, Beach seems revitalized, appearing to find a passion and pathos in the role previously eluding him.
Goulet's first film performance was the animated musical feature Gay Purr-ee (1962), in which he provided the voice of the male lead character, 'Jaune Tom', opposite the female lead character, 'Mewsette', voiced by Judy Garland.