Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Goulet, Robert
American actor/singer of French-Canadian ancestry, born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, November 26, 1933; died in Los Angeles California October 30, 2007 of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
At the age of 13, Robert Goulet moved with his mother and sister to Girouxville, Alberta after the death of his father, then to Edmonton, where he attended the Victoria School of the Arts. His first professional appearance was at age 16 in Handel's Messiah with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. For two years, he was an announcer for radio station CKUA. He then studied voice on a scholarship at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. After winning the CBC "Pick the Stars" competition the 1950’s he became a popular young star in Canada appearing in scores of theatrical, radio and television productions -- culminating as host of the weekly network variety show for CBC-TV, "General Electric's Showtime". He performed in musical theatre productions across the US, in the Canadian Opera Company, and at the Stratford Festival (Captain MacHeath in The Beggar's Opera 1958).
Following its premiere at the O'Keefe Centre in 1960, Goulet came to international attention on Broadway as Sir Lancelot in Lerner and Lowe's musical, Camelot, opposite Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. For this he won a Grammy as best new artist. In 1970 he won a Tony for his performance in Happy Time. He returned to Broadway in 1996 for his first comedy, Moon Over Buffalo. In 1999, he starred in Man of La Mancha for the Pacific Coast Theatre Group.
Robert Goulet also appeared in numerous movies and on television; and recorded sixty popular albums. His many awards include a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto (2006).
Website: www.robertgoulet.com
Last updated 2021-01-08
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The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia web site was originally conceived and developed in 1996 by Gaetan Charlebois—theatre critic, playwright, and actor.
