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ROBERT GOULET’s
vocal talents illuminate every medium of the entertainment
world. A Grammy, Tony and an Emmy winner, he is a legendary
artist of striking power.
His
illustrious career has spun for over half a century and he is
considered one of the greatest baritones of our times. Equally
adept at picking up nuances of a Broadway musical, caressing the
lyric of a romantic ballad or amplifying the excitement of a
swinging melody, he has enriched the lives of music lovers
worldwide. He took Broadway by storm and won the Theatre World
Award with his debut as Sir Lancelot in the original
Camelot (1960)
also starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. Mr. Goulet
achieved instant recognition as one of American theaters’ most
charismatic and talented musical stars. Since his Broadway debut
Mr. Goulet has been on a remarkable journey.
A stage veteran his many credits include:
Sunshine Town, Thunder Rock,
The Optimist, Dreamgirl, Carousel, Finian’s Rainbow, Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes, The Pajama Game, Beggars Opera, Bells Are
Ringing, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Happy Time, I Do, I Do, On A
Clear Day, Kiss Me Kate, The Fantasticks, South Pacific, Camelot
(as King Arthur), Moon
Over Buffalo, and
Man Of La Mancha,
La Cage aux Folles”.
His numerous television appearances include his own series
Blue Light, his
specials An Hour with
Robert
Goulet, The Robert Goulet Special, The Bob Goulet
Special-Staring Robert Goulet as well as
The Name Of the Game, Police Story, Cannon, Dream Merchants,
Fantasy Island, Make My
Day, In the Heat Of The Night, The Simpson’s (Radio
Mercury Gold Award - Humor),
Based On An Untrue Story,
Burke’s Law, Get Smart,
ESPN College Basketball Campaigns, Disney’s
Recess,
George and Leo, Just Shoot
Me, Two Guys And A Girl, Nikki and My Favorite Broadway, Las
Vegas, King Of Queens, Emerald Nuts 2007 Super Bowl commercial,
My Music PBS.
He has recorded over 60 best-selling albums, and his film
credits range from the animated feature film
Gay Purr-ee
co-starring the voice of Judy Garland to
Honeymoon Hotel, I'd Rather
Be Rich, I Deal In Danger, Underground, Atlantic City,
Beetlejuice, Scrooged, Naked Gun 2½, Mr. Wrong, Toy Story II,
Disney’s animated feature
Recess, G-Men From Hell, The Last Producer with Burt
Reynoldsand Everything Is
Illuminated (voice).
Mr. Goulet is a spokesman for the American Cancer Society and
periodically gives lectures on Cancer Awareness, Prevention and
Early Detection. He is a father of three children; sons
Christopher
and Michael, and daughter Nicolette, who is the mother of his
grandchildren, Jordan Gerard and Solange. He married Macedonian
born Vera Chochorovska Novak in 1982. Vera runs their companies
and is also his business manager.
ROBERT GOULET took Broadway by storm and won the Theatre World
Award with his debut as Sir Lancelot in the original Camelot
(1960) also starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews and
achieved instant recognition as one of the American Theater’s
most charismatic and talented musical stars. Since his Broadway
debut Mr. Goulet has been on a remarkable journey and his
illustrious career has spun for over half a century. He is
considered one of the greatest baritones of our times and his
vocal talents illuminate every medium of the entertainment
world.
His rich baritone voice, equally adept at picking up nuances of
a Broadway musical, caressing the lyric of a romantic ballad, or
amplifying the excitement of a swinging melody, has enriched the
lives of music-lovers worldwide.
Robert Gerard Goulet was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the
only son of French Canadian parents, Joseph and Jeannette
Goulet. He began singing when he was five years old at family
gatherings. At one gathering young Robert’s aunts and uncles
blacked out his face with a burnt cork, put on his mother’s
white gloves and he entertained everyone with an Al Jolson
impersonation. The applause terrified him, and for many years
left him with a fear of performing. At age eleven, returning
home from school, two nuns stopped him and said, "You are going
to sing
Saturday night at the church function." Young Robert
looked at them and said, "No, I am not," and started to leave.
One nun grabbed him by the hair and leading him away said, "Yes,
you are." That Saturday night he sang at the church function.
After hearing him sing "Lead Kindly Light" in their church hall,
his father came down from the balcony with a tear in his eye,
hugged him and said, "I'm proud of you, my son," instilling in
him a glowing feeling, thrilled that he had pleased his father.
A scant few weeks later, Robert’s father called his son to his
deathbed and said, "God gave you a voice, you must sing."
After his father’s death at age thirteen Jeanette Goulet moved
to Canada with young Robert and his sister Claire, where he
spent his most formative years. Mr.Goulet’s first professional
appearance was at age 16 with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
Following a two-year stint as a radio announcer, he was awarded
a singing scholarship to the Royal Conservatory of Music,
University of Toronto, Canada. In 1993 they awarded him with
their highest honor, a ‘Fellowship’ - one of his most cherished
awards. He received a Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1975 and
in 2006, thirty one years later he was privileged to receive The
Canadian Walk of Fame Star.
He was a popular young star in Canada in the 1950s, and appeared
in scores of theatrical, radio and television productions --
culminating as host of the weekly network variety show for CBC-TV,
"General Electric's Showtime" but Goulet’s Broadway bow
launched him internationally. It
paved the way for a stunning array of over 60 best-selling
albums (he is a Grammy winner), international concert
appearances, motion pictures, numerous television specials,
variety and episodic television guest appearances, and his own
popular television series “Blue Light.”
Ed Sullivan was one of his most enthusiastic fans, and invited
“The American Baritone from Canada” to appear seventeen times on
his weekly variety show.
His fear of live audiences was noticed by Lord Laurence Olivier
during a performance of Camelot. Speaking to him backstage he
said "We can't see enough of your eyes. Can you wiggle your
ears?" Goulet answered, "Yes I can." Olivier then said "try it."
At the next matinee he tried it (only because Olivier asked him
to), and found that the audience was not made up of ogres or
green-eyed monsters.
A theater veteran, his many stage credits include: Little Women,
Sunshine Town, Thunder Rock, The Optimist, Dream Girl, Carousel,
Finian’s Rainbow, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Pajama Game,
Beggars Opera, Bells Are Ringing, Meet Me in St. Louis, The
Happy Time (Tony Award), I Do, I Do, On A Clear Day, Kiss Me
Kate, The Fantasticks, South Pacific (1987-89), Camelot (as
Lancelot 1960, as King Arthur 1992-94 & 1998), Moon Over
Buffalo (1996 Broadway), Man Of La Mancha (1996-1997), South
Pacific (2000), La Cage Aux Folles (2005 Broadway).
Equally adept at comedy and drama he has starred in a score of
television presentations. Along with his television series, Blue
Light, he had his own specials:
An Hour with Robert Goulet,
The Robert Goulet Special, The Bob Goulet Special-Starring
Robert Goulet as well as
The Name Of the Game, Big
Valley, Police Story, Cannon, Dream Merchants, Fantasy Island,
Make My Day, In the Heat Of The Night, The Simpson’s
(Radio Mercury Gold Award - Humor),
Based On An Untrue Story,
Burke’s Law, Get Smart, ESPN College Basketball Campaigns
(Sports Emmy), Disney’s
Recess, George and Leo, Just Shoot Me, Two Guys and a Girl,
Nikki and My
Favorite Broadway, Las Vegas, King Of Queens, Emerald Nuts 2007
Super Bowl commercial, My Music PBS.
His film credits range from the animated feature film Gay Purr-ee
co-starring the voice of Judy Garland to
Honeymoon Hotel, I'd Rather
Be Rich, I Deal In Danger, Underground, Atlantic City,
Beetlejuice, Scrooged, Naked Gun 2½, Mr. Wrong, Toy Story II,
Disney’s animated feature
Recess,,
G-Men From Hell,The Last Producer with Burt
Reynoldsand Everything Is
Illuminated (voice).
His Simpson’s episode and ESPN college basketball commercials
are considered “classics” They became immensely popular and
brought him an influx of new fans as did the well received
Mercedes Benz TV commercial. With
Toy Story II he
has garnered an audience from the five to fifty year olds -
they just love Wheezy and his rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend
In Me.” His 2007 Super Bowl commercial for Emerald Nuts has
become as popular as his ESPN spots.
A father of three children; sons Christopher and Michael, and
daughter Nicolette, who is the mother of his grandchildren,
Jordan Gerard and Solange.
In 1982 he married Macedonian-Yugoslavian-born Vera Chochorovska
Novak. Vera runs their companies ROGO & ROVE and she is also his
business manager. They are a team in marriage as well as in
business, but most importantly, they are each other’s best
friends.
Mr.
Goulet is very actively involved with his local community in Las
Vegas as well as in many charitable causes worldwide. For many
years one of his dreams was to build a Performing Arts Center in
Las Vegas and bring Musical Theater, plays ballet and opera to
the city. He is pleased to see that some of the major Las Vegas
hotels are at last presenting Broadway musicals. He is also a
spokesman for the American Cancer Society and periodically
gives lectures on Cancer Awareness, Prevention and Early
Detection.
Mr. Goulet’s remarkable sense of humor, his ability to laugh at
himself has always endeared him to his audiences.
“You have to have humor, and be able to laugh at yourself,” says
Goulet.“One of the lines in Man Of La Mancha spoken of the Duke
in the play by Cervantes/ Don Quixote is, ‘He carries his self
importance as if afraid of breaking it’ amuses me immensely. No
one should take himself that seriously.”
Fear of performing long gone, he continues to obey his father’s
orders and after every performance he leaves audiences with
smiles on their faces. |
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