Robert Guillaume
is a two-time Emmy award-winner, immediately known
to savvy primetime audiences as one of the stars of the hit contemporary
comedy, "Sports Night. The actor portrays a tough and compassionate
executive producer, Isaac Jaffee, in the critically acclaimed series.
Though "Sports Night" fans' kids may not stay up late enough to
watch the show or recognize Robert Guillaume's face, they know the sound of
his beloved voice as the soothsaying cadence of Rafiki, the mystical baboon in
Disney's animated feature, "The Lion King," and "Lion King II,
Simba's Pride." They can look forward to hearing him this year in
"The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina.
The debonair, legendary actor who has also been nominated for numerous
Golden Globe, SAG and Image awards, appears as a guest star on "Touched
By An Angel" in an episode titled, "Jones vs. God." In this
wonderful episode, he portrays Judge Dawes as Monica and Tess face a small
mining town that is accusing god of inflicting emotional stress.
The talented Broadway actor first informed Hollywood of his arrival when he
portrayed a self-assured, intelligent butler named Benson in the hysterical,
tongue-and-cheek prime time series of the eighties, "Soap." While
Benson's scene-stealing carried the show, Robert Guillaume carried home an
Emmy for his work as "Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy."
The articulate and handsome thespian went on to star in the spin-off titled
after his popular character, "Benson." In the spin-off he played a
lieutenant governor and garnered another Emmy with accolades from his peers,
this time for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Robert Guillaume is an actor who continually helps to defy stereotypes.
Early in his career, his commanding theatrical presence brought the actor a
1977 Tony nomination for his portrayal of Nathan Detroit in "Guys and
Dolls," with an all black cast. On "Benson," Guillaume insisted
his character be equal. He turned out to be the character with the most
savoir-faire and brilliance.
Later in his career, as star of "The Robert Guillaume Show" which
he also executive produced, he portrayed a marriage counselor married to a
white secretary. With his powerful singing voice, Guillaume replaced Michael
Crawford in the Los Angeles production of "Phantom of the Opera"
making him the first black actor in history to star in the role.
The actor's long list of television and film credits also include:
"North and South," "Crystal Cave: Lessons From The Teachings of
Merlin," "Pandora's Clock," "Meteor Man," "Death
Warrant," "Lean on Me," "Perry Mason" and "Superfly
T.N.T." A few of his many guest starring roles include: "LA
Law," "Diagnosis Murder," "The Jefferson's,"
"Sanford & Son," "Burke's Law," and "Fresh Prince
of Bel-Air."
Among his accomplishments, Guillaume produced with his wife, Donna Brown
Guillaume, "You Must Remember This" for PBS and "Happily Ever
After" for HBO, a group of ethnically diverse fairy tales which he
narrated.
In the summer of 1992 Robert Guillaume, while a commencement speaker at
Tennessee State University was presented with the "Distinguished
Achievement Award." Reportedly he told the new graduates, "Do not
use any facet of yourself that you perceive as a handicap as an excuse...be
prepared to go over, through and around." The actor has done just that.
Now in his seventies, after Guillaume suffered a mild stoke in 1999, he
returned to work after just a few weeks, a clear indication of his courage and
strength of spirit. Aaron Sorkin, creator of "Sports Night" had the
event written into his character's storyline. When Robert Guillaume stepped
onto the Emmy telecast stage that same year as a presenter, he received a
standing ovation from the audience. By all accounts, Robert Guillaume's
contribution to the field of entertainment is invaluable.
