His face was more famous than his voice, but Robert Goulet recorded a string of popular albums for Columbia during the 1960s, striking the pop charts with several hits and earning a 1962 Grammy Award. Born in 1933 in Lawrence, MA, Goulet was raised in Edmonton, Alberta, where he first studied acting and singing as a teenager. He appeared on Canadian television in the early '50s, but moved to New York and by the end of the decade was fit into a prime Broadway role: Sir Lancelot, in Lerner Loewe's +Camelot (with Julie Andrews and Richard Burton). A starring role in several films proved less than successful, however.

He began singing in the early '60s as well, and after an appearance on #The Ed Sullivan Show, Goulet signed to Columbia in 1962. His single What Kind of Fool Am I? became a modest hit later that year, and early in 1963 he won a Grammy for Best New Artist. Like many vocal artists of the day, however, Goulet became a bankable LP seller rather than a chart success, and though he made a surprise Top 20 showing of My Love, Forgive Me (Amore, Scusami) in 1964, it was his last hit. The album My Love Forgive Me reached number five and became a gold seller, and Goulet continued recording until 1970, when he moved into concert and television work.

In 1993, Goulet mounted a production of +Camelot, this time trading roles to play the more aged King Arthur. That same year he appeared, in animated form, on an episode of #The Simpsons. In 1996 he starred in the film #Mr. Wrong and three years later he was the singing voice of Wheezy the Penguin in the animated feature #Toy Story 2. The year 2000 found him in a revival of +South Pacific and in 2005 he was back on Broadway starring in +La Cage aux Folles. In 2006 he was given a spot on Canada's Walk of Fame. A year later he was featured in a bizarre and hilarious commercial for the Emerald Nut Company that aired during Super Bowl XLI. He died in late 2007 while awaiting a lung transplant for relief from a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis. ~ John Bush, Rovi