Canadian Ham

ROBERT GOULET
November 26, 1933 - October 30, 2007

Although he spent the latter part of his career good-naturedly poking fun at his own image (outsized voice, outsized moustache, outsized hair, outsized charm), Robert Goulet was, in his prime, not only a devastating singer, but also a pretty devastating hunk. Camelot propelled him to stardom in 1960; he was a major Broadway, nightclub, television, and movie attraction for the first half of the decade. The Love Generation rendered Goulet and his starchy professionalism anachronistic, but after a fallow period in the 1970's, he bounced back, gamely parodying himself in everything from Beetlejuice to The Simpsons to a Weird Al Yankovic video.

We saw Mr. Goulet in the Broadway revival of La Cage Aux Folles shortly before his unexpected death from cancer; and a few nights after seeing his performance, we saw him dining at the also-departed L'Impero restaurant in Tudor City. He was, on stage and off, completely charming and radiated genuine star charisma -- hair dye and all. We were truly saddened by his passing; his booming baritone is, no doubt, a welcome addition to the choir. Happy Birthday, Robert Goulet!