This is a weekly feature on BroadwayLiving.com. It’s just like the game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”. You know how it goes…someone throws out an actor’s name and you have to try to connect them to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less.
I thought it might be fun to do the same thing with the theater’s luminaries. I will be trying to connect them to the longest running show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera and its very first “Phantom”, Michael Crawford.
Happy Birthday to Robert Guillaume! The actor was born Robert Williams in St. Louis, MO on this day in 1927. His stage name ‘Guillaume’ comes from the French form of the name William. After studying at Washington University and serving a stint in the United States Army, Robert began his acting career.
He made his Broadway debut in a revival of Finian’s Rainbow in 1960. He followed that up with appearances in Kwamina (1961), Tambourines to Glory (1963) and Purlie(1970). But his most notable Broadway performance came in 1976 in the All Black revival of Guys and Dolls. Guillaume played Nathan Detroit and earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance.
Television soon came calling and after a few featured appearances on some of the ‘70s most popular shows – Sanford and Son, All in the Family, The Jeffersons and Good Times – he landed the role of the butler, Benson DuBois, on the sitcom Soap (1977-1980). Guillaume followed that up with Benson (1979-1986) a spin-off of Soap. Once again he played the quick-witted, sharp-tongued butler, but during the run of the series Benson Dubois rises through the ranks to eventually become Lt. Governor.
Besides the degrees set out below, Guillaume has his own personal connection to Michael Crawford. He replaced Crawford as the Phantom of the Opera in the Los Angeles production of the show. The move caused some controversy among ticket buyers but by all accounts Robert gave a very fine performance in the role. Guillaume is the first and only African American actor to play the role of the Phantom
1) Robert Guillaume did the 1976 revival of Guys and Dolls with Ken Page.
2) Ken Page was in Cats with Kenneth Ard
3) Kenneth Ard did Dangerous Games with Luis Perez.
4) Luis Perez was the original “Slave Master in Hannibal” in The Phantom of the Opera with Michael Crawford.
So that’s the game. Join me each week as I try to come up with new ways of connecting Michael Crawford to the entire theater community.
