Benson Actor Robert Guillaume Has Died

[Angela Channing]

American actor Robert Guillaume has died aged 89. The actor was probably best know for his role playing the title role in the sitcom Benson after previously playing the character in Soap. In many ways he was a ground breaking actor as it was relatively unusual for a black actor is have a lead role in sitcom at the time. He was also one of the first high profile entertainers to support AIDS benefits and was accused of being gay or having HIV himself as a result.

Guillaume won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in the comedy series Soap in 1979 and was the first black actor to win outstanding lead actor for Benson in 1985.

He is also known as the voice of the mandrill Rafiki in the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King.

 

[Ms Southworth]

I very much remember him from "Soap". Another great show from the 80's!

My most sincere condolences to his family and loved ones!

R.I.P. Robert Guillaume

 

[Daniel Avery]

Soap is one of my all-time favorite shows, and holds up even today. I think the show was never the same when Guillaume left, though. They got another butler (Saunders) but he did not have the established relationships with the Tates that made Benson's insults hit the mark so well. Guillaume rightly felt reluctant to take the part of a servant, but the writing of the role (as the only sane one in the house) made him a key player. When he entered a scene, you knew something fun was going to happen. I especially loved his relationship with the Tate kids, which spoke to his having been their main source of care and attention during their youth. We heard about it in dialogue, but occasionally got to see it in their scenes, where Guillaume and his scene partners really brought out the love, not just the laughs. I also loved the undisguised contempt Benson had for his boss, Chester Tate.

Benson is one of those sitcoms I can watch over and over, and always enjoy. To give him the lead in his own show, they de-aged Benson (removed the white from his hair), gave him a last name (DuBois), and allowed him to be so much more than the Greek Chorus in his new job. He got the chance to be the "average guy" surrounded by workplace dysfunction, a voice of reason in the Governor's mansion who could solve problems for his boss (and help him deal with the insanity of governmental bureaucracy). They did not lose his humor, though--an insult for every occasion, especially directed at housekeeper/ball-buster Gretchen Kraus. The evolving relationship between those two was fun to watch, even if they never stopped popping off zingers at one another. Guillaume kept getting nominated for the Lead Actor Emmy every year but only won once--likely because of the tendency of Emmy voters to dismiss "insult humor"-type shows like Benson.

So many of the stars of both shows have left us, but their performances live on. Good comedy never really goes out of style--it just gets re-discovered by new generations.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Oh I loved Soap

When i was at school it was on really late at night and i would stay up to watch it and do my French translation homework before it was aired

He was great as Benson - but I preferred Soap and would love to see it again

RIP Robert Guillaume

 

[Seaviewer]

I have to say I never really warmed to Soap but I enjoyed Benson a great deal, although it was shock when he suddenly acquired the name Du Bois. I thought Benson was his last name.

There was also the short-lived Robert Guillaume Show, an early attempt at depicting a mixed-race romance, co-starring Wendy Phillips just before she joined Falcon Crest.

 

[Maryann]

He was great on Benson and Soap. RIP Mr. Guillaume. Although I thought he died before this.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

He was great on Benson and Soap. RIP Mr. Guillaume. Although I thought he died before this.

Same with Abe Vigoda. The "Abe Vigoda died" jokes/suppositions/false-memory-syndrome stuff began as far back as the late-'70s.

 

[Daniel Avery]

James Noble (who played Governor Gatling on Benson) died a year or two back, and of course several of the Soap cast members have passed away.