I read about Robert Goulet's death on my Yahoo! page last night. I heard he was sick and awaiting a lung transplant.
Alex and I were chatting yesterday (before I heard about his passing) and we were tossing around lines from Scrooged. "Bob Goulet's Cajun Christmas," from the film, was mentioned. Funny scene.
Goulet also appeared in Beetlejuice, The Naked Gun 2 and Toy Story 2, among other films. He was frequently on television. On the short-lived spoof series Police Squad! (the basis for The Naked Gun films), every episode opened with the announcer intoning, "tonight's guest star..." and we'd see a real-life celeb...until he or she was killed before the credits ended. Goulet was executed by a firing squad.
In the Simpsons episode, $pringfield, Bart, unable to get into Springfield's new casino, opens his own in his tree house. He hires Robert Goulet (as himself) for entertainment. Goulet sings "Jingle Bells (Batman Smells)."
And on SNL, Will Ferrell did a hilarious impression of Goulet, singing current hip-hop and rap songs.
Robert Goulet got his big break when he starred in the original Broadway production of Camelot, beginning in 1960. He was a virtual unknown at the time, and was cast in the crucial role of Lancelot, opposite Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Roddy McDowell. His signature tune in the show was "If Ever I Would Leave You."