Robert Guillaume, TV’s “Benson,” dies at 89
NEW YORK — Robert Guillaume once said he saw his roles as a butler in two popular sitcoms were a way of “getting revenge” for those black actors who had similar roles — but weren’t allowed to speak their minds.
His performances as a butler in “Soap” and “Benson” were the type of workers who not only kept things in order — but also kept their bosses in line.
Guillaume has died. He was 89 and his widow says he had suffered from prostate cancer.
Guillaume won Emmys for his roles in Soap and its spinoff Benson, and later appeared in the Aaron Sorkin sitcom “Sports Night.” But he also had his share of success in the theatre. He earned a Tony nomination for his work in the first all-black version of “Guys and Dolls.” He also was the first African-American to sing the title role of in “Phantom of the Opera.”
