- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRobert Peter Williams
- Nickname
- Bob
- Height1.78 m
- Robert Peter Williams Guillaume was an actor from St. Louis, Missouri who was known for playing Rafiki from The Lion King, Benson DuBois from Soap and Benson, and Nathan Detroit from Guys and Dolls. He had five children from two marriages. He passed away in October 24, 2017 due to prostate cancer complications.- IMDb mini biography by: Christian Frates
- SpousesDonna Brown Guillaume(September 1985 - October 24, 2017) (his death, 1 child)Marlene Patricia Scott(1955 - December 21, 1984) (divorced, 2 children)
- ChildrenJacques GuillaumeMelissaPatricia
- RelativesJeanette Williams(Grandparent)
- Gravelly gregarious voice
- Known for playing quick witted and wisecracking characters with a crass sense of humor
- Is the first Black actor to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. As of 2016, he is the only Black actor performer to win both of them, and he was the only Black actor to win any of the two awards until 2017 (when Donald Glover won Lead Actor in a Comedy Series). He still remains the only Black actor to win an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series as of 2017.
- Robert Guillaume was born as Robert Peter Williams (Guillaume is the French translation of William).
- He was the producers' first choice for the role of Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager (1995), which eventually went to Tim Russ. His Benson (1979) co-star Ethan Phillips was cast as Neelix on the series.
- Even though Robert Guillaume was an accomplished and experienced Broadway musical performer, there was some controversy when he replaced the original Phantom (Michael Crawford) in the first Los Angeles company of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "The Phantom of the Opera," becoming the first black actor to play the role. Some tickets were returned to protest his selection as lead actor even before his first performance. His run was nonetheless popular with audiences and critics.
- Suffered a mild stroke on the set of his television series Sports Night (1998) on January 14, 1999.
- Benson (1979) - $20,000 per 1/2 hour episode
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