Actor and singer Robert Goulet dies at 73

LOS ANGELES: Actor and singer Robert Goulet, who shot to fame by playing Lancelot in the original 1960 Broadway production of 'Camelot' with Julie Andrews and Richard Burton, died on Tuesday at age 73, his wife said.   

The performer, who suffered from the lung disease pulmonary fibrosis, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was awaiting a decision on whether he could receive a lung transplant, Vera Goulet said.   

Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts of French Canadian parents, Goulet moved to Canada as an infant. Known for his rich baritone and chiseled features, his big break came when Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe chose him to play Lancelot. In addition to the show-stopping song 'If Ever I Would Leave You' from 'Camelot', Goulet scored a hit with his version of 'The Impossible Dream' from his stint as Don Quixote on Broadway in 'Man of La Mancha'.   

Goulet won a Grammy in 1962 as best new recording artist and was given a best-actor Tony Award in 1968 for his role in Broadway's 'The Happy Time'.  After 'Camelot', he recorded more than 60 best-selling albums and appeared 17 times on Ed Sullivan''s television show, where he was introduced as 'The American singer from Canada'. He also became a regular on other television variety shows and was a big attraction in Las Vegas.   

His stage shows included 'Little Women', 'Dream Girl', 'Carousel', 'Finian's Rainbow', and 'The Pajama Game'. In revivals of 'Camelot' in the 1990s, he played King Arthur. Born on Nov. 26 1933, the only son of Joseph and Jeannette Goulet, he began singing when he was 5 at family gatherings but had to overcome a severe case of stage fright to make it in show business. According to his Web site, his family's applause frightened him and for many years he was terrified of performing.

At age 11, two nuns at his school ordered Goulet to sing at a church function and when he refused, one of the nuns grabbed him by the hair and said, 'Yes, you are'. He did and after the show, his father told him how proud he was of him and urged him to continue singing. His first professional appearance was at 16 with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. After a two-year stint as a radio announcer, he was awarded a singing scholarship to the Royal Conservatory of Music at the University of Toronto.   

His film credits include 'Atlantic City', 'Beetlejuice', 'Scrooged', and 'Toy Story II'. Goulet, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1993, had three children from his three marriages, including one with actress-singer Carol Lawrence. In a recent interview with Reuters, Vera Goulet said her husband was under sedation and on a respirator at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center while awaiting a decision on whether he could receive a lung transplant after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.   

"His life is hanging on the edge but he is a very strong man. He is being kept sedated because he is on a respirator and if he wasn''t, he might try to rip it out," Vera Goulet said. "It is hard to watch him like that. I can''t tell you how much I want to see his smile and hear his booming voice again."