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Biography
Early years
Goulet was the only son of French Canadian parents, Joseph Georges Andre Goulet and Jeanette Gauthier. He began singing when he was five years old. At a family gathering, Goulet's aunts and uncles blackened his face with burnt cork and had him do an Al Jolson impersonation. The applause gave him stage fright, and left him with a fear of performing for many years.
He later moved to Edmonton, Alberta, with his mother. There he studied at Herbert G. Turner's famous voice school in Edmonton and later at Jean Letourneau's music school. Soon after, Goulet became a radio announcer for CKUA. Goulet won a scholarship to Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music, where he studied acting and singing.
Goulet continued voice training through 1952-1954 with famed oratorio baritones George Lambert and Ernesto Vinci on a Royal Conservatory Of Music scholarship.
He became a semi-finalist in 1952 on CBC-TV's Pick The Stars which led to other network appearances on shows like the Canadian version of Howdy Doody (in which he starred opposite another future star, William Shatner), Singing Stars Of Tomorrow and Opportunity Knocks.
Rise to stardom
In 1959, Goulet was introduced to librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe, who were having difficulty casting the role of Lancelot in their stage production Camelot. Lerner and Loewe, impressed by Goulet's talent, signed the virtual newcomer to play the part, opposite Richard Burton's King Arthur and Julie Andrews' Queen Guinevere. In October of 1960, Camelot opened in Toronto, briefly ran for a four-week engagement in Boston, and finally opened on Broadway in December of that year. Goulet received favorable reviews, most notably for his show-stopping romantic ballad "If Ever I Would Leave You".
After Camelot's run, Goulet was booked on The Danny Thomas Show and The Ed Sullivan Show, which made him a household name among American audiences.
Entertainment career
He appeared in a production of Rose-Marie with Inga Swenson, and in 2005 appeared in the Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles. Goulet began a recording career with Columbia Records in 1962 which resulted in more than 15 albums.
Goulet began working in films in 1962, providing the voice of one of the characters in the animated feature Gay Purr-ee opposite Judy Garland. His first acting role was in His and Hers (1964), but it was not until a cameo appearance as a singer in Louis Malle's Atlantic City (1980) that Goulet was given critical acclaim. He recorded the song "Atlantic City (My Old Friend)" for Applause Records in 1981. He was absent from the screen for seven years until he was cast by Tim Burton as a houseguest blown through the roof by Beetlejuice and also played himself in Bill Murray's Scrooged (both 1988). In 1991, Goulet starred, along with John Putch and Hillary Bailey Smith, in the unsold television series pilot Acting Sheriff. That same year he appeared as the bad guy known as Quentin Hapsburg opposite Leslie Nielsen in the comedy The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear. In 1993, he played himself in the Simpsons episode "$pringfield." In that episode, he sang the well-known "Jingle Bells (Batman Smells)" although he has yet to record the song commercially. In 1996, he appeared in Ellen DeGeneres' first starring vehicle, Mr. Wrong, as an insecure TV host.
Goulet remains popular in Las Vegas and performs in hotels and in concerts around the world. He has gained popularity with younger generations thanks to comedian Will Ferrell's recurring over-the-top impersonation of him on Saturday Night Live.
The longstanding report, repeated in many reference books, that Goulet's real name is Stanley Applebaum is false. The error resulted from an offhand remark Goulet made to a group of reporters when he first became famous. It is not, however, urban legend that Elvis Presley would grab one of his many firearms and shoot his television if Goulet appeared on the screen.
Goulet and his first wife, Louise Longmore, had one daughter, Nikki. He and his second wife, Carol Lawrence, produced two sons, Christopher and Michael. In 1982 he was married a third time in Las Vegas, Nevada to Vera Novak. When not at their home in Las Vegas they reside on their yacht in Los Angeles, California.
In March of 2006, it was announced that Goulet would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. Although he was not born in Canada, he spent his formative years there.
Album Discography
Columbia Records (except as noted):
Always You, 1962
Two of Us, 1962
Sincerely Yours, 1962
The Wonderful World of Love, 1963
Annie Get Your Gun, studio cast, with Doris Day, 1963
In Person, 1963
This Christmas I Spend with You, 1963
Without You, 1964
Manhattan Tower, 1964
My Love, Forgive Me, 1965
Summer Sounds, 1965
On Broadway, 1965
I Remember You, 1966
On Broadway Volume 2, 1967
Hollywood Mon Amour, 1967
Woman, Woman, 1968
Today's Greatest Hits, 1970
I Never Did as I Was Told, MGM Records, 1976
Close to You, Applause Records, 1982
Filmography
Gay Purr-ee (1962) (voice)
Honeymoon Hotel (1964)
I'd Rather Be Rich (1964)
The Daydreamer (1966) (voice)
I Deal in Danger (1966)
Underground (1970)
Atlantic City (1980)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Scrooged (1988) (Cameo)
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
Mr. Wrong (1996)
Toy Story 2 (1999) (voice)
The Last Producer (2000)
G-Men from Hell (2000)
Recess: School's Out (2001) (voice)
Broadway: the Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003) (documentary)
