ROBERT GUILLAUME
November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017 (age 89)
Cause of Death: Prostate Cancer

“Oh yes, the past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it, or… learn from it.”
-Rafiki, “The Lion King”

Robert Guillaume got his start in television in 1966. Over ten years later, he would get the starring role that would launch his career, playing the title character Benson DuBois on the series “Benson,” which went on for seven years. But the role that would make him iconic, at least in my eyes, was the voice of the wise baboon, Rafiki, from Disney’s animated film “The Lion King.” He would reprise the voice role years later in a television series titled “Timo and Pumba” as well as reappearing in “The Lion King 1 1/2,” which was a straight-to-DVD release. Although he starred in a hand full of theatrical films and dozens of television movies, to me, he will always be immortalized raising the newly born lion cub above the entire kingdom of animals.

ROBERT GUILLAUME’S FILMOGRAPHY

ROBERT GUILLAUME’S TELEVISION APPEARANCES