Robert Guillaume, TV's 'Benson,' Dead at 89
Robert Guillaume, who played the quick-witted and sarcastic Benson DuBois on
Soap and the spinoff
Benson, has died. His widow, Donna Brown Guillaume, told
The Associated Press that he died at home in Los Angeles where he was battling prostate cancer. He was 89
.
In 1977, Guillaume took on the role of DuBois, a butler to the wealthy Tate family, on ABC's soap-opera parody sitcom
Soap. The role was such a hit with viewers that the network created
Benson in 1979, where it remained on the air through 1986. On the spinoff, DuBois was promoted to managing the governor's mansion, eventually running for political office himself. In 2015, the show ranked among
Rolling Stone's 20 Best TV Spin-offs. "To me, Benson was the revenge for all those stereotyped guys who looked like Benson in the Forties and Fifties [movies] and had to keep their mouths shut," Guillaume said in 2001, according to
the AP
Robert Guillaume, TV's 'Benson,' Dead at 89 - Rolling Stone
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2017/10/351.jpg