
Oh no not in spring time...
Summer, winter or fall...
No never would I leave you...at all...
--"If Ever I Would Leave You," Robert Goulet
Original Broadway Soundtrack to Camelot (1962)
The Emperor is saddened to hear that Robert Goulet, the man whose virile, yet approachable barritone made that showstopper from Camelot say something, passed away yesterday morning.
Goulet was the kind of guy you'd expect to hear while your parents (or grandparents in my case) sat around next to their slammin' hi-fi, sipping scotch and twirling their toes in the shag carpet. For many years Goulet's vocal talents and matinee idol dreaminess were eclipsed by the camp iconicity of his own abundant mustache. Case in point, Will Ferrell's hilarious Goulet sketches from SNL:
But for me he'll always be Lancelot--always that powerful voice singing over the crackle of grandma's hi-fi, promising it will never leave.
Sadly, I couldn't find actual footage of him singing "If Ever I would Leave You" to Julie Andrews in full Camelot regalia. But here's RG and another broadway diva, Barbara Cook, crooning tunes that will break your heart:
