- Herve Presnell, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, 1964. When Shirley MacLaine was set as Molly, director Charle Walters shot a silent test of Goulet “to see if he could look awkward in a dinner jacket.” Not easy for the singer called “an 8 x 10 glossy” by Judy Garland. He passed his test but lost the movie by claiming the soundtrack rights.
- Dick Van Dyke, The Art of Love, 1964. James Garner was always Casey – well, he was the co-producer. But who should be his roomie in a made-in-Hollywood Paris, an artist faking a suicide to increase the value of his work. Paul went through Tony Curtis, John Gavin, singer Robert Goulet, Rock Hudson, George Maharis, even Oskar Werner, before being rather well played by Van Dyke. Good name for someone playing a painter!
- Franco Nero,, Camelot, 1966. For his last hurrah after 45 years running Warner Bros, head bro Jack L Warner made the same mistake as when dropping Julie Andrews for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady – choosing a non-singer for a musical. Nero was dubbed by Gene Merlino of The Mellowmen Quartet. Singer Robert Goulet played and sung the role on Broadway… Now the ”holy cad” was Italy’s Franco Nero, suggested by King Arthur himself: Richard Harris. They had played history’s most famous brothers, Cain and Abel, in Jphn Huston’s The Bible in the Beginning. (In the 80s, Goulet played the Harris role in a stage tour). Nero and Vanessa Redgrave (another non-singer as Guenevere!) became lovers on and off-screen. They wed in 2006.
- Richard Kiley, The Little Prince, 1974. For once, Hollywood voted Broadway. Well, after Richard Burton, Goulet, Gene Hackman, Richard Harris and Frank Sinatra passed by but never landed on planet Saint-Expury.
- James Darren, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, TV, 1998-1999. The Vegas-style saloon singer-cum-hologram was dreamt up for series fan Franjk Sinatra Jr fan in Season Four. “No, no, I wanna play an alien!” After talking to Goulet, Tom Jones, Jerry Vale, the producers eventually decided in Season Six upon Darren, a Sinatra family friend (and Godfather of Nancy’s daughter). His elegant Vic Fontaine appeared in eight episodes, including the grand finale.
Birth year: 1933Death year: 2007Other name: Usual occupation: SingerCasting Calls: 5