Robert Peter (Williams) Guillaume (1927 - 2017)

Born 30 Nov 1927 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Ancestors

Died 24 Oct 2017 at age 89 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Robert (Williams) Guillaume is Notable.

Robert (Williams) Guillaume is a Military Veteran.
Served in the U.S. Army, World War II

Robert Guillaume was an American actor. He is most famous for his role as Benson in Soap and Benson, and he won Emmy Awards for both. He was nominated for a Tony Award for a revival of "Guys and Dolls". He also won a Grammy Award for his read along performance reading of "The Lion King." He has a star at 6675 Hollywood Boulevard on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[1]

Robert Peter Williams was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on 30 Nov 1927. He was the son of Zoe Williams.

In an interview in 1992, Guillaume said that he never knew his father and that his mother had a drinking problem, so he was raised by his [maternal] grandmother.^[2] He also said that he was not the son of George Edwards, his mother's husband, and Edwards knew it.

He also said: “I’m a bastard, a Catholic, the son of a prostitute, and a product of the poorest slums of St. Louis.” This was the opening of “Guillaume: A Life,” his 2002 autobiography in which he laid bare his troubled life. He was born fatherless on Nov. 30, 1927, in St. Louis. His grandmother was Jeannette Williams, from Kansas, and his mother was Zoe Bertha (Williams) Edwards, who was nicknamed "Bunk.". He had a younger sister named Dolores and brothers Cleo, two years younger, James, two years older, and Lexter, even older, who died at age 1 year.^[3]

In 1940, Robert Williams lived with his grandmother, Jeanette Williams, a 60 year old widow, Jeanette's daughter Bertha Williams, and three Edwards children.^[4]

Robert served in the US Army. He enlisted on27 Dec 1945 at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri,^[5] and was separated on 25 Feb 1947 at Fort Sheridan, Lake, Illinois. ^[6]

He died of prostate cancer at home in Los Angeles on 24 Oct 2017.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia Article: "List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame" Walk of Fame
2. ↑ Hawkes, Ellen, No Title: "Interview with Robert Guilaume." State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois) Sunday, May 24, 1992; Page: 68 (Parade Magazine, Page 12.) Accessed on 24 Oct 2017 at GenealogyBank.com.
3. ↑ Guillaume, Robert (David Ritza) Guillaume: A Life University of Missouri Press, 2002. Page 1ff
4. ↑ 1940 Census: "1940 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1940; Census Place: St Louis, St Louis City, Missouri; Roll: m-t0627-02185; Page: 61B; Enumeration District: 96-100
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #91407565 (accessed 31 October 2022)
   Robert Williams (12), single grandson, in household of Jeanette Williams (68) in St Louis, St Louis City, Missouri. Born in Missouri. FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MB-BKWW?i=21

   Jeanette Williams, a 68 year old widow; Bertha Edwards, 31; James T Edwards, 13; Cleo Edwards, 11; Robert Williams, 12; Delores Edwards, 6. All were born in Missouri except Jeanette, who was born in Virginia. Jeanette and Bertha worked as laundresses in private homes

5. ↑ Military: "U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947"
   National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Missouri, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 354
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2238 #16091036 (accessed 31 October 2022)
   Name: Robert Peter Williams; Gender: Male; Race: Negro (Black); Age: 18; Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head); Birth Date: 30 Nov 1927; Birth Place: St Louis, Missouri, USA; Residence Place: St Louis, Missouri, USA; Registration Date: 3 Dec 1945; Registration Place: St Louis, Missouri, USA; Employer: J R Bissell Dry Goods; Height: 5 9; Weight: 135; Complexion: Dark Brown; Hair Color: Black; Eye Color: Brown; Next of Kin: Chas Reinelt;
   Household Members (Name) Age Relationship:
   Robert Peter Williams 18 Self (Head).
6. ↑ "Missouri, Reports of Separation Notices, 1941-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2GK-3FYG : accessed 24 October 2017), Robert Williams, 25 Feb 1947; citing Military Service, Fort Sheridan, Lake, Illinois, United States, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City.

• 1950 Census: "1950 United States Federal Census"
  United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: St Louis, St Louis, Missouri; Roll: 118; Sheet Number: 7; Enumeration District: 96-380
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #142597897 (accessed 31 October 2022)
  Robert P William (22), single grandson, in household of Jeanette William (70) in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA. Born in Missouri.

See also:

• Italie, Hillel, "Pioneering actor Robert Guillaume, Emmy-winner for Benson and Soap, dies at 89." CBC News, October 24, 2017.
• Wikipedia: Robert Guillaume
• Wikidata: Item Q465442
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/184579519/robert-guillaume: accessed 31 October 2022), memorial page for Robert Guillaume (30 Nov 1927–24 Oct 2017), Find a Grave Memorial ID 184579519, ; Maintained by Find a Grave Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend.