Actor and singer Robert Guillaume passed away at 89 years old on Wednesday in his Los Angeles home.
The veteran actor was most famous for his roles in “Benson,” “Soap” and as the voice of Rafiki in “The Lion King.” He was also the first Black person to be the title singer in “Phantom of the Opera.”
Guillaume suffered from prostate cancer according to his wife Donna Guillaume. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the actor suffered a troubled childhood as the son of an alcoholic mother living in poverty. His wife said he died peacefully.
“He kinda went the way everyone wishes they could, surrounded by love and in his sleep,” she said according to CNN.
