Goulet was as about as old school as you can get when it comes to the entertainment business. He ran old Vegas with the likes of Sinatra and that old pirate himself, Wayne Newton.
Goulet was infamous in Maine for his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner before the Ali-Liston fight that took place in Lewiston in 1965.
According to the AP, in an interview with online boxing writer Barry Lindenman, he said: "Even though I had never sung the national anthem, I said 'OK' because I wanted to see the fight," Goulet said. "So I went and had dinner with the governor (John Reed) that night. I left the table three times to go to the porch and practice.
"The fight lasted a minute and a half, and they blamed me,” Goulet lamented. “I walked into Lewiston, Maine, a hero because I had a French-Canadian background and I spoke their language. The fight lasted a minute and a half. They blamed me, and I walked out of town a bum."
For people my age Goulet is better known for parodying himself and his roles in films like "The Naked Gun 2: The Smell of Fear," and "G-Men From Hell" (Videoport might be your best bet for finding that one.).
Of course there is also the classic turn he did on the Simpsons episode "$pringfield," where he shows up to do a few tunes at Bart's casino. (I'd have a clip but you can thank Fox for disappearing from YouTube.)
But, here instead is one of Mr. G's commercials for ESPN college basketball he did years ago.
If as many folks stop to think about Mr. G today as have emailed me about his death...well, there will at least be a few more people thinking Goulet today.
Tonight let's all sing a tune and raise a glass to Mr. G. Salut, you old pirate.
Goodbye Bobby G. I hope heaven is as good to you as earth was.
You had class that money can't buy, it was the kind with which you are born.
Not just because of your acting, singing, style of dress, Christmas card flare (seriously check them out online) but because you had a sense of humor about it all.
I'll be in Vegas next week and thinking of you while I am there.
Justin is a former newspaper intern and has the scar tissue to prove
it. Justin has been a staff writer for the Portland Press Herald/Maine
Sunday Telegram since 2003, and in 2004 began writing a weekly column in the
Monday Magazine.
If he had to pick a label, the column would fall under "youth culture,"
covering everything from high school dance etiquette, dealing with college
debt, the resurgence of Roller Derby and Portland's one-of-a-kind music
scene. This of course has not stopped him from answering letters to Santa
Claus or writing about his experience riding shotgun in a drift car.
Justin is an export from the Midwest. He is a graduate of the University of
Missouri and is originally from Minnesota. He enjoys bacon, cheap beer,
redheads, Burt Reynolds jokes and wondering what the soundtrack to his life
would sound like.
When he grows up he wants to be an international art thief. Or Captain
America.
Until then he'll be bringing you dispatches about "the young people" and
what they do.
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