If you're having trouble imagining Robert Goulet as the mature King Arthur rather than the young Lancelot in "Camelot," think about Jordan Ferard.
Jordan is Goulet's grandson. He just turned 8.That puts some perspective on the production of the Lerner and Loewe musical now touring the country once again.
More than a generation ago, in December 1960, Goulet made a stunning Broadway debut as Lancelot in the original production. Even the new president, John F. Kennedy, would quote its lyrics and dream of his own Camelot.
But time moves on and, in November, Goulet will be 60.
Why a tour now as Arthur in "Camelot"?
"Because I wanted to," he says. "It never occurred to me to play Arthur when I played Lancelot, but then in 1975 in Los Angeles we opened (with Goulet as Arthur) at the Dorothy Chandler Auditorium and sold out. Then we did it in Houston in 1990 and sold out again. I wanted to tour it then, but Richard Harris had the rights."
The present tour started last September and is booked until July 1994.
"It's going very well," Goulet said. "We get a standing ovation every night."
Richard Burton was the original king, with a young Julie Andrews as his Guenevere. Asked if there is some of Burton in his own Arthur, Goulet became a little testy.
"Somebody else will have to judge that. I didn't see his performance. I was acting with him. I wasn't in the audience."
Actually, Goulet is following two Richards who have dominated the role. Burton was indelible as the original and Harris starred in the movie. Harris then went on extensive tours, so extensive, in fact, that toward the end he was accused of walking though the part.
Goulet said his Arthur would never do that, but added: "I think he gets a few more laughs than the other two Richards."
And, he said, he is singing better than ever, something that critics have also observed.
Playing Arthur every night is hard work, he said. "The king is more challenging than Lancelot. He runs the gamut of emotins. The songs are not as challenging, except for `How to Handle a Woman' and the duet with the queen (`What Do the Simple Folks Do?'). There are only four songs for the king, and I'm in and out of the first two. But that's the way it's written."
After the original "Camelot," Goulet returned to Broadway in "The Happy Time" in 1967, winning a Tony award. Since then he has appeared in some forgettable movies, starred in Las Vegas, dropped in on TV talk shows and recorded dozens of albums.
He's one of the few stars who still tours, and in 1988 he played Emile de Becque in a road company of "South Pacific."
Because of this tour, Goulet hasn't seen his grandson for some time. The child is the son of Goulet's daughter from his first marriage. "They live in a little town north of L.A. Don't ask me the name. He's a cute little guy. I wish he'd play more sports and get some muscles on him. He's very lithe.
"But of course he's very bright. I'm very proud of him. He's going to get some money put aside in a trust fund every year so that he can go to college."
Goulet also has two sons, Christopher and Michael, from his 12-year marriage to entertainer Carol Lawrence.
With their dark good looks, Goulet and Ms. Lawrence projected an image not unlike Lancelot and Guenevere. But in an autobiography published in 1990, Ms. Lawrence revealed that Goulet drank heavily and physically abused her. He doesn't want to discuss it.
"I didn't read the book. She was a little nasty, but that's her business, not mine."
Since 1982 he has been married to Vera Chochorovsky Novak, who manages their business transactions. On this tour thay are traveling with two cats, a Siamese kitten named Wart (King Arthur's nickname as a child) and an Abyssinian named Vincent. They also have a dog named, of course, Arthur.
Goulet praises his cast: Patricia Kies has "a glorious voice" as Guenevere; Steve Blanchard, 6-foot-5 and with "a marvelous voice" as Lancelot; Kenneth Boys as the nasty Mordred, and the veteran James Valentine as Merlin and Pellinore.
Does he ever look at Blanchard and think about his own Lancelot?
"I just told him: `Thank God you weren't around 32 years ago. I'd be selling pencils."