Blast from the past: When Robert Goulet was drunk at 10 a.m.

Rita Rose and Robert Goulet at Starlight Musicals, 1972 (IndyStar photo)

When I worked at The Indianapolis Star for 43 years, I spent most of that time as an entertainment reporter, covering movies, musicals, plays, concerts and interviewing celebrities. Some of my interviews were memorable, and not all of my interviews were wonderful.

Chalk this one up as, well, interesting.

The handsome, talented Robert Goulet appeared at our summer outside venue, Starlight Musicals, a couple of times. I interviewed him in 1972 when he did The Robert Goulet Show there and recall him being charming with a touch of arrogance, but a good interview.

Then came 1979 when he was at Starlight for "Carousel." The PR person set up a 10 a.m. interview in a downtown Indianapolis hotel and was there to facilitate. Having PR people at an interview was normal procedure.

It started out OK; we talked about the show and usual career stuff. Then he started pacing around the room and shouting out the answers to questions, and I think he might have gone off-topic. I was sitting on a small couch and he came over and sat right next to me with his face very near mine.

Phew! Drunk at 10 in the morning!

I looked over at the PR gal who was slowly sinking down into her chair. This was a first for me, and I realized I had to stay cool or the interview would end right there. So I kept asking Mr. Snockered some questions, and he kept answering them, getting up to pace around the room again.

The PR gal was deer-in-the-headlights across the room. I couldn't wait for it to be over. On the way out she apologized and told me his behavior could be due to his impending divorce from actress/dancer/singer Carol Lawrence, whom he married in 1963. (Carol Lawrence is a distant cousin to me through marriage, whom I also interviewed at Starlight, but that’s another story.)

When I got back to the office to write the story I had a dilemma: Do I make it juicy and focus on his shocking behavior, possibly affecting ticket sales for the rest of the week and embarrassing Starlight? Or do I write it up as a normal interview as if the subject had been sober? I took the high road, even though the low road would have been a better story.

The next day, after the story was in the morning paper, my phone rang. It was the PR gal who was with me at the interview. "Thank you, thank you SO much!" she said.

I hope she didn't have to sink into any more hotel chairs the rest of the week.

— Rita Rose

Great Day TV staff

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