When Robert Guillaume Played Aaron Sorkin's First Unforgettable Leader

Robert Guillaume, who died Tuesday morning at 89, became familiar on TV largely via Soap and Benson. On both, he played Benson DuBois, who was the butler on Soap but rose on Benson from head of household affairs for the California governor to his own political career as lieutenant governor. Guillaume won an Emmy for playing Benson back in 1979 when he was still on Soap and then an Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series in 1985 — the last black actor to win in the category before Donald Glover for Atlanta earlier this year. Guillaume also voiced Rafiki in The Lion King and appeared onstage in Porgy and Bess, The Phantom Of The Opera and Guys and Dolls (for which he was nominated for a Tony Award).

And from 1998 to 2000, — Aaron Sorkin's first TV show. The one he launched a year before . In some ways, was a lighter, more grounded and Isaac Jaffe was its Jed Bartlet.