Broadway actor Robert Goulet passed away Tuesday at a Los Angeles hospital, aged 73. He had been awaiting a lung transplant, after being diagnosed with a fatal condition, a form of pulmonary fibrosis.

The 73-year-old entertainer had been ill for several weeks. The first symptoms of his disease appeared after a Sept. 20 concert in Syracuse, N. Y., wife Vera Goulet told the Associated Press last week.

He was diagnosed with a form of pulmonary fibrosis that his official website (www.robertgoulet.com) described at the time as a “rapidly progressive and fatal condition.” He was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. A lung transplant was vital but a suitable donor had not been found yet.

When Mrs. Goulet revealed his health problems earlier this month, she said the singer and actor was heavily sedated and breathing through a respirator. “He can hear me but he can't respond,” Mrs. Goulet told the AP at the time.

The veteran artist was reportedly in good spirits as he checked into the hospital to await the lung transplant. He and his wife had last been able to speak some three weeks ago, before he was placed on a respirator, Mrs. Goulet said.

Born to French-Canadian parents in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on November 26, 1933, Goulet made his career debut on Broadway in 1960, as Sir Lancelot in “Camelot.” The musical starred acting legends Richard Burton as King Arthur and Julie Andrews as Queen Guinevere.

Goulet became a household name though his many performances on “The Ed Sullivan Show” during the 1960s. Ed Sullivan was one of his “most enthusiastic fans,” his bio says, and invited Goulet, dubbed “The American Baritone from Canada,” to appear seventeen times on his weekly variety show.

According to the AP, Goulet was already very popular in Canada, hosting his own TV show in the 1950s, called “General Electric's Showtime.” Though born in Massachusetts, Goulet spent his childhood and adolescence in Canada, where his family returned.

He attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and made his first professional appearance at age 16 with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

Goulet won a Grammy Award in 1962 for Best New Artist and a Tony Award in 1968 for his role in “The Happy Time.” He also appeared on Broadway in “Moon Over Buffalo” in 1995 and “La Cage aux Folles” in 2005. In 1993 he participated in a “Camelot” revival, this time playing King Arthur.

His friends and fans reached out to him and his family when he fell ill, as Mrs. Goulet emotionally confessed to the AP last week. She said she received calls and e-mails from around the world, from fans and performers. Fellow artists including comedian Jerry Lewis, actress Suzanne Somers, singer Harry Connick Jr., and Tony Orlando all sent their best wishes to the couple.

Robert Goulet is survived by three children, sons Christopher and Michael and daughter Nicolette, from two previous marriages. He and Macedonian-Yugoslavian-born Vera Chochorovska Novak married in 1982, according to the biography posted on his website. Goulet is also survived by two grandchildren, Jordan Gerard and Solange.

Mrs. Goulet was painfully hopeful for recovery last week, as she told the Associated press: “God willing, if we proceed with this, our doctors feel that there's no reason he will not have at least 15 years of life doing what he does, going back on stage and singing. That's very encouraging.”