Robert Preston

Robert Preston

  • Birthday: 1918-06-08
  • Deathday: 1987-03-21
  • Place of birth: Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, USA
  • Also know as: Robert Preston Meservey

Biography

Robert Preston (June 8, 1918 – March 21, 1987) was an American stage and film actor and singer, best known for his collaboration with composer Meredith Willson and originating the role of Professor Harold Hill in the 1957 musical The Music Man and the 1962 film adaptation; the film earned him his first of two Golden Globe Award nominations. Preston collaborated twice with filmmaker Blake Edwards, first in S.O.B. (1981) and again in Victor/Victoria (1982). For portraying Carroll "Toddy" Todd in the latter, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 55th Academy Awards. Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of a garment worker and a record store clerk. He attended Abraham Lincoln High School, training as a musician and playing several instruments, but quit at age sixteen to study acting at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. Preston made his Broadway debut in 1940 in the play The Philadelphia Story. He went on to star in a number of successful Broadway musicals, including The Pajama Game (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), and I Do! I Do! (1966). He also appeared in a number of films, including The Music Man (1962), The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960), and Victor/Victoria (1982). Preston was a versatile actor who could play a wide range of roles. He was known for his charisma, his singing voice, and his comic timing. He was a two-time Tony Award winner and was nominated for an Academy Award. He was also a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Preston died of cancer in 1987 at the age of 68. He was survived by his wife, Catherine Craig; the couple had no children. A biography of the actor, @Robert Preston - Forever The Music Man”, was published in 2022.

Filmography

The Music Man

1962

As Harold Hill

Cloudburst

1951

As John Graham

The Sundowners

1950

As James Cloud ('Kid Wichita')

The Night of January 16th

1941

As Steve Van Ruyle

Island of Love

1963

As Steve Blair

Outrage!

1986

As Dennis Riordan

Parachute Battalion

1941

As Donald Morse

Pacific Blackout

1941

As Robert Draper

September Gun

1983

As Ben Sunday

Night Plane from Chungking

1943

As Nick Stanton

Sentinels in the Air

1956

As Narrator (voice)

Going Hollywood: The '30s

1984

As Self - Host

Junior Bonner

1972

As Ace Bonner

The Last Starfighter

1984

As Centauri

The Lady Gambles

1949

As David Boothe

Whispering Smith

1948

As Murray Sinclair

Rehearsal for Murder

1982

As Alex Dennison

Child's Play

1972

As Joseph Dobbs

Tulsa

1949

As Brad Brady

All the Way Home

1963

As Jay Follet

The Lady from Cheyenne

1941

As Steve Lewis

Typhoon

1940

As Johnny Potter

Big City

1948

As Rev. Philip Y. Andrews

Disbarred

1939

As Bradley Kent

Moon Over Burma

1940

As Chuck Lane

Finnegan Begin Again

1985

As Mike Finnegan

When I Grow Up

1951

As Father Reed

My Father's House

1975

As Tom Lindholm Sr.

The Last Frontier

1955

As Frank Marston

My Outlaw Brother

1951

As Joe Walter

Victor/Victoria

1982

As Carroll "Toddy" Todd

Mame

1974

As Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside

The Macomber Affair

1947

As Francis Macomber

Blood on the Moon

1948

As Tate Riling

Beau Geste

1939

As Digby Geste

Wake Island

1942

As Pvt. Joe Doyle

This Gun for Hire

1942

As Det. Michael Crane

New York Town

1941

As Paul Bryson, Jr.

Illegal Traffic

1938

As Charles Bent Martin

Wild Harvest

1947

As Jim Davis

Semi-Tough

1977

As Big Ed Bookman

Union Pacific

1939

As Dick Allen

Best of the Badmen

1951

As Matthew Fowler

Reap the Wild Wind

1942

As Dan Cutler

North West Mounted Police

1940

As Ronnie Logan

King of Alcatraz

1938

As Robert MacArthur

Face to Face

1952

As Jack Potter

Wings Up

1943

As Himself

How the West Was Won

1962

As Roger Morgan

S.O.B.

1981

As Dr. Irving Finegarten

Broadway's Lost Treasures

2003

As Harold Hill (segment "The Music Man")

Variety Girl

1947

As Robert Preston

Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do

2015

As Self (archive footage)

Star Spangled Rhythm

1942

As Robert Preston (uncredited)

Disclosure

2020

As Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)

Night of 100 Stars

1982

As Self

keyboard_arrow_up