Robert Preston
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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.
Known for
Credits
How the West Was Won (1962)
as Roger Morgan
Victor/Victoria (1982)
as Carroll 'Toddy' Todd
The Last Starfighter (1984)
as Centauri
This Gun for Hire (1942)
as Det. Michael Crane
The Music Man (1962)
as Harold Hill
Blood on the Moon (1948)
as Tate Riling
The Last Frontier (1955)
as Col. Frank Marston
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
as Dan Cutler
Mame (1974)
as Beauregard
Best of the Badmen (1951)
as Matthew Fowler
North West Mounted Police (1940)
as Ronnie Logan
Junior Bonner (1972)
as Ace Bonner
Night of 100 Stars (1982)
as Self
Union Pacific (1939)
as Dick Allen
S.O.B. (1981)
as Dr. Irving Finegarten
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004)
as Self (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars II (1985)
as Self
Semi-Tough (1977)
as Big Ed Bookman
Disclosure (2020)
as Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)
The Lady Gambles (1949)
as David Boothe
Broadway's Lost Treasures (2003)
as Harold Hill (segment "The Music Man")
Beau Geste (1939)
as Digby Geste
My Father's House (1975)
as Tom Lindholm Sr.
Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984)
as Self - Host
Outrage! (1986)
as Dennis Riordan
All the Way Home (1963)
as Jay Follet
Whispering Smith (1948)
as Murray Sinclair
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960)
as Rubin Flood
The Macomber Affair (1947)
as Francis Macomber
The Night of January 16th (1941)
as Steve Van Ruyle
The Sundowners (1950)
as James Cloud ('Kid Wichita')
Tulsa (1949)
as Brad Brady
When I Grow Up (1951)
as Father Reed
Wake Island (1942)
as Pvt. Joe Doyle
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do (2015)
as Self (archive footage)
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (1980)
as Stranger
Wings Up (1943)
as Himself
Finnegan Begin Again (1985)
as Mike Finnegan
Child's Play (1972)
as Joseph Dobbs
Island of Love (1963)
as Steve Blair
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
as Robert Preston (uncredited)
The Lady from Cheyenne (1941)
as Steve Lewis
Pacific Blackout (1941)
as Robert Draper
Variety Girl (1947)
as Robert Preston
New York Town (1941)
as Paul Bryson, Jr.
Rehearsal for Murder (1982)
as Alex Dennison
Sentinels in the Air (1956)
as Narrator (voice)
King of Alcatraz (1938)
as Robert MacArthur
Night Plane from Chungking (1943)
as Nick Stanton
Big City (1948)
as Rev. Philip Y. Andrews
Made in Heaven (1956)
as Zachary Meredith
September Gun (1983)
as Ben Sunday
Parachute Battalion (1941)
as Donald Morse
Face to Face (1952)
as Jack Potter
Moon Over Burma (1940)
as Chuck Lane
My Outlaw Brother (1951)
as Joe Walter
Illegal Traffic (1938)
as Charles Bent Martin
Cloudburst (1951)
as John Graham
Wild Harvest (1947)
as Jim Davis
Disbarred (1939)
as Bradley Kent
Typhoon (1940)
as Johnny Potter
Confession (1956)
as Self - Host