Robert Preston
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.
Fotos
Películas (62)
Disclosure
2020 · Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
2015 · Self (archive footage)
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
2004 · Self (archive footage)
Broadway's Lost Treasures
2003 · Harold Hill (segment "The Music Man")
Outrage!
1986 · Dennis Riordan
Night of 100 Stars II
1985 · Self
Finnegan Begin Again
1985 · Mike Finnegan
The Last Starfighter
1984 · Centauri
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984 · Self - Host
September Gun
1983 · Ben Sunday
Rehearsal for Murder
1982 · Alex Dennison
Victor/Victoria
1982 · Carroll 'Toddy' Todd
Night of 100 Stars
1982 · Self
S.O.B.
1981 · Dr. Irving Finegarten
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
1980 · Stranger
Semi-Tough
1977 · Big Ed Bookman
My Father's House
1975 · Tom Lindholm Sr.
Mame
1974 · Beauregard
Child's Play
1972 · Joseph Dobbs
Junior Bonner
1972 · Ace Bonner
All the Way Home
1963 · Jay Follet
Island of Love
1963 · Steve Blair
How the West Was Won
1962 · Roger Morgan
The Music Man
1962 · Harold Hill
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
1960 · Rubin Flood
Made in Heaven
1956 · Zachary Meredith
Confession
1956 · Self - Host
Sentinels in the Air
1956 · Narrator (voice)
The Last Frontier
1955 · Col. Frank Marston
Face to Face
1952 · Jack Potter
My Outlaw Brother
1951 · Joe Walter
Best of the Badmen
1951 · Matthew Fowler
Cloudburst
1951 · John Graham
When I Grow Up
1951 · Father Reed
The Sundowners
1950 · James Cloud ('Kid Wichita')
The Lady Gambles
1949 · David Boothe
Tulsa
1949 · Brad Brady
Whispering Smith
1948 · Murray Sinclair
Blood on the Moon
1948 · Tate Riling
Big City
1948 · Rev. Philip Y. Andrews
Wild Harvest
1947 · Jim Davis
Variety Girl
1947 · Robert Preston
The Macomber Affair
1947 · Francis Macomber
Night Plane from Chungking
1943 · Nick Stanton
Wings Up
1943 · Himself
Wake Island
1942 · Pvt. Joe Doyle
This Gun for Hire
1942 · Det. Michael Crane
Reap the Wild Wind
1942 · Dan Cutler
Star Spangled Rhythm
1942 · Robert Preston (uncredited)
Pacific Blackout
1941 · Robert Draper
The Night of January 16th
1941 · Steve Van Ruyle
New York Town
1941 · Paul Bryson, Jr.
Parachute Battalion
1941 · Donald Morse
The Lady from Cheyenne
1941 · Steve Lewis
North West Mounted Police
1940 · Ronnie Logan
Moon Over Burma
1940 · Chuck Lane
Typhoon
1940 · Johnny Potter
Beau Geste
1939 · Digby Geste
Union Pacific
1939 · Dick Allen
Disbarred
1939 · Bradley Kent
Illegal Traffic
1938 · Charles Bent Martin
King of Alcatraz
1938 · Robert MacArthur
Series (13)
The World of Hammer
1994 · Self (archive footage)
The Chisholms
1979 · Hadley Chisholm
The Merv Griffin Show
1962 · Self
The Bell Telephone Hour
1959 · Self
Tony Awards
1956 · Self - Host / Nominee/ Performer, Self - Host, Self - Presenter, Self - Performer, Self - Presenter / Performer
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Climax!
1954 · William Struthers, Cleve Gordon, Lt. Hogue
General Electric Theater
1953 · Jim Tweedy
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Lux Video Theatre
1950 · Phil Baxter, Dowey, Jed Kennedy, Kelly, Isaac Eaton, Tom
Your Show of Shows
1950
What's My Line?
1950 · Self
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950 · Jeff Frazer, Professor Richard Wanley