
Robert Preston
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.
Acting (62 movies)

The Last Frontier
1955

Semi-Tough
1977

Junior Bonner
1972

My Outlaw Brother
1951

The Last Starfighter
1984

How the West Was Won
1962

Victor/Victoria
1982

S.O.B.
1981

The Macomber Affair
1947

The Music Man
1962

Mame
1974

The Lady Gambles
1949

Blood on the Moon
1948

Beau Geste
1939

Cloudburst
1951

Whispering Smith
1948

The Sundowners
1950

Wake Island
1942

Union Pacific
1939

Reap the Wild Wind
1942

This Gun for Hire
1942

Rehearsal for Murder
1982

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
1980

Child's Play
1972

North West Mounted Police
1940

The Night of January 16th
1941

New York Town
1941

King of Alcatraz
1938

Tulsa
1949

Star Spangled Rhythm
1942

All the Way Home
1963

Island of Love
1963

Best of the Badmen
1951

Variety Girl
1947

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
1960

The Lady from Cheyenne
1941

Typhoon
1940

Parachute Battalion
1941

Outrage!
1986

Big City
1948

Face to Face
1952

Disbarred
1939

Moon Over Burma
1940

Pacific Blackout
1941

Disclosure
2020

Illegal Traffic
1938

Night of 100 Stars II
1985

Wild Harvest
1947

September Gun
1983

Finnegan Begin Again
1985

When I Grow Up
1951

Night Plane from Chungking
1943

Broadway's Lost Treasures
2003

My Father's House
1975

Wings Up
1943

Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
2015

Sentinels in the Air
1956

Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
2004

Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984

Night of 100 Stars
1982

Confession
1956

Made in Heaven
1956
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