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