Robert Preston
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Jun 8, 1918
- Died
- Mar 21, 1987 (aged 68)
- Place of birth
- Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, USA
- Credits
- 75
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
The Last Starfighter
1984Movie
Centauri
How the West Was Won
1962Movie
Roger Morgan
Victor/Victoria
1982Movie
Carroll 'Toddy' Todd
The Music Man
1962Movie
Harold Hill
This Gun for Hire
1942Movie
Det. Michael Crane
Disclosure
2020Movie
Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)
Filmography
Disclosure
2020Movie
Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
2015Movie
Self (archive footage)
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
2004Movie
Self (archive footage)
Broadway's Lost Treasures
2003Movie
Harold Hill (segment "The Music Man")
The World of Hammer
1994TV
Self (archive footage)
Outrage!
1986Movie
Dennis Riordan
Night of 100 Stars II
1985Movie
Self
Finnegan Begin Again
1985Movie
Mike Finnegan
The Last Starfighter
1984Movie
Centauri
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984Movie
Self - Host
September Gun
1983Movie
Ben Sunday
Rehearsal for Murder
1982Movie
Alex Dennison
Victor/Victoria
1982Movie
Carroll 'Toddy' Todd
Night of 100 Stars
1982Movie
Self
S.O.B.
1981Movie
Dr. Irving Finegarten
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
1980Movie
Stranger
The Chisholms
1979TV
Hadley Chisholm
Semi-Tough
1977Movie
Big Ed Bookman
My Father's House
1975Movie
Tom Lindholm Sr.
Mame
1974Movie
Beauregard
Child's Play
1972Movie
Joseph Dobbs
Junior Bonner
1972Movie
Ace Bonner
All the Way Home
1963Movie
Jay Follet
Island of Love
1963Movie
Steve Blair
How the West Was Won
1962Movie
Roger Morgan
The Merv Griffin Show
1962TV
Self
The Music Man
1962Movie
Harold Hill
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
1960Movie
Rubin Flood
The Bell Telephone Hour
1959TV
Self
Made in Heaven
1956Movie
Zachary Meredith
Confession
1956Movie
Self - Host
Tony Awards
1956TV
Self - Host / Nominee/ Performer, Self - Host, Self - Presenter, Self - Performer, Self - Presenter / Performer
Sentinels in the Air
1956Movie
Narrator (voice)
The Last Frontier
1955Movie
Col. Frank Marston
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955TV
Climax!
1954TV
William Struthers, Cleve Gordon, Lt. Hogue
General Electric Theater
1953TV
Jim Tweedy
Face to Face
1952Movie
Jack Potter
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951TV
My Outlaw Brother
1951Movie
Joe Walter
Best of the Badmen
1951Movie
Matthew Fowler
Cloudburst
1951Movie
John Graham
When I Grow Up
1951Movie
Father Reed
Lux Video Theatre
1950TV
Phil Baxter, Dowey, Jed Kennedy, Kelly, Isaac Eaton, Tom
Your Show of Shows
1950TV
The Sundowners
1950Movie
James Cloud ('Kid Wichita')
What's My Line?
1950TV
Self
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950TV
Jeff Frazer, Professor Richard Wanley
The Lady Gambles
1949Movie
David Boothe
Tulsa
1949Movie
Brad Brady
Whispering Smith
1948Movie
Murray Sinclair
Blood on the Moon
1948Movie
Tate Riling
Big City
1948Movie
Rev. Philip Y. Andrews
Wild Harvest
1947Movie
Jim Davis
Variety Girl
1947Movie
Robert Preston
The Macomber Affair
1947Movie
Francis Macomber
Night Plane from Chungking
1943Movie
Nick Stanton
Wings Up
1943Movie
Himself
Wake Island
1942Movie
Pvt. Joe Doyle
This Gun for Hire
1942Movie
Det. Michael Crane
Reap the Wild Wind
1942Movie
Dan Cutler
Star Spangled Rhythm
1942Movie
Robert Preston (uncredited)
Pacific Blackout
1941Movie
Robert Draper
The Night of January 16th
1941Movie
Steve Van Ruyle
New York Town
1941Movie
Paul Bryson, Jr.
Parachute Battalion
1941Movie
Donald Morse
The Lady from Cheyenne
1941Movie
Steve Lewis
North West Mounted Police
1940Movie
Ronnie Logan
Moon Over Burma
1940Movie
Chuck Lane
Typhoon
1940Movie
Johnny Potter
Beau Geste
1939Movie
Digby Geste
Union Pacific
1939Movie
Dick Allen
Disbarred
1939Movie
Bradley Kent
Illegal Traffic
1938Movie
Charles Bent Martin
King of Alcatraz
1938Movie
Robert MacArthur