Robert Preston
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- June 8, 1918
- Died
- March 21, 1987 (aged 68)
- Birthplace
- Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, USA
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.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Disclosure
Movie · as Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Broadway's Lost Treasures
Movie · as Harold Hill (segment "The Music Man")
The World of Hammer
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Outrage!
Movie · as Dennis Riordan
Night of 100 Stars II
Movie · as Self
Finnegan Begin Again
Movie · as Mike Finnegan
The Last Starfighter
Movie · as Centauri
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Movie · as Self - Host
September Gun
Movie · as Ben Sunday
Victor/Victoria
Movie · as Carroll 'Toddy' Todd
Rehearsal for Murder
Movie · as Alex Dennison
Night of 100 Stars
Movie · as Self
S.O.B.
Movie · as Dr. Irving Finegarten
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
Movie · as Stranger
The Chisholms
TV · as Hadley Chisholm · 13 eps
Semi-Tough
Movie · as Big Ed Bookman
My Father's House
Movie · as Tom Lindholm Sr.
Mame
Movie · as Beauregard
Junior Bonner
Movie · as Ace Bonner
Child's Play
Movie · as Joseph Dobbs
All the Way Home
Movie · as Jay Follet
Island of Love
Movie · as Steve Blair
How the West Was Won
Movie · as Roger Morgan
The Music Man
Movie · as Harold Hill
The Merv Griffin Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Movie · as Rubin Flood
The Bell Telephone Hour
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Sentinels in the Air
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Confession
Movie · as Self - Host
Made in Heaven
Movie · as Zachary Meredith
Tony Awards
TV · as Self - Host / Nominee/ Performer, Self - Presenter, Self - Performer, Self - Presenter / Performer · 1 ep
The Last Frontier
Movie · as Col. Frank Marston
The 20th Century Fox Hour
TV · 1 ep
Climax!
TV · as William Struthers, Cleve Gordon, Lt. Hogue · 1 ep
General Electric Theater
TV · as Jim Tweedy · 1 ep
Face to Face
Movie · as Jack Potter
My Outlaw Brother
Movie · as Joe Walter
Cloudburst
Movie · as John Graham
Best of the Badmen
Movie · as Matthew Fowler
When I Grow Up
Movie · as Father Reed
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV · 1 ep
The Sundowners
Movie · as James Cloud ('Kid Wichita')
Lux Video Theatre
TV · as Phil Baxter, Dowey, Jed Kennedy, Kelly, Isaac Eaton, Tom · 1 ep
Your Show of Shows
TV · 2 eps
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV · as Jeff Frazer, Professor Richard Wanley · 1 ep
What's My Line?
TV · as Self · 4 eps
The Lady Gambles
Movie · as David Boothe
Tulsa
Movie · as Brad Brady
Blood on the Moon
Movie · as Tate Riling
Whispering Smith
Movie · as Murray Sinclair
Big City
Movie · as Rev. Philip Y. Andrews
The Macomber Affair
Movie · as Francis Macomber
Variety Girl
Movie · as Robert Preston
Wild Harvest
Movie · as Jim Davis
Night Plane from Chungking
Movie · as Nick Stanton
Wings Up
Movie · as Himself
Wake Island
Movie · as Pvt. Joe Doyle
Reap the Wild Wind
Movie · as Dan Cutler
This Gun for Hire
Movie · as Det. Michael Crane
Star Spangled Rhythm
Movie · as Robert Preston (uncredited)
The Night of January 16th
Movie · as Steve Van Ruyle
New York Town
Movie · as Paul Bryson, Jr.
The Lady from Cheyenne
Movie · as Steve Lewis
Parachute Battalion
Movie · as Donald Morse
Pacific Blackout
Movie · as Robert Draper
North West Mounted Police
Movie · as Ronnie Logan
Typhoon
Movie · as Johnny Potter
Moon Over Burma
Movie · as Chuck Lane
Beau Geste
Movie · as Digby Geste
Union Pacific
Movie · as Dick Allen
Disbarred
Movie · as Bradley Kent
King of Alcatraz
Movie · as Robert MacArthur
Illegal Traffic
Movie · as Charles Bent Martin