Robert Preston
Biography
Robert Preston was an American stage and film actor and singer born Robert Preston Meservey on June 8, 1918, in Newton, Massachusetts. He was the son of a garment worker. Preston is best known for his collaboration with composer Meredith Willson, originating the role of Professor Harold Hill in the 1957 musical The Music Man and the 1962 film adaptation, which earned him his first of two Golden Globe Award nominations. He also collaborated twice with filmmaker Blake Edwards in S.O.B. and Victor/Victoria. For portraying Carroll Toddy Todd in Victor/Victoria, Preston received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 55th Academy Awards. Preston died on March 21, 1987.
Career overview
Robert Preston was an American stage and film actor and singer born on June 8, 1918, in Newton, Massachusetts, as Robert Preston Meservey. His career included seventy-five known acting credits. He was best known for his collaboration with composer Meredith Willson, originating the role of Professor Harold Hill in the 1957 musical The Music Man and subsequently starring in the 1962 film adaptation. The film earned him his first of two Golden Globe Award nominations.
Preston also collaborated twice with filmmaker Blake Edwards, appearing first in the 1981 film S.O.B. and later in Victor/Victoria in 1982. For his portrayal of Carroll Toddy Todd in Victor/Victoria, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 55th Academy Awards. Preston passed away on March 21, 1987, at the age of sixty-eight.
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Career timeline
Full filmography
- Disclosure (2020) as Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)
- Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do (2015) as Self (archive footage)
- Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004) as Self (archive footage)
- Broadway's Lost Treasures (2003) as Harold Hill (segment "The Music Man")
- The World of Hammer (1994) as Self (archive footage)
- Outrage! (1986) as Dennis Riordan
- Night of 100 Stars II (1985) as Self
- Finnegan Begin Again (1985) as Mike Finnegan
- The Last Starfighter (1984) as Centauri
- Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984) as Self - Host
- September Gun (1983) as Ben Sunday
- Victor/Victoria (1982) as Carroll "Toddy" Todd
- Night of 100 Stars (1982) as Self
- Rehearsal for Murder (1982) as Alex Dennison
- S.O.B. (1981) as Dr. Irving Finegarten
- The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (1980) as Stranger
- The Chisholms (1979) as Hadley Chisholm
- Semi-Tough (1977) as Big Ed Bookman
- My Father's House (1975) as Tom Lindholm Sr.
- Mame (1974) as Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside
- Junior Bonner (1972) as Ace Bonner
- Child's Play (1972) as Joseph Dobbs
- All the Way Home (1963) as Jay Follet
- Island of Love (1963) as Steve Blair
- The Merv Griffin Show (1962) as Self
- How the West Was Won (1962) as Roger Morgan
- The Music Man (1962) as Harold Hill
- The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960) as Rubin Flood
- The Bell Telephone Hour (1959) as Self
- Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Host / Nominee/ Performer
- Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Host
- Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Presenter
- Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Performer
- Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Presenter / Performer
- Made in Heaven (1956) as Zachary Meredith
- Sentinels in the Air (1956) as Narrator (voice)
- Confession (1956) as Self - Host
- The 20th Century Fox Hour (1955)
- The Last Frontier (1955) as Col. Frank Marston
- Climax! (1954) as William Struthers
- Climax! (1954) as Cleve Gordon
- Climax! (1954) as Lt. Hogue
- General Electric Theater (1953) as Jim Tweedy
- Face to Face (1952) as Jack Potter
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1951)
- Best of the Badmen (1951) as Matthew Fowler
- When I Grow Up (1951) as Father Reed
- Cloudburst (1951) as John Graham
- My Outlaw Brother (1951) as Joe Walter
- Robert Montgomery Presents (1950) as Jeff Frazer
- Robert Montgomery Presents (1950) as Professor Richard Wanley
- What's My Line? (1950) as Self - Mystery Guest
- What's My Line? (1950) as Self
- Lux Video Theatre (1950) as Phil Baxter
- Lux Video Theatre (1950) as Dowey
- Lux Video Theatre (1950) as Jed Kennedy
- Lux Video Theatre (1950) as Kelly
- Lux Video Theatre (1950) as Isaac Eaton
- Lux Video Theatre (1950) as Tom
- Your Show of Shows (1950)
- The Sundowners (1950) as James Cloud ('Kid Wichita')
- The Lady Gambles (1949) as David Boothe
- Tulsa (1949) as Brad Brady
- Blood on the Moon (1948) as Tate Riling
- Whispering Smith (1948) as Murray Sinclair
- Big City (1948) as Rev. Philip Y. Andrews
- Variety Girl (1947) as Robert Preston
- Wild Harvest (1947) as Jim Davis
- The Macomber Affair (1947) as Francis Macomber
- Wings Up (1943) as Himself
- Night Plane from Chungking (1943) as Nick Stanton
- Reap the Wild Wind (1942) as Dan Cutler
- Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) as Robert Preston (uncredited)
- This Gun for Hire (1942) as Det. Michael Crane
- Wake Island (1942) as Pvt. Joe Doyle
- The Night of January 16th (1941) as Steve Van Ruyle
- Pacific Blackout (1941) as Robert Draper
- Parachute Battalion (1941) as Donald Morse
- The Lady from Cheyenne (1941) as Steve Lewis
- New York Town (1941) as Paul Bryson, Jr.
- North West Mounted Police (1940) as Ronnie Logan
- Moon Over Burma (1940) as Chuck Lane
- Typhoon (1940) as Johnny Potter
- Union Pacific (1939) as Dick Allen
- Beau Geste (1939) as Digby Geste
- Disbarred (1939) as Bradley Kent
- Illegal Traffic (1938) as Charles Bent Martin
- King of Alcatraz (1938) as Robert MacArthur