Robert Preston
Acting • Born 1918-06-08 – Died 1987-03-21
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.
Filmography
83 credits
The Last Frontier
Movie • 1955
Col. Frank Marston
Semi-Tough
Movie • 1977
Big Ed Bookman
Junior Bonner
Movie • 1972
Ace Bonner
My Outlaw Brother
Movie • 1951
Joe Walter
The Last Starfighter
Movie • 1984
Centauri
How the West Was Won
Movie • 1962
Roger Morgan
Victor/Victoria
Movie • 1982
Carroll "Toddy" Todd
S.O.B.
Movie • 1981
Dr. Irving Finegarten
The Music Man
Movie • 1962
Harold Hill
The Macomber Affair
Movie • 1947
Francis Macomber
Mame
Movie • 1974
Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside
The Lady Gambles
Movie • 1949
David Boothe
Blood on the Moon
Movie • 1948
Tate Riling
Beau Geste
Movie • 1939
Digby Geste
Cloudburst
Movie • 1951
John Graham
Whispering Smith
Movie • 1948
Murray Sinclair
The Sundowners
Movie • 1950
James Cloud ('Kid Wichita')
Wake Island
Movie • 1942
Pvt. Joe Doyle
Union Pacific
Movie • 1939
Dick Allen
Reap the Wild Wind
Movie • 1942
Dan Cutler
This Gun for Hire
Movie • 1942
Det. Michael Crane
Rehearsal for Murder
Movie • 1982
Alex Dennison
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
Movie • 1980
Stranger
Child's Play
Movie • 1972
Joseph Dobbs
North West Mounted Police
Movie • 1940
Ronnie Logan
The Night of January 16th
Movie • 1941
Steve Van Ruyle
New York Town
Movie • 1941
Paul Bryson, Jr.
King of Alcatraz
Movie • 1938
Robert MacArthur
Tulsa
Movie • 1949
Brad Brady
Star Spangled Rhythm
Movie • 1942
Robert Preston (uncredited)
All the Way Home
Movie • 1963
Jay Follet
Island of Love
Movie • 1963
Steve Blair
Best of the Badmen
Movie • 1951
Matthew Fowler
Variety Girl
Movie • 1947
Robert Preston
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Movie • 1960
Rubin Flood
The Lady from Cheyenne
Movie • 1941
Steve Lewis
Typhoon
Movie • 1940
Johnny Potter
Parachute Battalion
Movie • 1941
Donald Morse
Outrage!
Movie • 1986
Dennis Riordan
Big City
Movie • 1948
Rev. Philip Y. Andrews
Face to Face
Movie • 1952
Jack Potter
Disbarred
Movie • 1939
Bradley Kent
Moon Over Burma
Movie • 1940
Chuck Lane
Pacific Blackout
Movie • 1941
Robert Draper
Disclosure
Movie • 2020
Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)
Illegal Traffic
Movie • 1938
Charles Bent Martin
Night of 100 Stars II
Movie • 1985
Self
Wild Harvest
Movie • 1947
Jim Davis
September Gun
Movie • 1983
Ben Sunday
Finnegan Begin Again
Movie • 1985
Mike Finnegan
When I Grow Up
Movie • 1951
Father Reed
Night Plane from Chungking
Movie • 1943
Nick Stanton
Broadway's Lost Treasures
Movie • 2003
Harold Hill (segment "The Music Man")
My Father's House
Movie • 1975
Tom Lindholm Sr.
Wings Up
Movie • 1943
Himself
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
Movie • 2015
Self (archive footage)
Sentinels in the Air
Movie • 1956
Narrator (voice)
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Movie • 2004
Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Movie • 1984
Self - Host
Night of 100 Stars
Movie • 1982
Self
Confession
Movie • 1956
Self - Host
Made in Heaven
Movie • 1956
Zachary Meredith
The Merv Griffin Show
TV • 1962
Self
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Jim Tweedy
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Phil Baxter
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Your Show of Shows
TV • 1950
Climax!
TV • 1954
William Struthers
The 20th Century Fox Hour
TV • 1955
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV • 1950
Jeff Frazer
The Chisholms
TV • 1979
Hadley Chisholm
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Dowey
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Jed Kennedy
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Kelly
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Isaac Eaton
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Tom
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV • 1950
Professor Richard Wanley
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self - Mystery Guest
Climax!
TV • 1954
Cleve Gordon
Climax!
TV • 1954
Lt. Hogue
The Bell Telephone Hour
TV • 1959
Self
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self
The World of Hammer
TV • 1994
Self (archive footage)