Robert Preston
Acting
Born: June 8, 1918 · Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, USA
Died: March 21, 1987 (aged 68)
Highest Rated
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
The Last Starfighter
1984
How the West Was Won
1962
Victor/Victoria
1982
The Music Man
1962
This Gun for Hire
1942
Disclosure
2020
Junior Bonner
1972
Beau Geste
1939
S.O.B.
1981
Union Pacific
1939
Blood on the Moon
1948
Reap the Wild Wind
1942
Photos (4)
Movies (55)
How the West Was Won
Roger Morgan
The Last Starfighter
Centauri
The Last Frontier
Col. Frank Marston
Victor/Victoria
Carroll 'Toddy' Todd
Beau Geste
Digby Geste
Union Pacific
Dick Allen
The Music Man
Harold Hill
Star Spangled Rhythm
Robert Preston (uncredited)
North West Mounted Police
Ronnie Logan
Reap the Wild Wind
Dan Cutler
Semi-Tough
Big Ed Bookman
Mame
Beauregard
This Gun for Hire
Det. Michael Crane
Disclosure
Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)
Blood on the Moon
Tate Riling
Junior Bonner
Ace Bonner
The Lady Gambles
David Boothe
Child's Play
Joseph Dobbs
Tulsa
Brad Brady
The Night of January 16th
Steve Van Ruyle
Variety Girl
Robert Preston
S.O.B.
Dr. Irving Finegarten
Best of the Badmen
Matthew Fowler
Rehearsal for Murder
Alex Dennison
Wake Island
Pvt. Joe Doyle
Outrage!
Dennis Riordan
Parachute Battalion
Donald Morse
The Macomber Affair
Francis Macomber
The Sundowners
James Cloud ('Kid Wichita')
Finnegan Begin Again
Mike Finnegan
Pacific Blackout
Robert Draper
Whispering Smith
Murray Sinclair
Moon Over Burma
Chuck Lane
All the Way Home
Jay Follet
New York Town
Paul Bryson, Jr.
When I Grow Up
Father Reed
September Gun
Ben Sunday
My Father's House
Tom Lindholm Sr.
Wild Harvest
Jim Davis
Big City
Rev. Philip Y. Andrews
Island of Love
Steve Blair
Illegal Traffic
Charles Bent Martin
Night Plane from Chungking
Nick Stanton
Sentinels in the Air
Narrator (voice)
King of Alcatraz
Robert MacArthur
The Lady from Cheyenne
Steve Lewis
Made in Heaven
Zachary Meredith
My Outlaw Brother
Joe Walter
Typhoon
Johnny Potter
Broadway's Lost Treasures
Harold Hill (segment "The Music Man")
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Rubin Flood
Face to Face
Jack Potter
Cloudburst
John Graham
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
Stranger
Disbarred
Bradley Kent
TV Shows (10)
Robert Montgomery Presents
Jeff Frazer · 1 eps
Robert Montgomery Presents
Professor Richard Wanley · 1 eps
Climax!
William Struthers · 1 eps
Climax!
Cleve Gordon · 1 eps
Climax!
Lt. Hogue · 1 eps
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1 eps
Your Show of Shows
2 eps
General Electric Theater
Jim Tweedy · 1 eps
The Chisholms
Hadley Chisholm · 13 eps
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1 eps
Self / Appearances (16)
Tony Awards
Self - Host / Nominee/ Performer · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Host · 2 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Performer · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter / Performer · 1 eps
The Merv Griffin Show
Self · 1 eps
What's My Line?
Self · 4 eps
The Bell Telephone Hour
Self · 1 eps
The World of Hammer
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
Night of 100 Stars
Self
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Self (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
Wings Up
Himself
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Self - Host
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
Self (archive footage)
Confession
Self - Host