Robert Preston

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: Acting

Born: Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, USA, 1918-06-08

Died: 1987-03-21

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1938	King of Alcatraz	Robert MacArthur	57
2	1938	Illegal Traffic	Charles Bent Martin	65
3	1939	Disbarred	Bradley Kent	60
4	1939	Union Pacific	Dick Allen	65
5	1939	Beau Geste	Digby Geste	70
6	1940	Typhoon	Johnny Potter	50
7	1940	Moon Over Burma	Chuck Lane	50
8	1940	North West Mounted Police	Ronnie Logan	63
9	1941	The Lady from Cheyenne	Steve Lewis	52
10	1941	Parachute Battalion	Donald Morse	55
11	1941	New York Town	Paul Bryson, Jr.	100
12	1941	The Night of January 16th	Steve Van Ruyle	50
13	1941	Pacific Blackout	Robert Draper	63
14	1942	Star Spangled Rhythm	Robert Preston (uncredited)	59
15	1942	Reap the Wild Wind	Dan Cutler	64
16	1942	This Gun for Hire	Det. Michael Crane	69
17	1942	Wake Island	Pvt. Joe Doyle	57
18	1943	Wings Up	Himself	52
19	1943	Night Plane from Chungking	Nick Stanton	60
20	1947	The Macomber Affair	Francis Macomber	62
21	1947	Variety Girl	Robert Preston	61
22	1947	Wild Harvest	Jim Davis	0
23	1948	Big City	Rev. Philip Y. Andrews	72
24	1948	Blood on the Moon	Tate Riling	62
25	1948	Whispering Smith	Murray Sinclair	65
26	1949	Tulsa	Brad Brady	61
27	1949	The Lady Gambles	David Boothe	60
28	1950	The Sundowners	James Cloud ('Kid Wichita')	54
29	1951	When I Grow Up	Father Reed	65
30	1951	Cloudburst	John Graham	63
31	1951	Best of the Badmen	Matthew Fowler	65
32	1951	My Outlaw Brother	Joe Walter	55
33	1952	Face to Face	Jack Potter	57
34	1955	The Last Frontier	Col. Frank Marston	61
35	1956	Sentinels in the Air	Narrator (voice)	0
36	1956	Confession	Self - Host	0
37	1960	The Dark at the Top of the Stairs	Rubin Flood	67
38	1962	The Music Man	Harold Hill	71
39	1962	How the West Was Won	Roger Morgan	70
40	1963	Island of Love	Steve Blair	53
41	1963	All the Way Home	Jay Follet	65
42	1972	Junior Bonner	Ace Bonner	61
43	1972	Child's Play	Joseph Dobbs	60
44	1974	Mame	Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside	60
45	1975	My Father's House	Tom Lindholm Sr.	0
46	1977	Semi-Tough	Big Ed Bookman	56
47	1980	The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg	Stranger	0
48	1981	S.O.B.	Dr. Irving Finegarten	59
49	1982	Night of 100 Stars	Self	67
50	1982	Victor/Victoria	Carole "Toddy" Todd	73
51	1982	Rehearsal for Murder	Alex Dennison	60
52	1983	September Gun	Ben Sunday	53
53	1984	Going Hollywood: The '30s	Self - Host	100
54	1984	The Last Starfighter	Centauri	66
55	1985	Finnegan Begin Again	Mike Finnegan	63
56	1985	Night of 100 Stars II	Self	80
57	1986	Outrage!	Dennis Riordan	50
58	2003	Broadway's Lost Treasures	Harold Hill (segment "The Music Man")	61
59	2004	Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade	Self (archive footage)	74
60	2015	Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do	Self (archive footage)	0
61	2020	Disclosure	Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)	79

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1950	Robert Montgomery Presents	Jeff Frazer	56
2	1950	Robert Montgomery Presents	Professor Richard Wanley	56
3	1950	What's My Line?	Self - Mystery Guest	69
4	1950	What's My Line?	Self - Panelist	69
5	1950	Your Show of Shows		63
6	1950	Lux Video Theatre	Phil Baxter	63
7	1950	Lux Video Theatre	Dowey	63
8	1950	Lux Video Theatre	Jed Kennedy	63
9	1950	Lux Video Theatre	Kelly	63
10	1950	Lux Video Theatre	Isaac Eaton	63
11	1950	Lux Video Theatre	Tom	63
12	1951	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars		73
13	1953	General Electric Theater	Jim Tweedy	63
14	1954	Climax!	William Struthers	33
15	1954	Climax!	Cleve Gordon	33
16	1954	Climax!	Lt. Hogue	33
17	1955	The 20th Century Fox Hour		54
18	1956	Tony Awards	Self - Presenter / Performer	51
19	1956	Tony Awards	Self - Host / Nominee/ Performer	51
20	1956	Tony Awards	Self - Host	51
21	1956	Tony Awards	Self - Presenter	51
22	1956	Tony Awards	Self - Performer	51
23	1959	The Bell Telephone Hour	Self	73
24	1962	The Merv Griffin Show	Self	58
25	1979	The Chisholms	Hadley Chisholm	62

Robert Preston

Film

Television