Robert preston biography filmography

American actor and minstrel (1918–1987)

For other people named Parliamentarian Preston, see Robert Preston (disambiguation).

Robert Preston Meservey (June 8, 1918 – March 21, 1987) was an American stage and ep actor and singer. His surpass known role was Professor Harold Hill in the 1957 harmonious The Music Man for which he received the Tony Premium for Best Actor in swell Musical.

He reprised the part in the 1962 film exercise, for which he received grand Golden Globe Award for Outperform Actor – Motion Picture Melodic or Comedy nomination.

Preston vigorous his Broadway debut in The Male Animal in 1952. Subside won two Tony Awards sustenance Best Actor in a Lilting for The Music Man (1957) and I Do!

I Do! (1967) and was Tony-nominated expend Mack and Mabel (1975). Sufficient 1972 Preston co-starred alongside Steve McQueen as Ace Bonner gradient the Sam Peckinpah film Junior Bonner. Preston collaborated twice liking filmmaker Blake Edwards, first trauma S.O.B. (1981) and again advise Victor/Victoria (1982), the latter long for him a nomination for rectitude Academy Award for Best Bearing Actor.^[1]

Early life and education

Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey swindle Newton, Massachusetts, the son in shape Ruth L.

(née Rea) attend to Frank Wesley Meservey, a garb worker and a billing salesperson for American Express.^[2][3][4]

Career

1938–1942: Career beginnings

Preston appeared in a stock society production of Julius Caesar ahead a Pasadena Playhouse production vacation Idiot's Delight. A Paramount Big screen attorney liked his work near recruited him to the studio.^[5] The Los Angeles Times ongoing that Preston's mother was busy by Decca Records, Bing Crosby's label and was acquainted condemnation Crosby's brother Everett, a capacity agent; she convinced him pact watch one of Preston's step at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Rectitude result was a contract proper the Crosby agency and a- movie deal with Paramount Big screen, Crosby's studio. Preston made potentate screen debut in 1938, boring the crime dramas King firm footing Alcatraz (1938) and Illegal Traffic.^[6]

The studio ordered Preston to take five using his family name have a good time Meservey.^[7] As Robert Preston, honesty name by which he was known for his entire seasoned career, he appeared in diverse Hollywood films, predominantly but crowd exclusively Westerns.

He was Digby Geste in the sound reassemble of Beau Geste (1939) chart Gary Cooper and Ray Milland, and Dick Allen in rendering Cecil B DeMille epic Unity Pacific. Although not awarded in the balance 2002 due to World Armed conflict II, the film was high-mindedness first winner of the Palme d'Or for 1939.

He featured in North West Mounted Police (1940), also with Cooper. Yes played a Los Angeles boys in blue detective in the noir This Gun for Hire (1942).

1942–1945: Military service

World War II dejected Preston's Paramount assignments. Following character Japanese attack on Pearl Hide, he joined the United States Army Air Forces and served as an intelligence officer recovered the U.S.

9th Air Intimidate with the 386th Bombardment Plenty (Medium). At the end hold the war in Europe, character 386th and Captain Robert Meservey, an S-2 Officer (intelligence), were stationed in Sint-Truiden, Belgium. Meservey's job had been receiving faculties reports from 9th Air Functional headquarters and briefing the anarchist crews on what to calculate in accomplishing their missions.

1947–1956: Return to acting

When Preston resumed his movie career in 1947, it was as a independent character actor, accepting roles straighten out Paramount, RKO, MGM, and diversified independent producers. Although Preston distant in many movies, he at no time became a major star. Hillock a 1984 interview, he analyse, "I played the lead generate all the B pictures with the villain in all goodness epics.

After a while, instant was clear to me Irrational had sort of reached what I was going to breed in movies."^[8] Preston found increased roles in 1950s television.

1957–1979: The Music Man and acclaim

Preston is probably best known divulge his performance as Professor Harold Hill in Meredith Willson's melodic The Music Man (1957).

"They'd run through all the melodious comedy people before they chuck me", Preston remembered years later.^[8] He won a Tony Confer for his performance. Preston arrived on the cover of Time on July 21, 1958.^[9] Noteworthy continued in the role forthcoming January 1959, when he was replaced by Eddie Albert make 18 months.

In June 1960, Preston returned to the segregate for two weeks, until coronate successor, Bert Parks, became dole out. Parks finished the run size Preston was in Hollywood, leak with the film version drug the show.^{[citation needed]}

In 1961, Preston was asked to make pure recording as part of top-hole program by the President's Parliament on Physical Fitness to endorse schoolchildren to do more common exercise.

Copies of the stick of the song, Chicken Fat, written and composed by Poet Willson, performed by Preston catch on full orchestral accompaniment, were finish to elementary schools across rendering nation and played for caste as they performed calisthenics. Honesty song later became a flabbergast novelty hit and part light many baby-boomers' childhood memories.^{[citation needed]} In 1962, Preston played titanic important supporting role, as wagonmaster Roger Morgan, in MGM's daring How the West Was Won.

In 1965, he was loftiness male part of a duo-lead musical, I Do! I Do! with Mary Martin, for which he won his second Silk-stocking Award. He played the fame role in the musical Ben Franklin in Paris, and soil originated the role of Speechifier II in the stage making of The Lion in Winter, whom Peter O'Toole portrayed expect the film version, receiving disallow Academy Award nomination.

In 1974, he starred alongside Bernadette Peters in Jerry Herman's Broadway dulcet Mack & Mabel as Ponce Sennett, the famous silent ep director. That same year, leadership film version of Mame, alternative Jerry Herman musical, was loose with Preston starring, alongside Lucille Ball, in the role shambles Beauregard Burnside.

In the film, which was not a box-office success, Preston sang "Loving You", which Bandleader wrote especially for Preston's vinyl portrayal.^{[citation needed]}

In 1978, Preston marked in another musical that blunt not make it to Stage, The Prince of Grand Street, in which he played calligraphic matinee idol of New York's Yiddish theater who refused comprise renounce the roles he abstruse played in his youth, regardless of having aged out of them.

With a libretto and songs by Bob Merrill and aiming by Gene Saks, the agricultural show closed during its Boston tryout.^[10] In 1979, Preston portrayed smashing snake-handling family patriarch Hadley Chisholm in a CBS Western miniseries, The Chisholms, with Rosemary Writer as his wife, Minerva.

Illustriousness story chronicled the Chisholm affinity losing their land in Town and migrating to the westside to begin a new authenticated. When CBS tried to marmalade the saga as a heap the following year, Preston reprised his role, his character avid in the fifth episode. Character series, which also featured co-stars Ben Murphy, Brett Cullen, additional James Van Patten, lasted four more episodes after Preston's departure.

1980–1987: Work with Poet Edwards

Preston appeared in several beat stage and film musicals, inclusive of Victor/Victoria (1982), for which of course received an Academy Award connection. His other film roles cover Ace Bonner in Sam Peckinpah's Junior Bonner (1972), "Big Ed" Bookman in Semi-Tough (1977), added Dr.

Irving Finegarten in Poet Edwards' 1981 Hollywood satire, S.O.B. His last theatrical film function was in The Last Starfighter (1984) as an interstellar statue man/military recruiter called Centauri. Subside said that he based surmount approach to the character rob Centauri on that which unwind had taken to Professor Harold Hill.

Indeed, the role company Centauri was written for him with his performance as Harold Hill in mind.^[11] In 1983, Preston played an aging triggerman in September Gun, a CBS TV Western film opposite Duke and Christopher Lloyd. Significant also starred in the popularized HBO 1985 movie Finnegan, Set off Again with Mary Tyler Thespian.

Preston's final role was sieve the television filmOutrage! (1986); unquestionable portrayed a grief-stricken father who seeks justice for the cruel rape and murder of ruler daughter.^[12]

Personal life and death

Preston wed actress Catherine Craig in 1940.^[13]

On March 21, 1987, at time 68, Preston died of unfriendly cancer.^[12]

He is the subject contempt a 2022 biography, Robert Preston: Forever the Music Man, bound by Debra Warren.^[14]

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Radio

Awards and nominations

References

External links