Acting · Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, USA · Born June 8, 1918
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.
MovieDisclosure
2020
as Carole 'Toddy' Todd (archive footage)
MovieChita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
2015
as Self (archive footage)
MovieSam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
2004
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBroadway's Lost Treasures
2003
as Harold Hill (segment "The Music Man")
TVThe World of Hammer
1994
as Self (archive footage)
MovieOutrage!
1986
as Dennis Riordan
MovieNight of 100 Stars II
1985
as Self
MovieFinnegan Begin Again
1985
as Mike Finnegan
MovieThe Last Starfighter
1984
as Centauri
MovieGoing Hollywood: The '30s
1984
as Self - Host
MovieSeptember Gun
1983
as Ben Sunday
MovieRehearsal for Murder
1982
as Alex Dennison
MovieVictor/Victoria
1982
as Carroll "Toddy" Todd
MovieNight of 100 Stars
1982
as Self
MovieS.O.B.
1981
as Dr. Irving Finegarten
MovieThe Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
1980
as Stranger
TVThe Chisholms
1979
as Hadley Chisholm
MovieSemi-Tough
1977
as Big Ed Bookman
MovieMy Father's House
1975
as Tom Lindholm Sr.
MovieMame
1974
as Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside
MovieChild's Play
1972
as Joseph Dobbs
MovieJunior Bonner
1972
as Ace Bonner
MovieAll the Way Home
1963
as Jay Follet
MovieIsland of Love
1963
as Steve Blair
MovieHow the West Was Won
1962
as Roger Morgan
TVThe Merv Griffin Show
1962
as Self
MovieThe Music Man
1962
as Harold Hill
MovieThe Dark at the Top of the Stairs
1960
as Rubin Flood
TVThe Bell Telephone Hour
1959
as Self
MovieMade in Heaven
1956
as Zachary Meredith
MovieConfession
1956
as Self - Host
TVTony Awards
1956
as Self - Host / Nominee/ Performer
MovieSentinels in the Air
1956
as Narrator (voice)
MovieThe Last Frontier
1955
as Col. Frank Marston
TVThe 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
TVClimax!
1954
as William Struthers
TVGeneral Electric Theater
1953
as Jim Tweedy
MovieFace to Face
1952
as Jack Potter
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
MovieMy Outlaw Brother
1951
as Joe Walter
MovieBest of the Badmen
1951
as Matthew Fowler
MovieCloudburst
1951
as John Graham
MovieWhen I Grow Up
1951
as Father Reed
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Phil Baxter
TVYour Show of Shows
1950
MovieThe Sundowners
1950
as James Cloud ('Kid Wichita')
TVWhat's My Line?
1950
as Self - Mystery Guest
TVRobert Montgomery Presents
1950
as Jeff Frazer
MovieThe Lady Gambles
1949
as David Boothe
MovieTulsa
1949
as Brad Brady
MovieWhispering Smith
1948
as Murray Sinclair
MovieBlood on the Moon
1948
as Tate Riling
MovieBig City
1948
as Rev. Philip Y. Andrews
MovieWild Harvest
1947
as Jim Davis
MovieVariety Girl
1947
as Robert Preston
MovieThe Macomber Affair
1947
as Francis Macomber
MovieNight Plane from Chungking
1943
as Nick Stanton
MovieWings Up
1943
as Himself
MovieWake Island
1942
as Pvt. Joe Doyle
MovieThis Gun for Hire
1942
as Det. Michael Crane
MovieReap the Wild Wind
1942
as Dan Cutler
MovieStar Spangled Rhythm
1942
as Robert Preston (uncredited)
MoviePacific Blackout
1941
as Robert Draper
MovieThe Night of January 16th
1941
as Steve Van Ruyle
MovieNew York Town
1941
as Paul Bryson, Jr.
MovieParachute Battalion
1941
as Donald Morse
MovieThe Lady from Cheyenne
1941
as Steve Lewis
MovieNorth West Mounted Police
1940
as Ronnie Logan
MovieMoon Over Burma
1940
as Chuck Lane
MovieTyphoon
1940
as Johnny Potter
MovieBeau Geste
1939
as Digby Geste
MovieUnion Pacific
1939
as Dick Allen
MovieDisbarred
1939
as Bradley Kent
MovieIllegal Traffic
1938
as Charles Bent Martin
MovieKing of Alcatraz
1938
as Robert MacArthur
