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

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

Appearances as themselves (12)

• 2015Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do — Self (archive footage)
• 2004Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade — Self (archive footage)
• The World of Hammer — Self (archive footage)
• 1985Night of 100 Stars II — Self
• 1984Going Hollywood: The '30s — Self - Host
• 1982Night of 100 Stars — Self
• The Merv Griffin Show — Self
• The Bell Telephone Hour — Self
• 1956Confession — Self - Host
• Tony Awards — Self - Host / Nominee/ Performer, Self - Presenter, Self - Performer, Self - Presenter / Performer
• What's My Line? — Self
• 1943Wings Up — Himself