Robert Preston (actor)

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Robert Preston
Image:Robertpreston.JPG
Preston in This Gun for Hire (1942)
Birth name Robert Preston Meservey
Born June 8 1918(1918-06-08)
Newton, Massachusetts
Died March 21 1987 (aged 68)
Montecito, California
Spouse(s) Catherine Craig (1940-1987)

Robert Preston (June 8 1918 - March 21 1987) was a Tony Award-winning, Oscar-nominated American actor.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of a garment worker. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. He would later serve as an intelligence officer with the U.S. 9th Air Force during World War II.

In 1940 he married actress Catherine Craig, to whom he remained married until his death.

[edit] Career

Preston appeared in many Hollywood films, predominantly Westerns, but is probably best remembered for his portrayal of the character "Professor" Harold Hill in Meredith Willson's musical, The Music Man (1962). He won a Tony Award for his performance in the original Broadway production (1957). In 1974, he starred opposite Bernadette Peters in the Broadway musical "Mack and Mabel" as Mack Sennett, the famous silent film director.

In 1961, Preston was asked to make a recording as part of a program by the President's Council on Physical Fitness to get schoolchildren to do more daily exercise. The song, "Chicken Fat," written by Meredith Willson and performed by Preston with full orchestral accompaniment, was distributed to schools across the nation and played for students in calisthenics every morning. The song later became a surprise novelty hit and a part of many baby-boomers' childhood memories.

Although he was not known for his singing voice, Preston appeared in several other stage and film musicals, notably Mame (1974) and Victor/Victoria (1982), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. His last role in a theatrical film was in The Last Starfighter, in which he played intergalactic con man/military recruiter "Centauri." Preston said he based the character of Centauri on Professor Harold Hill. His final role was in the TV movie Outrage! (1986).

Preston appeared on the cover of Time magazine on July 21, 1958.[1]

Preston died of lung cancer in 1987, aged 68.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Features

[edit] Short Subjects

  • Wings Up (1943)
  • Sentinels in the Air (1956) (narrator)

[edit] Broadway Shows

  • The Male Animal (May 15, 1952 - Jan 31, 1953)
  • Men of Distinction (Apr 30, 1953 - May 2, 1953)
  • His and Hers (Jan 7, 1954 - Mar 13, 1954)
  • The Magic and the Loss (Apr 9, 1954 - May 1, 1954)
  • The Tender Trap (Oct 13, 1954 - Jan 8, 1955)
  • Janus (Nov 24, 1955 - Jun 30, 1956)
  • The Hidden River (Jan 23, 1957 - Mar 16, 1957)
  • The Music Man (Dec 19, 1957 - Apr 15, 1961)
  • Too True to be Good (Mar 12, 1963 - Jun 1, 1963)
  • Nobody Loves an Albatross (Dec 19, 1963 - Jun 20, 1964)
  • Ben Franklin in Paris (Oct 27, 1964 - May 1, 1965)
  • The Lion in Winter (Mar 3, 1966 - May 21, 1966)
  • I Do! I Do! (Dec. 5, 1966 - June 15, 1968)
  • Mack & Mabel (Oct 6, 1974 - Nov 30, 1974)
  • Sly Fox (Dec 14, 1976 - Feb 19, 1978)
Awards
Preceded by
Rex Harrison
for My Fair Lady 		Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical
1958
for The Music Man 		Succeeded by
Richard Kiley
for Redhead
Preceded by
Richard Kiley
for Man of La Mancha 		Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical
1967
for I Do! I Do! 		Succeeded by
Robert Goulet
for The Happy Time

[edit] References

  1. ^ Robert PrestonJuly 21, 1958, Time

[edit] External links

fr:Robert Preston (acteur)

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