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Robert Preston

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BIO

Robert Preston Meservey (June 8, 1918 – March 21, 1987) was an American stage and film actor and singer. His best known role was Professor Harold Hill in the 1957 musical The Music Man for which he received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He reprised the role in the 1962 film adaptation, for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nomination.



Preston made his Broadway debut in The Male Animal in 1952. He won two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical for The Music Man (1957) and I Do! I Do! (1967) and was Tony-nominated for Mack and Mabel (1975). Preston collaborated twice with filmmaker Blake Edwards, first in S.O.B. (1981) and again in Victor/Victoria (1982), the latter earning him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

STAGE CREDITS

The Prince of Grand Street
[Broadway]
Closed on the road, 1978
Performer
Sly Fox
[Broadway]
1976
Foxwell J. Sly [Replacement]
The Judge [Replacement]
Mack & Mabel
[Broadway]
Original Broadway Production, 1974
Mack Sennett
I Do! I Do!
[Broadway]
Original Broadway Production, 1966
He (Michael)
The Lion in Winter
[Broadway]
1966
Henry II
Ben Franklin in Paris
[Broadway]
Original Broadway Production, 1964
Benjamin Franklin
Nobody Loves an Albatross
[Broadway]
1963
Nat Bentley
Too True to Be Good
[Broadway]
1963
The Burglar
We Take the Town
[Broadway]
Closed on the road, 1962
Pancho Villa
The Music Man
[Broadway]
Original Broadway Production, 1957
Harold Hill
The Hidden River
[Broadway]
1957
Jean Monnerie
Janus
[Broadway]
1955
Gil
The Tender Trap
[Broadway]
1954
Joe McCall
The Magic and The Loss
[Broadway]
1954
George Wilson
His and Hers
[Broadway]
1954
Clem Scott
Men of Distinction
[Broadway]
1953
Peter Hogarth
The Male Animal
[Broadway]
1952
Joe Ferguson
The Male Animal
[Broadway]
1952
Joe Ferguson

Movies

Illegal Traffic
[ 1938 ] Charles Bent Martin
King of Alcatraz
[ 1938 ] Robert MacArthur
Disbarred
[ 1939 ] Bradley Kent
Union Pacific
[ 1939 ] Dick Allen
Beau Geste
[ 1939 ] Digby Geste
Moon Over Burma
[ 1940 ] Chuck Lane
Typhoon
[ 1940 ] Johnny Potter
North West Mounted Police
[ 1940 ] Ronnie Logan
Parachute Battalion
[ 1941 ] Donald Morse
New York Town
[ 1941 ] Paul Bryson, Jr.
Pacific Blackout
[ 1941 ] Robert Draper
The Lady from Cheyenne
[ 1941 ] Steve Lewis
The Night of January 16th
[ 1941 ] Steve Van Ruyle
Reap the Wild Wind
[ 1942 ] Dan Cutler
This Gun for Hire
[ 1942 ] Michael Crane
Wake Island
[ 1942 ] Pvt. Joe Doyle
Night Plane from Chungking
[ 1943 ] Captain Nick Stanton
The Macomber Affair
[ 1947 ] Francis Macomber
Wild Harvest
[ 1947 ] Jim Davis
Variety Girl
[ 1947 ] Robert Preston
Whispering Smith
[ 1948 ] Murray Sinclair
Big City
[ 1948 ] Rev. Philip Y. Andrews
Blood on the Moon
[ 1948 ] Tate Riling
Tulsa
[ 1949 ] Brad Brady
The Lady Gambles
[ 1949 ] David Boothe
The Sundowners
[ 1950 ] James Cloud - aka Kid Wichita
When I Grow Up
[ 1951 ] Father Reed
My Outlaw Brother
[ 1951 ] Joe Waldner
Cloudburst
[ 1951 ] John Graham
Best of the Badmen
[ 1951 ] Matthew Fowler
Face to Face
[ 1952 ] Sheriff Jack PotterThe Bride Comes to Yellow Sky
The Last Frontier
[ 1955 ] Col. Frank Marston
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
[ 1960 ] Rubin Flood
The Music Man
[ 1962 ] Harold Hill
How the West Was Won
[ 1962 ] Roger Morgan
All the Way Home
[ 1963 ] Jay Follett
Island of Love
[ 1963 ] Steve Blair
Junior Bonner
[ 1972 ] Ace Bonner
Child's Play
[ 1972 ] Joseph Dobbs
Mame
[ 1974 ] Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside
Semi-Tough
[ 1977 ] Big Ed Bookman
S.O.B.
[ 1981 ] Dr. Irving Finegarten
Victor/Victoria
[ 1982 ] Carole "Toddy" Todd
The Last Starfighter
[ 1984 ] Centauri

TV Shows

The Chisholms
Hadley Chisholm

Awards and Nominations

Tony Awards - 1975 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Robert Preston, Mack and Mabel


winner
Tony Awards - 1967 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Robert Preston, Do! I Do!


winner
Tony Awards - 1958 - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Robert Preston, The Music Man

Videos

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News


Shuler Hensley to Direct THE MUSIC MAN at City Springs Theatre Company Photo
Shuler Hensley to Direct THE MUSIC MAN at City Springs Theatre Company

City Springs Theatre Company will present THE MUSIC MAN in September. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.
Billy Harrigan Tighe to Star in THE MUSIC MAN at City Springs Theatre Company Photo
Billy Harrigan Tighe to Star in THE MUSIC MAN at City Springs Theatre Company

City Springs Theatre Company will open its 2024-2025 season with THE MUSIC MAN starring Billy Harrigan Tighe. Learn how to purchase tickets.
Wake Up With BroadwayWorld July 10, 2024 Photo
Wake Up With BroadwayWorld July 10, 2024

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is July 10, 2024 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.
Ariana DeBose Will Return to Host the 77th Annual Tony Awards Photo
Ariana DeBose Will Return to Host the 77th Annual Tony Awards

BroadwayWorld has just learned that Academy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Ariana DeBose returns to host THE 77TH ANNUAL TONY AWARDS for the third time. We have all of the details here!
Review: GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER at White Theatre At The JCC Photo
Review: GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER at White Theatre At The JCC

“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” is a very funny idea and the 2014 Tony winner for best new Musical.  It is currently playing at the White Theatre inside the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park through March 24.
Where Else Have the Tony Awards Been Held? Photo
Where Else Have the Tony Awards Been Held?

This time, the reader question was: Where has the Tony Awards ceremony been presented in the past?
Have There Been Many Two-Person Broadway Musicals Before GUTENBERG? Photo
Have There Been Many Two-Person Broadway Musicals Before GUTENBERG?

This time, the reader question was: Have there been many Broadway musicals starring only two actors, before Gutenberg! The Musical!?
Broadway Lyricist and Librettist Tom Jones Has Passed Away Photo
Broadway Lyricist and Librettist Tom Jones Has Passed Away

Tom Jones, best known for his work as the librettist and lyricist of The Fantasticks, has passed away. He was 95.
Patrick Duffy, Tristan Gemmill & More to Star in TWELVE ANGRY MEN UK Tour Photo
Patrick Duffy, Tristan Gemmill & More to Star in TWELVE ANGRY MEN UK Tour

Get all the details about the upcoming TWELVE ANGRY MEN UK Tour featuring TV stars Patrick Duffy and Tristan Gemmill. Don't miss the opportunity to see this incredible cast in action!
Review: THE MUSIC MAN at Moorestown Theater Company Photo
Review: THE MUSIC MAN at Moorestown Theater Company

What did our critic think of THE MUSIC MAN at Moorestown Theater Company?
All Roads Theatre Company Will Open With MACK & MABEL in 2024 Photo
All Roads Theatre Company Will Open With MACK & MABEL in 2024

ALL ROADS THEATRE COMPANY (ARTCO) announces its emergence into the Southern California Arts Scene with the bold announcement of a fully staged and choreographed “In Concert” presentation of Jerry Herman’s and Michael Stewart’s beloved but seldom-produced musical, MACK & MABEL, for three performances, February 16, 17 and 18, 2024 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. 
Pasadena Playhouse To Receive 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award Photo
Pasadena Playhouse To Receive 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award

The Tony Awards Administration Committee has announced that based on the recommendation by the American Theatre Critics Association, Pasadena Playhouse, in Pasadena, California, will be the recipient of the 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The honor is accompanied by a grant of $25,000, made possible by City National Bank's generous support. 
Interview: Broadway Producer Julian Schlossberg Photo
Interview: Broadway Producer Julian Schlossberg

Producer Julian Schlossberg's autobiography, TRY NOT TO HOLD IT AGAINST ME, is a chronicle of singular moments and stars of Broadway.
Broadway Streaming Guide: February 2023 - How to Hear the KIMBERLY AKIMBO Cast Record Photo
Broadway Streaming Guide: February 2023 - How to Hear the KIMBERLY AKIMBO Cast Recording & More

This February, Broadway fans will be treated with several new albums, concerts, and television shows to binge. Check out what's coming to streaming this month, including new classic movie musicals like The Music Man, to new Broadway cast recordings from Kimberly Akimbo and KPOP!
Cast & Creative Teams Confirmed for Shaw Festival 2023 Season, Featuring PRINCE CASPI Photo
Cast & Creative Teams Confirmed for Shaw Festival 2023 Season, Featuring PRINCE CASPIAN World Premiere & More

Artistic Director Tim Carroll has unveiled the Shaw Festival's 2023 casting and creative teams for the Festival Theatre, Royal George Theatre, Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre, BMO Stage, as well as the newly added Spiegeltent.
New Biography ROBERT PRESTON - FOREVER THE MUSIC MAN Out Now Photo
New Biography ROBERT PRESTON - FOREVER THE MUSIC MAN Out Now

Robert Preston - Forever The Music Man chronicles the life and career of the enigmatic Hollywood and Broadway actor, and original Music Man star, Robert Preston.
Album Review: THE MUSIC MAN (THE 2022 BROADWAY CAST RECORDING) Is A New Kind Of MUSIC Photo
Album Review: THE MUSIC MAN (THE 2022 BROADWAY CAST RECORDING) Is A New Kind Of MUSIC MAN For A New Generation… Kind Of

The additional track of the cut barbershop quartet song, IT’S YOU is a real bonus and so is the extra extended cut of Jackman and Shuler Hensley’s clowning fun on THE SADDER BUT WISER GIRL FOR ME.
Charleston Light Opera Guild Announces Auditions For THE MUSIC MAN Photo
Charleston Light Opera Guild Announces Auditions For THE MUSIC MAN

The Music Man, a co-production with the Clay Center, will play at the Maier Performance Hall on October 28-30 and November 4-6, 2022.
Charleston Light Opera Guild Presents THE MUSIC MAN in October Photo
Charleston Light Opera Guild Presents THE MUSIC MAN in October

The Music Man, a co-production with the Clay Center, will play at the Maier Performance Hall on October 28-30 and November 4-6, 2022.
The Lark Theater to Present Screenings of Classic Movie Musicals, Including FUNNY GIR Photo
The Lark Theater to Present Screenings of Classic Movie Musicals, Including FUNNY GIRL, THE MUSIC MAN & More

The Lark Theater in Larkspur, CA is presenting movie adaptations of iconic musicals EVERY WEDNESDAY afternoon.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many Broadway shows has Robert Preston been in?

Robert Preston has appeared on Broadway in 18 shows.

How many West End shows has Robert Preston been in?

Robert Preston has not appeared in the West End.

What awards has Robert Preston been nominated for?

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Tony Awards) for Mack and Mabel, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Tony Awards) for Do! I Do! and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Tony Awards) for The Music Man.

What awards has Robert Preston won?

Robert Preston won the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Do! I Do! and also for The Music Man.

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