Robert Preston

Robert Preston began his acting career on stage, appearing in a stock company production of Julius Caesar and a Pasadena Playhouse production of Idiot's Delight. He made his screen debut in the crime dramas King of Alcatraz (1938) and Illegal Traffic (1938). He subsequently appeared as Digby Geste in Beau Geste (1939) and as Dick Allen in Union Pacific (1939). His film credits also included North West Mounted Police (1940), Typhoon (1940), and This Gun for Hire (1942), in which he played a Los Angeles police detective.

After returning to acting in 1947, Preston worked as a freelance character actor for Paramount, RKO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and independent producers. His film work during this period included The Macomber Affair (1947). During the 1950s, he also began appearing in television.

Preston achieved major stage recognition for his performance as Professor Harold Hill in Meredith Willson's musical The Music Man (1957), winning a Tony Award for the role. He later reprised the role for the film adaptation of The Music Man (1962), starring opposite Shirley Jones. His other film work included How the West Was Won (1962).

On Broadway, Preston starred in Ben Franklin in Paris (1964), originated the role of Henry II in The Lion in Winter, and appeared opposite Mary Martin in I Do! I Do! (1966), for which he won his second Tony Award. He later starred opposite Bernadette Peters in Mack & Mabel (1974), playing silent-film director Mack Sennett. He also starred in the Broadway musical The Prince of Grand Street (1978), which closed during its Boston tryout.

Preston's 1970s film credits included Junior Bonner (1972), Child's Play (1972), and Semi-Tough (1977). He also starred in the film adaptation of Mame (1974), alongside Lucille Ball, as Beauregard Burnside. On television, he starred as Hadley Chisholm in the CBS miniseries The Chisholms (1979) and reprised the role when the story continued as a weekly series in 1980.

During the 1980s, Preston appeared in S.O.B. (1981) and Victor/Victoria (1982), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He starred in the television films Rehearsal for Murder (1982), September Gun (1983), and Finnegan, Begin Again (1985). His final theatrical film role was Centauri in The Last Starfighter (1984), and his final acting role was in the CBS television film Outrage! (1986).